Cabinet Fronts That Make Small Kitchens Feel Bigger

The most successful kitchens are both beautiful and highly functional, both of which can be tricky to achieve if you're working with a smaller space. However, with some clever design techniques and smart style choices, it's not impossible to make even the most compact kitchens feel light, bright and more spacious than they actually are.

Your kitchen cabinets have a huge role to play here, so let's understand why that's the case as well as how to approach the process of choosing the right made to measure kitchen doors for your space.

How Bespoke Kitchen Cabinets Can Transform Your Small Kitchen

Finding the right style will ultimately allow you to create a kitchen that reflects your personal design preferences and tastes, but there are so many other benefits that can also be experienced simply through choosing your ideal made to measure kitchen doors for your makeover project.

Pro Tip: With bespoke doors, you can choose everything from the style to the colour, finish, and even additional details such as handles and hinges. The right style will give your kitchen the sense of character and personality that matches your vision and suits your property, while the perfect colour can lift your kitchen, giving the appearance of a more spacious floorplan or higher ceilings.

But which style is actually right for your space?

Ditch Unnecessary Details With Sleek, Handleless Styles

Sometimes cabinets with handles just aren't practical in small spaces, as it can be all too easy to get your clothes snagged as you're shimmying past your partner or kids. Sleek styles can also make a space feel more expansive, as the eye is encouraged to glide seamlessly across the room to take in its full view.

Handleless styles are a great option, as they can be installed with chic push-to-open mechanisms that offer a super sleek and perfectly fitted finish. There are lots of handleless styles in our collection to take a look at, including our effortlessly sophisticated Ella handleless doors. This style has some understated panelling, offering a nod to traditional design while still feeling clean and contemporary.

Create A Sense Of Lightness And Brightness With Reflective, Gloss Finishes

From supermatt to ultragloss, many doors in the Happy Doors range come in a variety of different finishes, each of which can give your space a different look, finish and vibe. Doors with a glossy finish can help to reflect light, offering the appearance of extra space and light, even if your kitchen perhaps doesn't have as much natural light as you would have preferred.

Our Jayline doors are just one example of a style that comes in a selection of supergloss finishes, all of which are neutral tones that can work really well in a compact space. If you're looking for a style that comes in some more unique gloss finishes, our Zurfiz doors are a great option. From metallic blue to limestone and copperleaf, there are a variety of options in this collection that also offer an extra layer of visual texture and interest, which can really help a small space to feel fresh, contemporary and beautifully designed.

Don't Shy Away From Colour If Neutrals Aren't Your Style

If neutral colours just don't feel like you, there's no reason why you can't incorporate your favourite colours into your kitchen design, even if it's quite a small space. The colour drenching trend proves that even the tiniest spaces can be flooded with colour, so whether you enjoy deep jewel tones, rich earthy hues or simply want something a bit unexpected, there are countless colours across our ranges that are sure to appeal.

Choosing an understated or sophisticated style is often best if you want to be bold with colour in a compact kitchen, as you want to avoid overwhelming the eye with too many elements all vying for your attention at once. Our Bella range of classic Shaker style doors can be a great place to start your search, with styles such as the Carrick and the Buxton all available in a variety of colours and tones.

Pro Tip: We've made it our mission to make buying online a straightforward and easy process, which is why you can order up to six colour swatch samples for free directly from our website. Having samples in your hands that you can compare in your home, at different times of the day and under different lighting conditions, will help you to settle on the right colour and finish for your design if you're torn between several different options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to choose a gloss finish for my cabinets in a small kitchen?

While cabinets with a gloss finish can sometimes help to increase the sense of light in a small kitchen, there definitely aren't any unbreakable rules that say you can't choose doors with a matt finish instead.

Can I really include deeper colours in a small kitchen design?

Yes! From pastel hues to deeper, more intense jewel tones, colour can be an outstanding addition to even the smallest of kitchens. The key is to ensure that you're making considered choices. So, for example, you might choose cabinet doors in a rich rusty red for your base units, but keep your wall-mounted cabinets more neutral to avoid creating a space that feels too enclosed.

What style of cabinet doors is right for a compact kitchen?

Simple, sleek and seamless styles will always fit right into a compact kitchen, as they encourage the eye to take in the space without getting stuck on any tiny details. However, this is not to say that panelled styles and more traditional features can't also be the start of the show in a small space. If you're not sure which style to choose, get in touch and we'll be happy to share our advice and expertise!