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If you want to upgrade your kitchen, glass front cabinets elevate the style of any kitchen and give it an upscale feel. Best of all, you don’t even have to replace your cabinets! Glass doors can be added to your current cabinet setup to give the space a whole new look for a fraction of the cost.
There are some pros and cons to glass front cabinets, however. Here’s everything you need to know about choosing glass doors vs. solid wood ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinets.
“Glass front cabinets create an illusion of depth to make your kitchen appear larger, giving you more options for darker elements.”
Pros and Cons of Glass Doors
It’s important to consider all the details when choosing glass cabinet doors.
Pros
Brightness
Glass reflects light, so it’s a great choice for a dark or small room. Glass front cabinets create an illusion of depth to make your kitchen appear larger, giving you more options for darker elements.
Display
Glass front cabinets reveal everything inside, so you can show off that beautiful crystal or crockery. If you prefer not to have the contents of your cabinet on display, you can get frosted glass that gives the same look with a little more discretion.
Versatility
No matter if you have a traditional, modern, or transitional kitchen, you can find glass doors to match. They come in clear, seeded, textured, stained, and leaded, giving you all the options you need to suit your kitchen.
Easy to Clean
Glass doors are just as easy to clean as any other glass in your home. With an all-purpose cleaner, you can wipe down that grease and grime much faster than some other types of cabinets.
Cons
High Maintenance
If you want to display some of your kitchen goods, glass is perfect. But that also means you have to keep things tidy or your kitchen will look messy and cluttered. If you need a lot of storage space and tend to cram a lot into your cabinets, solid wood RTA cabinet options or custom cabinetry in Austin may be the better option.
Price
Glass front cabinets add a luxurious touch to your kitchen, but that may come at a higher price. Glass can also be fragile and more vulnerable to damage, meaning you may need to replace them more often in a well-used kitchen.
Dirt and Grime
Glass may be easy to clean, but it also shows the dirt, grime, grease, fingerprints, and smudges than all wood RTA cabinets. You have to clean not only the glass but the nooks and crannies where the glass meets the frame, which can be quite a job.
Safety Hazards
Glass is typically used for upper cabinet doors in homes with children and pets because it’s easy for lower cabinet glass to get broken. If you want glass, avoid placing it in lower cabinets or high-traffic areas that are likely to get in the way.
What to Look for with Glass Kitchen Cabinet Doors
Do you still have your heart set on glass kitchen cabinet doors? Great! Here are some tips to avoid the cons.
Stay Organized
If the idea of having clear, open cabinets seems impossible in your busy kitchen, it’s time to get organized. Not every item in your kitchen needs to go in your glass cabinets, and you probably need to declutter anyway.
Here are some items that look great in glass cabinets:
- Coffee mugs
- Teacups
- Cookbooks
- Ornaments
- Glassware
- Attractive bowls and dishes
- Crockery
If you want to use some of that cabinet space practically, you can store things like Tupperware with food as long as it looks neat and tidy.
Avoid Clear Glass
If that level of organization seems out of reach, you can get the look of glass cabinets with different types of glass that obscure the contents of your cabinets a bit. Here are some options:
- Leaded glass has unique patterns to match your home
- Textured glass comes in different opacity to be as open or discrete as you want (plus it hides smudges!)
- V-grooving blends frosted texture with some clear glass, so you can highlight the good stuff and hide the unattractive pieces
Keep It Safe
If you’re worried about glass cabinet doors breaking in the course of using your kitchen, there are ways around it. Tempered glass is available, which is a type of safety glass that has more strength and durability. You could also keep the glass cabinets out of reach of pets or in low-traffic areas of your kitchen.
Shop for Glass Cabinet Doors from Luxury Cabinet Manufacturers in Austin
Dreaming of glass front cabinets in your home? National K&B Cabinetry is a premier cabinet door manufacturer in Austin. We offer a range of options for high-quality, durable glass front cabinet doors, full cabinets, and wood cabinet designs in Austin. Browse our showroom!