5 Ways to Make a Wall of Boring Cabinetry More Interesting

I’m always looking for ways to add interest to a wall of boring cabinetry.

Everyone loves lots of cabinets but high end interiors always go beyond just providing lots of storage, they make it interesting with special features, details and materials.

Today I’m sharing ways to break up a wall of boring cabinetry and make it more interesting!

1. Incorporate material and color changes.

2. Break up the run of cabinets with open shelving and glass panels.

3. Add features like metal strips and embellishments.

4. Tambour paneling makes an interesting cabinet face material.

5. Large decorative cabinet pulls and knobs can make a big statement on plain cabinetry.

Let’s see some examples.

1) Incorporate material and color changes.

I liked this kitchen cabinetry combination, seen at KBIS 2025, with oak and a teal painted cabinet combination.

This kitchen, below, was a combination of white cabinetry, seen on the side wall there, and dark wood. The brass mesh panels in the wood doors broke up the dark cabinetry too.

KBIS 2025

I thought this was an interesting detail in the Fabuwood Cabinetry booth to have a wood wine rack section inserted not only in the base cabinetry but through the countertop as well.

KBIS 2025

Two tone looks like this one add interest, can visually separate work zones and create focal points in a kitchen.

KBIS 2025

2) Break up a run of cabinets with open shelving and glass panels.

These glass panel cabinets with no back allow for a more open feel around the range hood, as well as highlighting the backsplash tile.

Open shelving wood boxes, inserted into a wall of plain, slab front cabinets, makes for an interesting wall feature.

Covered Bridge Cabinetry at KBIS 2025

KBIS 2025 - Wood cabinet interiors behind glass panel doors creates a custom look in this kitchen.

On this wall of white cabinetry, below, I designed a wood open shelving box to break up the plain look. Pulling the tile backsplash up behind that shelf also helped to add contrast and interest.

Kitchen design remodel project - Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer

Here’s another open shelf idea with a wood paneled back breaks up a long wall of white upper cabinets on one of my projects. The brackets dying into the countertop makes an ideal place for an intentional transition of backsplash material.

Kitchen design remodel project - Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer

3) Add features like metal strips and embellishments.

While we used to add carved moulding details back in the “Tuscan kitchen” era, these days, designers are using metal features to add interest to cabinetry.

KBIS 2025 - Brass mesh panels and brass strips add details to this wood cabinetry.

Metal grilles create an interesting texture on these cabinet drawer fronts.

Brass details add polish and elevate this European kitchen style.

4) Tambour paneling makes an interesting cabinetry face material.

As I mentioned in this post about KBIS trends, tambour wood paneling was seen throughout the show.

Tambour doors on a bathroom vanity

I designed this kitchen last year for a client and we used stained wood tambour paneling on the hood to add warmth and a modern feature to this kitchen with a simple cabinetry style.

Kitchen remodel project - Carla Aston, Designer

5) Large decorative cabinet pulls and knobs can make a big statement on plain cabinetry.

Some of the unique statement cabinet pulls seen at KBIS 2025, pictured below.

In The New American Home I toured just outside of Las Vegas, these plain wood cabinets in the kitchen would have been pretty boring without the substantial brass pulls.

Are you considering a kitchen remodel? You might want to check out these posts to see if you want to go all in or do a partial redo.

This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.