21 Unique Kitchen Cabinet Designs We Can't Stop Thinking About

When planning a full kitchen renovation, cabinet design is one of the most important choices you will make—especially as cabinetry is typically the single biggest investment you'll make. Whether or not your kitchen cabinets are well-designed and well-organized can really make or break your experience in the kitchen—especially if you have a small kitchen—and a cabinet design mistake is not an easy one to remedy. Furthermore, there are endless cabinet styles and designs to choose from, making the design process a little harder to navigate.

We culled through our archives white kitchens, colorful kitchens, modern kitchens, farmhouse kitchens, and every other style out there in search of the most distinctive kitchen cabinet ideas from designers all over the world. We even looked at our best home bar ideas, as these inventive spaces often yield some of the most inventive design solutions.

A common thread emerged: designers and architects tend to design or select kitchen cabinets that echo the architectural style of the home, generally speaking. In a classic Georgian residence, for example, one might expect to find Chippendale-style cabinetry while Japanese mid-century inspired cabinets look right at home in a modern mountain lakehouse. Selecting the right cabinet style often sets the tone for other kitchen design choices as well, from backsplashes and tile to lighting.

Whether you're feeling the gravitational pull towards moodier kitchens featuring darker colors, predicted by several designers as one of the top kitchen design trends for 2021, or still favoring a more classic, timeless kitchen, you're sure to find something inspiring and original from our 21 best kitchen cabinet ideas below.

At this Lake Toxaway, North Carolina, retreat, designer Cliff Fong commissioned local craftsmen to create cabinetry in the spirit of midcentury woodworker George Nakashima. A custom-colored center island is fitted with Juno limestone counters, which also forms the backsplash. Wicker stools, Stahl + Band

In designer Caroline Gidiere's Mountain Brook, Alabama, home, antique glass and Chippendale fretwork give the built-in bar cabinetry beautiful historic character. Stained mahogany cabinetry is framed in fiery orange trim (Lava by Porter’s Paints) and gold leaf ceiling paper (Phillip Jeffries). Pendant lighting, Visual Comfort & Co. Backsplash, Adelphi Paper Hangings.

In this South Carolina kitchen, architect Peter Block and designer Beth Webb clad the counter-depth refrigerator and freezer in the same rift-cut white oak panels as the cabinetry to create a more seamless look, which is all the more important in a small kitchen. The slender range by Bertazzoni.

At this Palm Beach home designed by Susan Zises Green, the fully-equipped kitchen by Officine Gullo—including cabinetry and such appliances as a pizza oven—has a vintage European feel. Barstools are by BK Antiques.

Designer Tammy Connor connected the kitchen and adjacent family room of this New York City apartment by lacquering the cabinets in the former and walls in the latter in the same rich ocean shade. For a similar paint color, try Benjamin Moore’s Slate Teal in a pearl finish. The kitchen stools from Soane Britain are covered in a Jerry Pair fabric. Pendant lighting from Balsamo lights up a Lacanche range.

In her beautiful Connecticut kitchen, Waterworks co-founder and author Barbara Sallick installed one set of glass-front cabinets that sit on the counter, which creates the look and feel of a butler's pantry in the kitchen.

The drawers in Sallick's kitchen are lined with dividers on the diagonal (to accommodate larger items) that keep kitchen and cooking prep tools organized and at the ready.

This serene foundation for this white kitchen in a Naples, Florida, retreat designed by Celerie Kemble is its simple, unadorned cabinetry, which features drawer panels with no visible hardware. Dark-stained beams and interlocking white oak floor tiles from Jamie Beckwith add just a hint of rustic warmth.

In this Montana kitchen designed by Palmer Weiss, a bank of drawers—in place of lower cabinetry—provides ample storage space that's much easier to access and organize. Silicon bronze brushed pulls, Rocky Mountain Hardware. Dual fuel range, Wolf. Cabinetry and ebony finish, Provincial Store Fixtures.

The kitchen in this Connecticut house designed by Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey is luxe in every sense of the word, from the marble walls and Lacanche range to the oil portraits, brass details, and mohair-upholsted counter stools (by Holly Hunt for Bradlee USA).

The double islands, which feature dark wood finish that helps them stand out from the white perimeter cabinets, make entertaining a breeze: One is outfitted with an ice machine, sink, and beverage drawer, making it easy to stand in as a bar. A pair of corner cabinets fitted with metal mesh provide vertical storage and echo the other brass elements throughout the space.

Soft, smoky tones lend a high-fashion, sophisticated touch to the alluring kitchen of this 18th-century flat in Paris. The upper cabinets feature mirrored eglomise facings and “almost look like venetian blinds,” notes decorator Jean-Louis Deniot. The lower cabinetry paint color is Midnight Oil by Benjamin Moore.

It's hard to deny the timeless appeal of classic, Shaker-style cabinetry. Simple in its construction yet refined in its precision, a Shaker cabinet works with a wide array of achitectural and decorative styles. Today cohost Jenna Bush Hager overhauled the midcentury kitchen in her spirited Long Island cottage with pastel blue cabinetry (Wedgewood Gray by Benjamin Moore) that pops against a fireclay apron-front sink (Rohl) and glazed wall tiles (Waterworks).

The kitchen in designer Philip Mitchell's Nova Scotia home is a study in timeless design, starting with the cabinetry, which features a mix of glass-front panel doors on the uppers and Shaker-style doors with a bevel on the lowers. Stacks of drawers with classic brass bin pulls offer variety in storage.

The banquette seating is crafted of tufted leather and resilient acrylic fabric (both by Ralph Lauren); and an ikat pendant shade (custom, The Urban Electric Co.) is a brilliant foil for the overhead lighting (bulkhead cage lights, Cape Cod Lanterns).

In this Paris apartment designed by Raphaël Le Berre and Thomas Vevaud, the kitchen feels more like a gallery space than a cook space. That clean, contemporary feel begins with the cabinets, which are crafted of black melamine wood and designed with a full overlay, meaning only doors and no cabinet frame are visibile.

The blown-glass Lustre globes were made in the 1950s and purchased at auction from Piasa. The counters are Zimbabwe granite. “Tractor” stools, BassamFellows

Floor-to-ceiling "locker" cabinets along one wall of this Paris kitchen designed by Raphaël Le Berre and Thomas Vevaud maximize storage space.

In this Alabama kitchen, designer Mark D. Sikes selected a charming powder blue paint color (Farrow & Ball's Parma Gray) to unify a mix of existing raised-panel cabinet doors and new island, range hood, and open shelves designed by architect James B. Laughlin. The island stools by Hickory Chair are covered in a botanical Carolina Irving fabric. The bistro chairs are from Ballard Designs. The wallcovering is by William Morris.

At this Montana mountain house designed by Palmer Weiss, cabinetry faced in brass diamond-patterned grilles and espagnolette references agrarian metalwork. Wine refrigerator, Sub-Zero

In Colette van den Thillart's Canadian cabin, English country cottage-style cabinetry Smallbone of Devizes reinforces the rustic look. A trip to Denmark inspired the kitchen island's marbleized design. The paneled and log walls are painted in a custom Benjamin Moore paint.

Wire-brushed French oak cabinetry, oiled soapstone counters, and suspended shelving with brass detailing bring charming utility to this Atlanta home’s scullery, designed by Amy Morris and D. Stanley Dixon. Under-sink storage is concealed with a table skirt. Custom marble-top worktable, BD Jeffries

At this 1850 farmhouse, designer Richard Keith Langham used luscious berry cabinetry to add a layer of richness and depth to the combined breakfast room and kitchen. The cabinetry paint color is Raisin Torte by Benjamin Moore. Backsplash tile by Ann Sacks draws attention to the polished stove from Ilve. The tole pendants are from Paul Ferrante.

In this Provence farmhouse kitchen, designer Susan Bednar Long warmed up the white walls, painted Wimborne White by Farrow & Ball, with a wooden island and farm table, limestone flooring, and a large collection of copper pots. The cabinetry, which features a mix of clear glass-front cabinets, open shelving, and raised-panel cabinets, are painted Light Blue by Farrow & Ball.