Kitchens are typically quite light, airy spaces, perhaps with some warm accents here and there to mirror the warmth of the cooking process and the giving of food, which is why diverging from the done thing with some dark cabinetry can be so striking!
There’s a crispness to dark cabinets, a much-appreciated tidiness that can visually declutter what is often the busiest, messiest room in the house, and as long as you have decent lighting and some contrasting pale colors about, they won’t overwhelm the space.
Here, I’m going to be running through 15 of the best dark kitchen cabinet ideas that you could make or implement to some extent yourself.
1. Lucente Kitchen Cabinets
This cabinet design doubles down on the neat aesthetic of dark cabinetry by removing all traditional fixtures — No more handles! Operated via indentations that run across the base of the cabinets, if you attempted to make this design yourself, you wouldn’t have to worry about measuring, drilling, and fitting any discrete handles, making it an easier job for the average Joe.
The color here is an extremely dark blue, which I feel adds an extra dimension to a kitchen, although I’m certain they’d look fantastic in a true black as well.
I think this design would suit a modern space to a tee, but without the handle fixtures, it’s probably a bit spare to fit into a traditional kitchen in any cohesive way.
2. Allen & Roth Galway Cabinets
With a dark, sage green hue, these cabinets are a very stylish approach to dark kitchen interior design.
They’re not so dark as to absorb light and shrink the feel of the space, but more than dark enough to grab your eye and create a unique and calming aesthetic.
Structurally, they’re as classic as they come, with depressed centers and exterior frames, bringing together traditional and modern elements in a seamless marriage.
Perhaps they’re not dark enough to really scratch the dark kitchen itch, but it might be worth experimenting with slightly lighter colors before going even darker.
3. Charcoal Gray China Cabinet
This dark china cabinet is a feast for the eyes, yet it’s actually remarkably simple when you really analyze the structural elements at play, meaning you just might be able to make one yourself.
There are hardly any embellishments to worry about, yet it appears quite ornate, and that’s because the color itself is cultivating intrigue and draws the eye, especially as the panes show the lightness of the cupboard within, providing a healthy contrast with the exterior.
4. Home Styles Multi-Cabinet Unit
This expansive unit was clearly designed for kitchens, but I love it so much, I’d be happy to introduce it to pretty much any room in my house and use it for extra storage.
With the ornate, brushed metal fixings, cottage window style upper cabinets, and rich, dark working surface to separate the black paint, it’s the perfect way to bring traditional design into the new age!
As a large unit, it arrives flat-packed, but after some basic assembly, things start to take shape pretty quickly.
5. Usikey Kitchen Buffet Cabinet
If you’re looking for a supplementary cabinet to add the finishing touches to your dream dark kitchen, check out this lovely design from Usikey.
It’s a simple cabinet with lots of different storage options, the perfect balance of do-able DIY and functionality, and the open spaces allow for some ornamental customization to really make your darkling room pop!
6. Loko Kitchen Buffet Cabinet
Here we have a very similar buffet cabinet design, but with an extra lateral support on each side of the platform, it’s a much safer option if you plan on keeping lots of heavy things on top, such as fruit bowls brimming with healthy treats, dishes, or perhaps a microwave.
You can pile things on this robust cabinet platform until you hit the 65 lbs mark, so it’s a great choice if you’re looking for something to do some heavy lifting, and with the addition of pine legs, the unit is incredibly stable in general, so all your crockery can live inside safely!
7. Belleze Kitchen Island Utility Cart Cabinets
A moveable island is a criminally underutilized piece of kitchen furniture, facilitating a modular space that can change throughout the day to suit your needs and throughout the years to suit your tastes.
This Belleze island is perhaps one of the most stylish on the market, but not in the minimal way you’d expect from dark cabinetry. A very angled design, it strikes as rather complex and busy, hinting that something special lies within.
With this in mind, I think it might make a wonderful mini bar of sorts, for all the fancy spirits that you’re saving for a special occasion.
8. Hodedah Kitchen Island Utility Cart Cabinets
Here’s another utility cart option for your viewing pleasure, this time with a simplified structural aesthetic for those who prefer a more low-key modular element that can fade in amongst the established decor whilst stationary.
In my opinion, the countertop is a little bit pale, forming too stark a contrast with the black finish, but that’s easily fixed with a bit of stain.
9. Sauder Edge Water Utility Cart Cabinets
How’s this for a stationary utility cart cabinet unit? Black wood, black platform, black fixtures, black, well… everything. If you’re trying to avoid any glints of silver or brass altogether, it’s a great choice.
The plain build lends itself well to aging, as it has the look of an antique, and the more banged up it gets, the more antiquated it becomes, and the more character it has, which I feel is much better than something that really looks damaged when it gets dinged.
10. Tangkula Kitchen Pantry Cabinet Unit
There’s almost a nod to the nautical in the vertical lines of this Tangkula cabinet unit.
You can picture it in the captain’s cabin of an old ship, opened once a night for a warming nightcap of the whiskey within.
Yet the jet black finish sets some critical distance between traditional and modern aesthetics, so the maritime touch doesn’t overwhelm or seem out of place.
11. Holaki Freestanding Kitchen Pantry Cabinet Unit
This Holaki pantry unit does the same jobs as the previous Tangkula one, but it doesn’t dabble with the past.
With clean edges, straight silver fixtures, and a flat, minimal profile, it’s designed to augment an already incredibly modern kitchen.
Thanks to the sizable countertop, you can use it to store a toaster, a microwave, an electric cooker, and a coffee maker, freeing up some space around the room for an even more modern, minimalist feel.
12. Luxxe Cabinetry Nevada Waste Pull-Out Wastebasket Cabinet
This one would be a little tricky to make yourself, as the pull-out operation requires some decent track work, but good news folks, it arrives fully assembled — Hooray! The lovely “mystic blue” color is to die for and proves that you can take pride in your trash zone.
It takes the nastiest part of any kitchen and transforms it into a tasteful, low-key installation that slides out elegantly when you’re in need of the wastebasket, and silently back in when you’re done — Throwing trash away never seemed so graceful!
13. Allen & Roth Galway Blind Corner Cabinet
We’re back the with Allen & Roth Galway collection for entry number 13, this time with their blind corner cabinet in dark sage green.
This is the way to make the most out of those awkward tight spots in your kitchen, whilst simultaneously making the space look insanely stylish.
Again, it arrives fully assembled, so you needn’t worry about putting it together, but it’s not actually that complex, so if you have a small workshop and you’re handy with a spot of DIY, you could take inspiration from this and make it yourself to save a few bucks.
14. ProCraft Cabinetry Stock Cabinet
Maybe it’s just me, but I loathe kitchen carousels. They’re noisy, take up far too much space, and they make finding dinner way harder than it needs to be.
A much more elegant solution would be something like this dark gray stock cabinet.
Crafted from solid birch, the drawers boast incredible compressive and bending strength, making them a shoo-in for storing all your heavy tinned goods in a neat and orderly fashion, and perhaps best of all, as a Lowes product, it arrives fully assembled and ready for action!
15. Ironck Kitchen Island Cabinet
We’re wrapping things up here with yet another dark kitchen island, but before you get mad, just take a look at this beauty!
Not only is the jet black finish an absolute treat for the eyes, but it’s a transparent stain, so you can see all the gorgeous grain beneath, making it a breathtaking modular option for your dark kitchen design.
Final Thoughts
Was there anything here that really grabbed your attention? I thought so; that’s the beauty of dark kitchen cabinetry. It takes you by surprise in the nicest way, redefining the possibilities of kitchen interior design.
Don’t push your bold side down by treading a well-worn path; do your own thing by choosing some dark cabinetry, and prove that your own creative vision is k
Hi, my name is Joel Adams and I like to think of myself as a professional DIYer. Whatever odd jobs a person needs to be done around the house, I’m their guy.
I’m talking shelves, making sideboards and tables, painting feature walls… the list is neverending!
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