kitchens with glass front cabinets

Inevitably there comes a time on every project where I have the discussion with a client regarding glass front cabinets. Everyone loves the way they look, but few want to deal with the worries regarding mismatched dishes, unsightly cereal boxes, etc. Even though all the kitchen tear sheets they’ve shown me show perfectly organized, spotless kitchens with glass front cabinets with perfectly arranged white dishes gleaming from behind the transparent doors – they inevitably get spooked when faced with day to day reality of their lives. That they’re lives are sometimes messy, mismatched, and that they frankly don’t want to have to worry about being perfect put together. I cannot blame them – who does! I typically listen and let the client express all their fears and then I jump in and begin my passionate discourse on the subject.

It goes something like this:

All the magazines are meant to show fantasy, not reality. Don’t feel like you have to keep up with that expectation of perfection. No-one’s house really looks like that all the time
You can’t have the look without making the choices. If you want the look of glass front cabinets, you have to take the risk and do them. If you do all solid front cabinets your kitchen will look completely different than all those pictures you fell in love with
Glass fronts add depth, texture, and space to a kitchen, especially small kitchens
Kitchen stuff, food, dishes, bottles, etc. – the accessories in a kitchen that make it look lived-in and give it a soul. Don’t worry about having all that stuff exposed
If you’re still not convinced, there are a few tricks. Rather than clear glass opt for reeded or textured. If that still doesn’t hide enough, go with frosted or white laminated glass (the latter is completely opaque but still bounced light)

Image via Renovation Style