Tag Archives: tuxedo cabinets

Tuxedo Cabinets: Today’s Kitchen Design Innovation, Made Possible With Semi Custom Cabinets

Today’s kitchens are breaking all the design rules, and even the standard cabinetry is getting innovative treatments. Take for example the Tuxedo cabinets look. Despite the name, these don’t have to be black-and-white kitchens. Tuxedo refers to the contrast between two different colors of cabinetry. Also known as two-toned kitchens or cabinets, you’ll see this contrast showing up in all kinds of ways in modern kitchens.

Contrasting colors in kitchen cabinetry expand design options
At first, Tuxedo cabinets meant one color on the base kitchen cabinets and another on the wall cabinets. Most kitchens sported a darker color below with a lighter color above because that both made the kitchen look taller and more open, and made the dark base cabinets more furniture-like in appearance. With this look, the base cabinets stand out as the wall cabinets blend into the, well, wall.

tuxedo cabinetsNow those two tones can be appear just about anywhere. Below is a quick round-up of the two-toned kitchen cabinet designs we’ve seen of late:

  • Your contrasting colors might reversed, with the lighter color below, as in this example of a pantry with white kitchen cabinets topped by stained wood shelves.
  • We’re also seeing several new kitchen designs with the wall cabinets all one color but the kitchen island done in a darker color for contrast, as in this kitchen.
  • We’ve seen kitchens with base cabinets and wall cabinets one darker color and then only a few wall cabinets with glass fronts done in white—very classy.
  • Using stained wood cabinets for the base cabinets and white, cream or antique white cabinets above is another popular design approach, and definitely makes the base cabinets look more like furniture.
  • Then there’s the combination of all dark cabinets, upper and lower, along one wall and all light colored cabinets along another.
  • Darker cabinets can also be used to surround and therefore showcase something such as an elaborate range. With lighter colored cabinets around the rest of the room, but darker cabinets framing the feature, one’s eye is immediately drawn in.
  • This look does not have to be a dramatic contrast. Light gray cabinets with white wall cabinets offer a subtler approach and softer design, yet still achieve the intended open effect.

A two-toned approach is a flexible one
When choosing Tuxedo cabinets, or two-toned as they are also known, you’re not restricted to any particular use or combination, as we hope the ideas above prove. Instead, it opens up all kinds of possibilities and ways for you to personalize your design.

And this flexible approach to designing your kitchen is easily achieved with semi custom cabinets, like those hand-crafted by Wellborn Forest. Browse the dozens of door styles and dozens of stains and colors, plus the many types of finishes, and you’ll realize the possibilities are almost endless. If a two-toned kitchen is your vision, you can make it happen with Wellborn Forest.

3 Creative Ways to Transform Your Kitchen Island a Dramatic Standout in Your New Kitchen

When you’re designing a new kitchen, you might only be thinking as far as, “We will have a kitchen island.” Knowing you’ll have room for such a useful addition—with all the extra workspace, seating area and storage you’ll gain—is exciting. But wait, there’s more! Today’s kitchens offer several ways to create that kitchen island to transform it from merely useful to a beautiful focal point. Here are three of our favorites…

Waterfall counters
A waterfall counter can be used on a kitchen island, extending the countertop all the way to the floor on each end of the island, so it looks like the countertop material is cascading to the floor, like water over a cliff. (If waterfall isn’t working for you as a name, they are also called risers as well as an infinity edge.)

The aesthetic reasons for this design choice are obvious: Waterfall countertops can make your kitchen island into a stunning focal point, especially when you’re using a dramatic slab of marble or some other stone that’s gorgeous on its own.

They are functional too. Some homeowners and kitchen designers widen the depth of the kitchen island with waterfall counters to provide a seating area with room to tuck the stools in and out of the way when the seating is are not needed.

Note: Although they tend to be more of a showcase when used on kitchen islands, waterfall counters are not limited to kitchen islands. You can use a waterfall counter as a way to give a polished look to any counter end.

Kitchen islands as furniture
As much as we love the look of waterfall counters, we also love seeing kitchen islands embellished to look more like furniture. When you’re using semi custom cabinets for your new kitchen, you can easily transform your kitchen island by adding decorative elements such as corbels, molding, columns and decorative feet. With this approach, you still have the benefits of the useful qualities of the kitchen island for working, seating and storage, but your island will be the focal point of your kitchen when it stands out visually from the other cabinetry. You can add even more flair to your kitchen island by choosing to use glazes and other hand-applied finishes to the surface of the semi custom cabinets.

Kitchen islands as contrast
Does that sound a little too showy for your taste? We have a third option that can be streamlined and subtle if that’s more in line with the look you’re going for. For a simpler way to add flair to your kitchen island, go for contrast. Choosing a different color for your kitchen island cabinet base can give you a visual impact similar to the contrast and flair you can achieve with tuxedo cabinets. If you’re using tuxedo cabinets, your kitchen island cabinets can be the same color as your base cabinets. Or choose a different color only for the semi custom cabinets used for the kitchen island. Either way, your kitchen island will pop, standing out as a focal point with more subtlety than offered by waterfall counters or decorative furniture-like embellishments.

No matter the treatment you choose for your new kitchen island, semi custom cabinets will give you the versatility to make your vision a reality—while staying within your budget.

What Are Tuxedo Cabinets and Are They Right for Your New Kitchen?

Tuxedo cabinets are among the hottest of the hot trends in kitchen design right now, although they’re not all that new technically. In case the term is new to you, we explain tuxedo cabinets below along with a few reasons why you might want to choose this new kitchen design approach…

Tuxedo cabinets explained
Tuxedo cabinets are two tone kitchen cabinets, meaning the floor cabinets are one color or shade and the upper wall cabinets are another. Although the name makes it sound like the cabinets are black and white, tuxedo cabinets can be any combination of light and dark. You could have dark gray cabinets below and light gray cabinets above, for example.

Nor does the darker color have to be on the lower cabinets, although that’s usually the case. The lighter cabinets can be below with the darker ones above.

Are tuxedo cabinets right for your new kitchen?
Tuxedo cabinets are incredibly popular right now for a variety of reasons. Do any of these reasons appeal to you and your vision of your dream kitchen?

  • Tuxedo cabinets have the effect of making the cabinets look more like furniture, as the upper cabinets blend into the wall more if painted the same color while the lower cabinets stand out more if they’re darker.
  • Tuxedo cabinets can make a short kitchen seem taller when the lighter color is above, or shorter when the darker color is above.
  • Tuxedo cabinets can create a focal point, because our eyes are drawn to what stands out, and you choose what that is. It might be cabinets or a kitchen island or an appliance that you choose, but it’s the contrast that helps you create the focus.
  • Tuxedo cabinets break up the monotony of all one color cabinets. And as our homes are open in concept and kitchens are much more of a living space than a utilitarian one, we are much more mindful of design and visual appeal.

Tuxedo cabinets are versatile too
Although you might not think it at first, tuxedo cabinets are extremely versatile. Any number of cabinet door styles will work so you can go more traditional or contemporary, and your color choices and the degree of contrast you choose is also totally up to you. If you’re picturing a starkly modern and sleek black and white kitchen, that’s only if that’s what you want. Tuxedo cabinets are more about creating exactly the look you envision in your dream kitchen than they are about making any kind of design statement. So play with the idea a little and see if it might work for you!