When it comes to kitchen decor, you might be wondering whether the pantry should match the cabinets. After all, the pantry will still serve its purpose of storage, even when the pantry door and the cabinets do not match. Well, we have consulted with the experts to give you some insight as to whether you should consider making the pantry door and cabinets match.
Yes, matching the pantry door with the kitchen cabinets can heighten the aesthetic of the room. However, choosing to mismatch them can also give the kitchen an aesthetic boost if executed well. A matching look will make the kitchen appear clean and polished, and a mismatched look will give the kitchen a unique allure.
If you still have some additional questions about whether or not to match the pantry door with the cabinets, don't worry. In this guide, we'll discuss the topic at length. Continue reading to find out more on how to improve the look of your kitchen by either matching or mismatching the pantry door and the kitchen cabinets.
Pantry Door And Cabinet Aesthetics
Designing your kitchen largely depends on your personality and style. Some love the more polished look having all the kitchen cabinets and doors looking the same, while others have an adventurous spirit with a preference for different designs and colors.
Create A Clean Polished Look
If you want your kitchen to have a stylish but neat look, then having a similar color, style, and design on your doors and cabinets will appeal to you. The following are examples of how you can achieve this look:
1. Pantry Door Disguised As Cabinets
This is a very interesting design that creates uniformity throughout the kitchen, blending your pantry with the rest of the kitchen, almost making it unrecognizable. Your pantry door ends up being somehow hidden because it looks like a big cabinet.
To create this effect, use the same material on all your kitchen hardware. So, whether you use hardwoods such as walnut, oak, and maple, or alternative materials such as laminate that looks just like wood, use the same material for the pantry door and cabinets.
Have your carpenter create similar designs on all of them to create the uniformity you desire in your kitchen. And don't forget to use the same color.
2. Matching Pantry Door Trim Color With Cabinets
This is another excellent option that concentrates on matching the pantry door trim with the cabinets, and possibly the rest of the kitchen—like the walls.
Therefore, you can have a similar pantry door trim color to that of the cabinets, with the pantry door being a different color. Another wonderful example is to have the same color on the countertops above the cabinets as that on your pantry door trim.
3. Similar Style
You can be creative and look for a style that you can apply to both the pantry door and the cabinets. For example, if some or most of the cabinets have glass windows, you could add the same effect to your pantry door by fixing a large glass window pane to it.
Create An Alluring Mismatched Effect
If you have a free and adventurous spirit, then most likely you wouldn’t want complete matching hardware in your kitchen. You would prefer an alluring mismatched look by using different colors and unique styles in the kitchen.
There are endless possibilities to create this effect, and all you have to do is thoughtfully create your design. Below are few examples of how to do this:
1. Two Different Colors For Cabinets And Pantry
You can create such a style by using two colors: one for the pantry door, which you can also match with your walls, and having a different color for the cabinets.
For example, a dramatic look can be created by painting the cabinets a dark color like blue and painting the pantry door and walls a light color like white. You could also choose two contrasting colors and alternate them, such as blue and orange, red and green, or yellow and purple.
2. Color Mixture On Cabinets And Pantry Door
This is a unique design in which you paint the cabinets and pantry door in a variety of colors. You can opt for bright colors or a more subtle look by using lighter colors.
3. Stencils
You can also make the pantry door and the cabinets have the same color but with different stencil styles. Opt for stencils that do not appear busy in both the pantry door and cabinets but are designed differently.
What Type Of Door Is Used For A Pantry?
The pantry door doesn’t necessarily have to be all wood or laminate. Variations can be created depending on your preferred style and color. Below are 3 examples:
- Glass pantry door — Install a glass pane into a wooden pantry door to create a classic door. You can further add charm to the overall door design by etching the glass that works well with the rest of the kitchen.
- Curtain pantry door — A curtain can work as a pantry door. Simply choose a fabric that matches the shelves, cabinets, and the rest of the kitchen. It’s more functional in a pantry that is small in size.
- Chicken wire pantry door — How about going full throttle to bring a farm look into your kitchen? Chicken wire can work wonders when fixed onto your door to resemble a large windowpane.
Check out this post to learn more on which direction the pantry door should open: Do Pantry Doors Open In Or Out?
Do You Paint Both Sides Of A Pantry Door?
Yes, you can paint both the inside and outside of the pantry door. You only have to match the colors to the rest of the kitchen as explained in the two main points in the first section above.
What Color Should The Pantry Be?
Experts recommend white or light colors with a shiny sheen for pantry doors to reflect light so that you can see the spills or stains more easily. Additionally, if the lighting is not very bright, you’ll still be able to see the items on the shelves quite easily.
However, as mentioned, color is a matter of choice, and dark colors can also work just as well in your pantry. However, it would be a good idea to mix a dark color with a light one—for example, a green wall with white shelves.
Look into this other post to learn more about the right color to paint your pantry: What Color Should Pantry Door Be?
What Color Should I Paint My Pantry Shelves?
Just as with the rest of the kitchen, you can play around with colors on your pantry shelves. However, you need to match the colors cohesively to create an appealing kitchen.
For example, you can have crisp white shelves if the pantry walls are gray, or you could have lemon yellow or cottage white shelves to match a similar color on the pantry walls.
Final Thoughts
Matching your pantry door with the cabinets can create the visual appeal you desire for your kitchen. Equally, if you choose not to match them, you can create unique designs that also make your kitchen attractive.
Either way, identify colors and style with the sole purpose of creating a well-blended kitchen that you will enjoy cooking in.
