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Countertop Styles to Match Your Kitchen Cabinets

In the kitchen design industry, traditionally, cabinets are chosen after countertops. That is to say that kitchen countertop is the anchor (hardware and appliances not included) of a kitchen’s overall style and design. There are many reasons for this, but if you find yourself in the opposite position – with perfectly good, stylish cabinets and countertops that need updating – no need to worry. You can still maximize your kitchen’s function and aesthetic.

Matching your kitchen countertops with its current cabinets isn’t all that different or more difficult than vice versa. The process may require different costs and may take longer depending on the type of countertops you choose, but the actual matching of styles is achievable. Also, it only gets easier each year, because innovation in the design industry never stops. Here’s what you need to know about countertop styles to match your kitchen cabinets:

Budgeting

Your overall budget is an unavoidable factor in pretty much every design project. Where it concerns matching the style of your kitchen countertops to its cabinets is pretty basic. There are less costly countertop material options for smaller budgets, such as laminate and certain types of tile. These offer different colors, patterns, and finishes, which make it relatively easier to match countertop and cabinet styles. For larger budgets, you have access to more expensive, luxurious countertop materials, such as marble (a natural stone). With these, though, you have a limited range of colors and patterns, which makes matching styles more difficult.

Color & Texture

All things considered, matching your countertops’ style to your cabinetry will come down to how colors, textures (…and perhaps patterns) coordinate. For example, if you have some variation of brown wooden cabinets, a granite countertop with seams and specks of brown will do great to aid in matching the style of your countertops to your cabinets.

Let Your Backsplash Help

When imagining the issue at hand – how to match your countertop style to your cabinet style – you may be (in your thoughts) looking down at your countertops and then up at your upper cabinets. You may also have missed the in-between – your kitchen backsplash. If you have a plain backsplash, or worse, no backsplash, then consider redesigning it strategically to help your countertop style match your cabinets.

The Power of the Island

If you have a kitchen island, then you should know and take advantage of the idea that, while your cabinets may all be the same, your perimeter cabinets and your island’s cabinets don’t need to be exactly identical regarding style. If you’re trying to get your countertops’ style to match your cabinets, think about using different colors between your perimeter and island cabinets. Heck, think about contrasting their colors. Perimeter and island cabinets that have contrasting colors may create an avenue for your countertops to be a bridge between the two, effectively matching styles.