Glass fronts are one of the most requested details in our showroom and one of the easiest to get wrong. Used well they break up a long run of solid doors and give a kitchen somewhere for the eye to rest. Used everywhere, they turn everyday storage into something you have to keep tidy.
Where they earn their place
The best candidates are cabinets flanking a range or a window, an upper run at the end of a galley, or a single tall cabinet used as a display piece. These are positions where the cabinet is seen straight on and where symmetry does the work. We rarely recommend glass on a cabinet holding daily dishes, because the contents change constantly.
Decide what goes inside first
Clear glass is a commitment. If the answer to what goes behind it is groceries, the answer to whether it should be glass is no. Glassware, ceramics and a limited palette of colours photograph and live well. Anything with packaging does not.
Glass types change the commitment
Clear glass shows everything. Seeded and reeded glass give texture and obscure the contents enough that a slightly untidy shelf stops mattering. Frosted goes further still and reads as a design element rather than a display case. Reeded glass in particular has come back strongly and suits both contemporary and transitional kitchens.
Light them properly
An unlit glass cabinet is a dark rectangle in your wall. Interior LED lighting is what makes the detail work, particularly at night, and it is far cheaper to specify at the cabinet order than to retrofit afterwards. Plan the switching at the same time.
