Behind Closed Doors

Cabinets can dress up more than your kitchen.

These days, cabinets are not just for kitchens. Many other rooms in your home can benefit from this added storage space, which can serve both a fashionable and functional purpose. Whether you’re looking to hide the clutter or create an area for display, cabinets can provide a useful and stylish solution for your storage needs.

“There is no limit to what you can do when it comes to cabinetry,” says Brian Gordon, president and CEO of Kitchen Expo in Edison, N.J. “Semi-custom and custom cabinets can be designed to fit any space and any décor. In addition, there is an abundance of woods, stains and finishes that can make cabinetry unique. Custom cabinetry can help you create storage that looks good and serves many functions in your home.”

From pantries to playrooms, bars to basements, laundry rooms to mudrooms, offices to entertainment centers, cabinetry can create a unique look that seamlessly blends style and substance.

“Custom cabinetry can provide a functional, decorative touch and set the tone for a room,” says Mark Ollivier, sales and design manager at Home Trimwork, based in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. “Many homeowners come to us looking to create additional storage space and design areas to display certain items or collections. Cabinetry can be custom designed to fit customers’ needs and blend in with any existing style or architecture of the home.”

Materials can include natural wood cabinets, exotic veneers and acrylic finishes that can bring a traditional or modern look to your home.

“Custom cabinetry can make a room unique because it has a touch of you and your taste,” says Mark Black, owner and president of Aston Black Cabinets, based in Lancaster, Pa. “Cabinetry also helps save space and can create organization where everything in your home will have a place. Styles and door designs, colors and finishes are endless. You dream it up and it can be done,” he says.

Cabinets can be personalized in a variety of ways, other experts say.

“When it comes to cabinetry, there are custom design options such as finishes and door styles, including accessory upgrades and custom glass insert choices,” says Aslinur Karaturk, a designer at KOL Kitchen and Bath, based in Cherry Hill, N.J. “Custom cabinets can be designed to make even the smallest rooms functional by adding accessory components, such as pot and pan organizers or cutlery trays. These tools help minimize wasted space, improve organizational quality and create more storage options.”

Entertainment centers provide a great opportunity to create unique and functional cabinetry options. Cabinets and display shelving can be built around a fireplace or to house an entertainment center, including flatscreen TVs, gaming consoles, cable boxes and audio systems. Units can be designed to fit the individual space in the room and create a plethora of storage space.

“We’ve designed a variety of built-ins for family rooms or dens featuring entertainment centers or display shelves and bookcases surrounding a fireplace,” says Ollivier. “Units can be customized with crown molding or wainscoting, or have applied panels to tie everything together and match the style and architecture of the room.”

KOL’s Karaturk adds, “A home library or customized office space can also benefit from custom cabinetry due to the organizational quality and aesthetic appeal it creates.”

In the laundry room, cabinetry can provide a space for laundry detergent and various sundry items. Open storage options can house baskets to hold smaller items such as clothespins, fabric softener sheets or cleaning items. Cabinets can also be designed to hide ironing boards or store excess towels and sheets.

“Mudrooms are a great space for both modular and custom units designed to house shoes, backpacks, sporting items, jackets and more,” says Gordon. “We’ve designed bench seats with storage underneath or cabinetry overhead, open shelves to hold baskets or display items and tall backs with hooks to hang jackets and hats.

“In the living room, we’ve designed window seating in an alcove with storage underneath and created a banquette for added storage for items that don’t get used every day,” he says. “In addition, the dining room is a great place to design a hutch that provides additional storage space, open shelving or glass doors for displaying various items.”

Bedrooms are another area that can benefit from custom cabinetry.

“Rather than building a walk-in closet, I have had clients ask me to build cabinetry that would take the place of a closet and substantially increase the living space in the master bedroom,” says Black. “At the other end of the home, in the basement, we have built cabinetry to house large theater-type screens and speaker systems.”

When it comes down to it, there are countless options when it comes to this type of storage in a home, Ollivier adds.

“The options for custom-designed cabinetry are endless, limited only by the homeowner’s budget and imagination.”

RESOURCES

Aston Black Cabinets & Design Lancaster, Pa. (717) 606-8790 AstonBlackCabinets.com

CK Carpentry Newark, Del. (302) 602-3184

Holcomb Kitchens Wilmington, Del. (302) 478-5000

Home Trimwork Huntingdon Valley, Pa. (610) 287-1100 HomeTrimwork.com

Kitchen Expo Edison, N.J. (732) 650-9700 KitchenExpo.com

KOL Kitchen & Bath Cherry Hill, N.J. (856) 857-1430 KOL-Renovation.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 15, Issue 4 (October, 2014).
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