Add Texture To Your Kitchen With A Timeless Glass Trend

Glass-fronted cabinets can be a great way to add some subtle, vintage-inspired charm to your kitchen. A timeless and elegant kitchen cabinet style, they not only make a space feel lighter, larger, and more open than a wall of standard cabinets, they also provide a means to display your favorite dishware. While the popularity of glass-fronted cabinets has waxed and waned through the decades, the trend is beginning to re-emerge in design circles. Textured glass, which has a rich history dating back to early glassmaking,  is a rising alternative that boasts many of the same benefits of regular glass with a stylish spin. 

Though they are timelessly stylish, glass cabinet doors can also be a bit of a pain in the neck. The glass can be difficult to keep clean, as fingerprints and dust tend to build up on the glass in relatively short order. Like open shelving, they also reveal everything inside. This can be a great incentive to keep your cabinets neatly organized and clean, but it can also be a detriment if you have some dishware you'd rather not show off. 

Textured glass can be a beautiful complement to a range of kitchen styles. It comes in the very popular fluted version with vertical lines, as well as more organic textures like waves, botanicals, scallops, and rounded shapes. Speaking with LivingEtc., designer Kailee Blalock of House of Hive Design noted a rising trend in these styles. "Textured glass brings a perfect balance of style and function to the kitchen," she said. "Glass with subtle patterns, like Arctic, Flemish, or Cathedral glass, is becoming increasingly popular." Traditional glass can read as cottage or farmhouse-inspired, but if you're going for a more chic and modern look, textured glass may be the way to go. Even stained glass with a dash of color is making an elegant comeback in modern homes. 

Though installing entirely new cabinets or replacing clear glass cabinets with new textured glass can be expensive, a cost-friendly alternative is using one of the many textured glass films like this Kromapolis Window Privacy Film, which is available for less than a dollar per square foot from Amazon. These films are simple to install and clean, and they can also be easily changed out when you want something new or are changing your kitchen's look. For vintage-style kitchens, opt for botanicals or classic fluted cabinets, while gently frosted or geometric textures can give a contemporary kitchen a polished look.