Eight fitted kitchens, eight cabinet decisions
Contemporary kitchen cabinet design brings simple fronts, useful storage and a coherent material palette into the same plan. It can be pale and restrained, dark and reflective, or deliberately colourful. The most useful starting point is a fitted kitchen with a decision you can identify: where the contrast sits, how tall storage is grouped, or how a worktop turns a corner. These Fadior Real Homes show different answers. Use their photographs to choose a direction, then adapt it to your measured room and daily cooking.
Photographs cannot establish cabinet dimensions or appliance clearances; use the measured drawing and the chosen product’s fitting instructions. A visual reference does not establish storage gains, manufacturing tolerances, market shares or savings; require product evidence before relying on a numerical claim. Costs, delivery periods and guarantees belong to an identified product and supply scope; obtain them in the written order rather than borrowing another range’s figures. Compare how IKEA identifies its separate kitchen systems and guarantees. IKEA also separates measuring, planning and installation.
| Preference | Design move | Check before approval |
|---|---|---|
| A continuous cabinet wall | Slab fronts and a repeated opening method | Try the actual grip and appliance interfaces |
| Contrast without visual clutter | A pale upper band or a separate accent run | Compare the finish samples in the room |
| Some display, mainly closed storage | A limited glazed or open section | Choose the objects and their serving location |
| A fitted Fadior kitchen | 304 stainless steel cabinet body with separately named components | Agree drawings, samples and contract scope |
What gives contemporary cabinets their character?
A contemporary cabinet scheme feels connected because the main decisions repeat with purpose. Align the cabinet fronts, keep a consistent opening method within each run, and let the worktop and wall surface support the composition. Slab doors offer a broad uninterrupted plane; a slender frame or an area of glass can add another layer. Contemporary describes a flexible current approach rather than a single colour or material.
How should you choose the opening method?
Start by trying the cupboard, rather than judging it only when closed. A recessed grip, a rail, a push opening and a visible pull create different hand movements. Test the opening with the worktop edge, an adjacent drawer and the appliance front in place.
A repeated pull can give a plain cabinet wall its rhythm; a concealed grip keeps that wall visually quieter. Our guide to grip and rail choices explains what to compare before you approve the fronts.
Which colour relationship should you repeat?
Decide where the contrast belongs. Pale uppers above dark base units make a different composition from a dark tall wall facing a pale island. Repeat the principal colour across a useful cabinet group, then compare the sample beside the floor, worktop and wall in your own light.
A blue or orange accent can be concentrated on one run rather than scattered around the room. Compare a cream sample and its undertone for a softer starting point. Name the finish and sheen in the order as well as the colour.
How do glass and open shelves change the room?
Glazing and open shelves change what remains on view. Put them where their contents can earn that visibility: glasses near serving, or a display away from preparation. Keep bulk food, cleaning products and mixed packaging in closed storage.
In the dark kitchen with glazed cupboards, the glass band breaks up a dark run without removing the base storage. Glass is its own door material; a metallic-looking or wood-effect surface should also be described by its actual construction.
What should sit behind the clean cabinet fronts?
Write down the items you store before choosing the internal arrangement. Place cookware near cooking, cleaning supplies beside the sink and daily crockery where it can move easily between washing and serving. Compare drawer access with a hinged cupboard for the objects you use most.
Compare full-height storage with a ceiling gap; keep daily shelves reachable. Plan a home for small appliances and their leads instead of assuming every worktop will stay empty. The storage zones and daily routines guide helps turn this inventory into a cabinet schedule.
How should the cabinet plan fit the room?
Draw the route through the kitchen with the appliance doors open. An island adds another working face, while a peninsula attaches that face to an existing run. A galley faces parallel runs; a U-shaped arrangement links several counters but needs a considered corner.
A one-wall plan keeps the working run together. Select the arrangement from the usable room, not from another home’s photograph. Check the actual appliance dimensions, ventilation instructions, service positions and finished wall measurements. For narrow spaces, use our parallel-run planning guide before adding seating.
How do the cabinet body, fronts and worktop differ?
Fadior specifies 304 stainless steel cabinet bodies. Its standard door panels are also 304 stainless steel; glass, mirror and sintered-stone faces keep their own material descriptions. The Foshan manufacturing process includes sheet-metal cutting, bending, welding, coating and assembly.
Those construction decisions sit behind the visible design. Worktops, hardware, appliances and site materials each follow their own documents. Use the countertop and cabinet coordination guide to connect the selected surfaces with their support and cutout requirements, then approve the actual finished sample.
What should you ask for before placing the order?
Turn the visual direction into a named specification. The measured plan should show the cabinet runs, opening directions and appliance models. The elevation shows how drawer and door lines meet, including tall units and glazing.
Request the actual finish sample and an itemised quotation with the supply and site responsibilities identified. IKEA’s kitchen styles and cabinet-front catalogue separates its own fronts and system options; compare a supplier’s exact product rather than transferring the appearance of one range to another. Keep any component guarantee with the product it describes.
Bring these items to the design meeting
- Measured walls, windows, doors and service positions.
- Exact appliance models and their fitting documents.
- A list of stored items and daily preparation tasks.
- Door, worktop and floor samples viewed together.
- A marked-up elevation and an itemised supply-and-site quotation.
How should a Fadior specification record the choice?
Use the drawing and component schedule to make the final choice explicit. Fadior’s cabinet-body structural warranty is 30 years; terms per contract. Record front finishes, worktop material, fittings and appliance models individually so their separate specifications remain clear. The cream-and-charcoal fitted kitchen is a useful visual reference for contrasting cabinet groups, while the rounded white fitted example shows a different outline. Bring the references that answer your own room’s needs to a Fadior design consultation.
Does contemporary kitchen cabinet design mean handleless doors? Contemporary cabinets can use a grip, rail or visible pull. Test the opening with drawers and appliances.
Can a contemporary kitchen use more than one colour? Yes. Tie the contrast to a cabinet group, then compare finish samples in the room.
Should every wall cupboard have glass doors? Choose glass for display. Keep mixed packaging and bulk items behind closed fronts.
Is an island essential? No. Compare an island with a peninsula, galley or U-shaped plan using the measured room and appliance openings.
What parts of a Fadior kitchen are stainless steel? Fadior cabinet bodies and standard door panels are 304 stainless steel. Other front materials and components follow their own specifications.
