Where Style Meets Storage: 5 Custom Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

Designing your kitchen cabinet layout comes with lots of decisions. Using the space you have efficiently is key to creating a beautiful and functional kitchen. Have you ever prepared a meal in a kitchen that just felt…off? Nothing was where it felt like it belonged, you couldn’t easily access anything you needed. That’s a poorly designed kitchen.

Compare that to a chef-style kitchen, where each cabinet and drawer is perfectly placed and cooking feels more like a seamless dance. That’s the goal of custom kitchen design.

When it comes to favorite custom kitchen cabinet ideas, we appreciate a hardworking kitchen that makes it look easy. Take a look at these unexpected ways to use custom kitchen cabinets for inspiration.

1. Take Your Cabinets Up—Way Up

Don’t lose valuable storage space, even up high. Have you ever wondered what to do with the awkward empty space between your upper cabinets and the ceiling? The answer is to use that space effectively with custom cabinets.

Take your kitchen cabinetry all the way up to the ceiling and you create a whole extra level of built-in storage possibilities. It isn’t the easiest to access, but it is convenient to store dishes and decor that you only use a few times a year. Instead of storing your festive holiday platters in the garage or in another closet (where you might not remember to look), keep them in the kitchen but still out of the way.

Tip: The structure of your kitchen and ceiling, including your kitchen ceiling height, are important to consider for the height of your kitchen cabinets. Talk to a professional about how you can maximize your kitchen cabinet storage.

2. Built-in Kitchen Island Cabinets

Kitchen islands are beautiful and so convenient for creating the kitchen triangle design that many interior designers swear is still the best way to go. The kitchen triangle refers to the placement of the sink, refrigerator, and stove. Each of these often-used spaces should be one point of the triangle, making it easier to go between them.

One of the best ways to do this is by using a kitchen island. However, what good is an island if it just takes up a big chunk of your kitchen? The best solution is adding built-in kitchen island cabinets and shelving made specifically for your functional needs.

When you consider what feature would make your kitchen island more useful, you might think of a charging station or outlets nestled into the drawers. Or perhaps you would love to see a wine rack or a sliding spice rack in your kitchen island. Whatever custom kitchen cabinet design you can dream up, Gibin Remodeling can make it happen.

3. Hide Your Appliances

The beauty of custom kitchen cabinet design is that you can hide whatever you want, even appliances. This is a great way to keep your kitchen’s visual continuity. Without visible appliances breaking up your cabinet finishes, your eye glides over the space. There are lots of style options and interior designers are loving the custom kitchen cabinet look.

You have a few options for using custom kitchen cabinets to hide appliances, depending on the size of the appliance:

Appliance panels built to copy your cabinet finish (best for refrigerators and dishwashers)
Deep drawers for smaller appliances that you use less frequently
Custom cabinets with built-in storage solutions and power outlets (best for medium-size appliances, like stand mixers and blenders)

4. Create Kitchen Zones

Depending on your lifestyle and kitchen space, the traditional kitchen layout might not work for you. A more modern approach rejects the kitchen triangle and opts for kitchen work zones. This works especially well in spacious or open-concept kitchens.

Kitchen work zones are sections of your kitchen dedicated to specific tasks. Modern families often have more people working in the kitchen together, so no one person needs to access the stove, sink, and refrigerator at once. This way, a kitchen feels more welcoming to teamwork—while keeping out of each other’s way.

Some of your work zones might be:

Prep zone where you have easy access to kitchen tools, knives, cutting boards, and fresh food storage in the refrigerator.
Baking zone where your baking supplies, ingredients, pans, and appliances are kept near the oven, your stand mixer, and your food processor.
Cleaning zone near the sink and dishwasher.
Coffee zone with dedicated storage for your coffee, coffee maker, and accessories such as stirrers, coffee mugs, to-go coffee cups, and frother. Depending on your coffee maker setup, this might be near the stove or a dedicated space for an electric kettle.

Since everyone’s lifestyle is different, this is a great way to personalize your kitchen experience for exactly what you need. Custom kitchen cabinets can keep everything where you need it.

Tip: Over a few weeks’ time, list all the projects you work on in your kitchen—they might surprise you! Then look at your list and consider what zones these projects could fall into and how they could be easier. For example, are you always walking back and forth across the kitchen with knives to take them out, use them, wash them, and put them away? That’s a potential safety issue. Create a zone for prepping your food, washing your knives, and putting them away near the sink and trash can.

5. Custom Pantry Cabinets

Keeping a kitchen pantry organized is no small feat—just look at the many kitchen pantry cabinet organization ideas online.

A well-organized pantry is worth the forethought, though. Pantry organization keeps everything in view when you want it, but hidden when you don’t. Never unexpectedly run out of coffee or pasta or cereal. Even writing your grocery list is a breeze because you can see with a glance what you need to pick up.

Need More Custom Kitchen Cabinet Ideas? We Can Help

Designing a kitchen can be hard work. Should the largest cabinets be closer to the sink or the stove? How can I fit more outlets without compromising the style? If you need design assistance, the professionals at Gibin Remodeling are happy to share decades of experience with you. Contact us today.