Modern, as a design style, consists of clean lines, minimal ornamentation and an accentuation of material. Modern kitchens are obviously more popular in houses that have a modern architectural style, but modern Kitchen cabinets are also common in lofts and apartment buildings. Modern kitchens have several elements common among them. They usually feature shiny or frosted surfaces, an emphasis on the grain of any wood that is used, metal detailing, and strong horizontal or vertical lines.
The word “modern” is often misused to mean contemporary or fresh. Modern, when used correctly, actually refers to a specific look from a specific time period – the middle decades of the twentieth century. Modern style was an extension of modernism and modernist thought.
The door and drawer head styles most often used in modern kitchens are the recessed flat panel style and the slab style. Popular finishes include high gloss paint, stained wood, or metal. The decorative hardware, appliances, lighting and everything else going into a modern kitchen will typically be as minimal and sleek as possible, if not actually from the modern era. Colors are usually bold and occur in blocks as a type of accent.
In this modern kitchen, there are two different high gloss finishes on the slab doors of the Kitchen Cabinetry, orange and cream. The orange kitchen cabinetry creates an architectural color block shape. The sides of the kitchen cabinetry are made of a dark stained wood with a strong vertical grain. The Stainless Steel appliances, hardware, and glass door frames complete the modern look of this kitchen.
This modern kitchen also features Stainless steel appliances, stainless steel framed, frosted glass cabinet doors, and a multi-toned construction, including a stainless steel toe kick. The opening mechanism for the base cabinets is built into the doors and drawers to eliminate the need for decorative hardware, living up to modernism’s minimalist ornamentation.
The exotic wood of these kitchen cabinets has a strong horizontal grain, mimicked in the horizontal installation of the minimalist stainless steel drawer hardware. The sink and cooktop are all built into a thick stainless steel component that becomes its own architectural element. The slab style, high gloss, white kitchen cabinetry doors create a color block when set into the exotic wood paneling on the far wall. The pop of color comes from the red glass pendant.
Here is an example of a modern kitchen that uses flat recessed panel kitchen cabinetry doors. The majority of this kitchen is a mixture of mid-tone wood and stainless steel appliances. The open shelving in the background is another popular element in modern kitchens. We see strong vertical lines in the support beam and the folds of the long cream satin curtain on the back wall. White accents and an industrial chandelier complete the look.
The large slab kitchen cabinetry doors with long stainless steel bar pulls create a color block along the back wall with strong vertical lines. The orange and red colors of the books on the back wall are mimicked in the red inside lining of the molded modern chairs. The origami pendant lamp is not only a modern architectural shape, but draws attention to the fact that it’s made out of paper.
This modern kitchen utilizes a mixture of metals set against a dark stained wood with a heavy grain. Again, a handle for the doors and drawer heads have been engineered into the door and drawer head construction to eliminate the need for separate decorative hardware. Open shelving is also used on the back of the island, creating three strong horizontal lines. These horizontal lines are mimicked in the large metal pendant lamp.
The grain of the wood is obviously the show piece in this modern kitchen. It is set against white and stainless steel elements, so that it pops. Open white shelving is placed on top of the high gloss wood paneling in the dining alcove to create horizontal lines that cut through the visual of the wood grain. The dining table is made of one large horizontal line that takes a ninety degree turn into a vertical to the floor.
The semi circular shape of this kitchen cabinetry, the black and white color palette throughout the room, and the mid-century furniture, art and accessories give this kitchen a decidedly modern feel.
This completely stainless steel kitchen is starkly modern, especially in juxtaposition with the rough wood beams. The beams and stainless steel kitchen cabinetry form intersecting horizontal and vertical lines that play off of each other. The kitchen cabinetry itself also forms a large, high gloss color block in the stark open space.
This space appears to be a studio apartment. Its modernist style comes from, first and foremost, the strong vertical and horizontal lines. We can also see several other popular modern elements in this space like the frosted glass cabinet doors on the far wall, the stainless steel accents and the sparse pops of color throughout.
