Cabinet Trends: Kitchens Still Rule the Roost

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It has long been said that the kitchen is the heart of the home, and clearly kitchens continue to assert their dominance in design trends for 2025, actually stealing space from other parts of the house.

In the big picture, it doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict kitchens will continue to dominate cabinets in residential construction and remodeling projects. It appears that so-called Transitional designs will continue to dominate, and projects might get bigger as kitchens expand into space previously occupied by dining rooms. Paint finishes are still on top, but the color pallet is changing and wood looks continue strong. Construction methods are less a matter of design trends and more a matter of shop preferences. And, technology continues to take a bigger role.

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What’s in a style?

Let’s take a minute to explore style nomenclature because there are no hard and fast rules. Most designers describe the Transitional style, which has dominated many of these surveys for years, as clean lines with some embellishments. Call it Shaker-style doors with added crown moulding or other decorations. Traditional could cover everything from raised panel doors to lots of mouldings, corbels and the like.

From the cabinet shop perspective, the ever-popular Shaker door (including the trendy slim Shaker door), could well be the focus of a Transitional kitchen, a pure Shaker kitchen, a Craftsman kitchen, or even a Farmhouse kitchen. Let the designer sort it out.
But the trend to look for from the shop perspective is potentially more orders for raised-panel or raised-panel-look (MDF) doors after years of nearly nothing but Shaker.

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Paint still big
Look for the vast majority of those doors to be painted. Paint remains the leader in cabinet finishes, but wood looks and stains are remaining strong. And white is still the king in kitchens, accounting for a third of all kitchens.

But wood tones command about a quarter of all the kitchens built. That includes real wood in light, dark, and medium tones, and all the new wood-look panel products, including textured laminates. Anecdotally, we still hear that rift-sawn white oak dominates the requests for wood in cabinet shops.

Past white and wood, a bunch of other colors come in as both main colors and accents, each accounting for 6% or less of the market. Those include, in descending order, gray (remember when everything was gray?), green, blue, a color Houzz calls “greige,” black, and brown.

Mixed styles, ages
Speaking of styles, looks, and design trends, the American Society of Interior Designers predicts a significant trend for 2025 is more mixing of styles and cultural narratives. “Timeless craftsmanship and nostalgia are making a comeback, with designers incorporating historical elements, vintage furnishings, and handcrafted details into modern spaces,” ASID reports. “This blending of styles reflects a growing consumer demand for sustainable, long-lasting designs that tell unique stories.”