This Kitchen Cabinet Upgrade Makes the Biggest Difference, Designers Say

A kitchen is the heart of the home, so making it feel warm, welcoming, and functional for dining and hosting is key. And when it comes to setting the mood of the space, kitchen cabinetry selection is just as important as picking the right paint colors.

There’s one specific cabinet style designers say could be secretly throwing off the balance of your kitchen, and they’re they’re here to reveal exactly what that is, plus a few other trends on the way out in 2026.

Why You Should Swap Out Glass Cabinets

Although gleaming glass kitchen cabinets showcasing perfectly stacked, dreamy-hued dinnerware can seem like an ideal aesthetic choice, the reality of most homes’ kitchens isn’t as picture-perfect.

According to our designers, real-life function is officially in this year, which means saying goodbye to those transparent cabinet doors.

“As we move into 2026, there’s a clear shift away from kitchens that require constant styling to feel finished,” interior designer Marika Meyer explains. “Opaque cabinetry offers something glass cannot: visual containment.”

Home designer Nina Lichtenstein agrees—glass cabinets just provide too much access.

“Even when beautifully organized, they expose repetition, contrast, and clutter, which increases cognitive load over time,” she says. “In open-plan spaces, that visual noise never really turns off.”

Another big drawback to glass cabinets? The amount of cleaning they require to prevent visible dirt, fingerprints, and grime—and this gets even more challenging when you opt for a textured or fluted glass look.

“The grooves of fluted cabinets are notoriously difficult to keep clean, especially in a working kitchen where grease, dust, and food splashes are part of daily life,” design expert Teri Simone says.

3 Other Kitchen Cabinet Trends on Their Way Out

Since practicality is set to be a major priority for kitchens, there are a few other cabinet looks designers anticipate disappearing in 2026 and beyond.

Glossy Finishes

Much like with glass, cleaning and maintenance become a big issue for cabinets with ultra-glossy finishes, which is why they’re being replaced with more matte, lower-sheen painted options, or unpainted cabinets that showcase the natural grain and variety of wood.

“One cabinet trend I see on the way out is high-gloss cabinetry,” Simone says. “High-gloss finishes show fingerprints and wear very easily, and they can make a kitchen feel more like a showroom than a home.”

Open Shelving

After a major surge in Pinterest popularity over the late 2010s to early 2020s, many homeowners started opting for open shelving instead of the traditional kitchen cabinet look. However, Meyer says this style brings another host of practicality issues.

“Open shelves can quickly become dusty and require constant upkeep,” she says. “Many of our clients also find open shelving does not provide the necessary storage solutions for their kitchen essentials, leading to a request for more enclosed cabinetry.”

All-White Cabinetry

When it comes to kitchen cabinet colors, there’s one in particular that has been consistently predicted as on its way out for the past couple years: stark white.

Once loved for the ultra-minimalistic look they provide, all-white cabinets are now viewed as cold and bland, which has no place in today’s world of home trends—these all revolve around comfort, coziness, and personality.

“White isn’t disappearing, but kitchens that feel flat or clinical are being replaced with spaces that exude warmth and character through wood tones, nuanced neutrals, and subtle contrast,” Lichtenstein says.