Draw The Eye Up And Make Your Kitchen Look Taller With A Stunning Cabinet Design

There are many time-honored secrets among designers for making a room seem taller and larger than it is. One of these is maximizing vertical lines, which draw the eyes upward toward the top of the room, making it feel more open and, in many cases, larger as a result. While many homeowners have done this with elements like tilework, wood paneling, and striped wallpaper, one place you may not think to use this clever design strategy is your kitchen cabinets. Adding vertical elements to cabinets and drawers can help make your small kitchen look bigger than it actually is.

By giving your cabinet doors a wood-paneled look that runs vertically, you can add texture, dimension, and the feeling of height to even the smallest kitchen spaces. While you can install cabinet doors that already feature a paneled design, you can also DIY them with a few cool budget-friendly projects that add vertical pieces to your existing cabinets. The trick is using small, narrow pieces that don't overwhelm the surfaces. Not only does the technique manipulate the eye, but it can add character and inject a more custom vibe into your space.

Using very thin lumber, like furring strips, is a great way to inexpensively add vertical panels to your kitchen cabinets. You can cut the pieces to the right length, and install them with some wood glue or finishing nails to the doors. You can also make your own strips by cutting wider boards into narrow strips using a table or circular saw. This could be a great chance to repurpose leftover floor scraps you may have from other remodeling projects. There are even many varieties of textured wood or MDF boards that emulate the design, giving you a material that's easier to work with than installing panels strip-by-strip. 

Another great way to achieve vertical lines is by adding molding strips or wooden dowels to the cabinet doors to create your own stylish fluted cabinets. Or use slender wood panels to create a luxurious herringbone look that can dry the eye upward using an arrow pattern. You can also add these vertical elements to other parts of the kitchen, like underneath a center island or at the blank ends of cabinetry.