The modern design of the houses still includes a lot of millwork, making the home look cozy and authentic. Meanwhile, new technologies help combine antique art’s features with maximum comfort and safety.
Millwork can be found in any part of the house, starting with the bedroom and living room and ending with the kitchen and working area. Cabinets and decorative elements – all of these can be great examples of wooden craft art.
First, the millwork design will look great in the kitchen area and can help you create a very practical and efficient environment. And cabinets are one of the most obvious examples.
- Type of the cabinets. There are hundreds of options; of course, we will not cover them. But we will give you some ideas which are getting more and more popular among the designers but which you probably have never met before:
– metal grates instead of traditional glass doors. This is one of the most practical millwork designs for the last years as that is how you still can see through the grates, but at the same time, there is no necessity to keep everything in perfect order. Additionally, thanks to this tendency, you can easily adjust any style to your kitchen. The only disadvantage of this cabinet’s hardware is that you will need to put a little bit more effort into cleaning it, but with proper organization and a well-maintained kitchen hood, you can be assured that this will not bother you too much;
– meanwhile, glass doors can still be considered a good option unless they are fully transparent (which will not only show all the possible mess you may have inside but also look pretty boring and simple). Darkened glass or glass with patterns will help you to create a cozy and nice atmosphere for any kitchen cabinets;
– floating cabinets. This is a key and the easiest way to add ultra-modern design to your kitchen. You can still use them for most purposes (except keeping too heavy items inside). Moreover, today you can find a great number of the most efficient and convenient solutions;
– antique design. The best example of old-fashioned cabinets which still can add extra charm to any kitchen is the Chippendale cabinets. Despite their complexity, they still can be adjusted to almost any house – you just need to find some details within the room which can match the color and the overall image of the furniture;
– correct color in accordance with the design. Before making a plan to paint the walls and arrange all the details in the kitchen, you first need to choose an exact design (or at least style) of the cabinets you are planning to implement. This can drastically influence the theme of the rooms themselves. Thus, many specialists are advised to pay attention to pastel colors and tints, which can be considered a sound alternative and vivid golden mean between practical dark colors and cozy light themes. Additionally, it’s much easier to find proper cabinet hardware for this type of color. - Wood types for cabinets. Despite the main characteristics of the wood you choose – its quality and durability – the final construction’s look also play an essential role, especially if we are talking about the renovated and fully equipped kitchen. Here are the most common and popular tendencies in modern kitchen millwork design:
– Oak. This is the most typical wood you may find in the cabinets design. It’s easy for curving work and making various shapes, solid enough to keep heavy items. An additional benefit, especially regarding the red oak, is relatively low cost;
– Pine. This is the perfect option if you can arrange some rustic interior without paying extra for some authentic items and decorative elements. Despite it being pretty cheap and simple, nowadays you can find great examples of rural art, both regarding the furniture and some small elements (which we will cover below);
– Maple. This is a perfect idea for custom cabinets but also can be found in a massive market (but a more expensive segment). A variety of colors and unusual textures can impress and help to create indeed a unique atmosphere of the room and house overall (that is why you can find it throughout different parts of the house);
– Cherry. The overall look of this type of wood makes it a perfect candidate for the classic interior of the kitchen. Meanwhile, you can also expect that this wood will serve you for a long period of time, especially if it was treated against scratches and other damages;
– Ash. The main distinguishing feature of ash is its light coloring themes which are hard to find within other types of wood. - Custom cabinets. Tailored-made items are becoming more and more popular, which is one of the main features of modern house design (as we all know, several decades ago, when the massive market occupied the main niche in production, most middle-class houses and apartments looked pretty the same unless the owners could afford to spend double or even triple cost for the individual projects). Today it’s much easier to arrange custom furniture that will fully reflect your vision of good taste and comfort for you and your family.
Today you can easily find many design contractors who specialize in creating custom cabinets according to the client’s projects. Moreover, you don’t even need to spend hours and days looking for an appropriate design online or in magazines – you can just give the basic requirements and wishes and check the options the millwork designer will give you.
Among the most common features of custom cabinets are special curving, the usage of specific hardware and decorative elements, and the choice of colors and the shape of the furniture. - Decorative elements for the kitchen. Millwork design is not only the main frame of the cabinet. It’s a lot of small details which can easily help you to create an authentic atmosphere that will be the most comfortable for you.
a) Wooden table from natural materials is one of the easiest and, at the same time, extravagant ways to express yourself. Such a table will fit the kitchen, dining, and even living room if it properly harmonizes with the overall interior. To help create this necessary harmony, you can choose the variants with implemented glass or marble elements and add them to the room’s design.
b) Wooden cutleries and plates – one more interesting idea, especially if you are addicted to the rustic concept. Of course, it can be pretty challenging to use this type of cutleries daily, but it can become a great addition to the main interior of the kitchen.
c) Chairs, lamps, vases, souvenirs – all of it can add extra charm. Moreover, many professional designers recommend not hiding everything inside the cabinets but to demonstrate the most essential and authentic elements.
Millwork at bedrooms
The kitchen is important but not the only room you can use the millwork. Let’s look at the modern closet design you can use to make your house look more interesting without sacrificing its comfort and convenience for daily life and routine.
There are three main types of closets where you can implement millwork.
Walk-in closet. This is an option for big houses, and as soon as you can afford to allocate the closet in a separate room, you have many more options for its design and arrangement. Usually, such a closet is pretty simple as you don’t need to think about how to save space and input too many organizers. The main thing you need to check before implementing the walk-in closet is to ensure the corners and angles are used as minimum as possible because it can cause unnecessary inconvenience and difficulties.
Wardrobe. This is a traditional concept that doesn’t require pre-arrangements, as the wardrobe can be set at any part of the room or corridor. This is a great idea for big rooms, while small bedrooms can cause overloading and obstacles for moving (especially when you open it to choose the clothes). But if you choose this type of closet, it’s highly recommended to pay attention to the options with huge mirrors on the doors – it will not only be practical but also help add extra space to the room visibly.
Also, sliding doors will help avoid inconvenience in narrow areas, especially corridors. Finally, built-in wardrobes can become a great combination between traditional wardrobes and reach-in millwork closets.
Reach-in closet. This type of closet design requires much more attention to detail as you need to arrange the space inside the wall with proper access to all the shelves and hangers. The width, in this regard, is much more important than the depth (additionally, in most cases, the construction of the houses and the rooms will not allow you to arrange a reach-in closet too deep inside the wall). Also, the entrance height can be significant as it will be more convenient to arrange more hunger than shelves and drawers. Double-tiered systems, in this regard, are one of the most commonly used ways of organizing space.
Millwork today is not just a necessary part of house arrangements. It’s an art, the main goal of which is to create a comfortable and sustainable area in every house despite its size and interior overall. The most important part of this sphere is to choose a proper wooden material according to its solidity, flexibility for the curving, color, and some additional features depending on the particular area and climate you are planning to use it.
