Give Your Kitchen A Retro Look With This Old School Cabinet Design

"Newstalgia" has been the watchword for cultural trends in the U.S. for several years now, influencing everything from the Y2K fashion craze to a renewed interest in vintage dessert fads that deserve to make a comeback — home decor is no exception. Though the elegant curves and three-dimensional paneling of the traditional and transitional decor movements had their moment, current trends embrace the sleek yet cozy modernity of the 1950s and '60s — with a 21st-century spin, of course.

This shift may be most evident in the latest popular kitchen designs, with flat-front cabinets and clean, geometric lines overtaking the decoratively trimmed door fronts, panels, and table legs that characterized interiors in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, that doesn't mean kitchens are becoming boring, flat, and white with gray cubes — quite the opposite. Accompanying the return of flat-front cabinets and geometric hardware is a resurgence in vintage colors. Pale lemon yellow, seafoam green, and pastel bubblegum pink bring brightness and life to these clean, simple cabinet choices.

A return to vintage style may also be motivated by practicality, as flat-front cabinets are easier to degrease with common pantry items. All they need is a little dish soap and hot water, as there are no nooks and crannies to hide dust and grime (unlike grooved cabinet designs). This also holds true for the matching hardware of choice — long, slender black or metallic handles made from rounded rods with soft corners are easy to grip, clean, and adhere to the clean lines of this modern retro trend.

The biggest drawback to embracing flat-front kitchen cabinet doors with elongated hardware is that these design elements can feel very stark or industrial if you're not careful. Of course, if your goal is an industrial aesthetic, this is a great place to start. However, if you want a modern, easy-to-clean kitchen that still feels warm and cozy, you'll have to choose your other design elements carefully to avoid feeling like you're in a corporate break room.

The best place to start is color. Gorgeously saturated earth tones, wood finishes, or soothing pastel hues will go a long way toward warming up your space. The next choice to make is hardware color. Black, white, and silvery finishes, such as brushed nickel, work well with lighter colors and blonde wood tones like salted oak. Brass and polished gold glow beautifully against darker colors, such as deep sage green and wood stains like cherry or walnut.

Other great ways to cozy up your space include transforming your accent wall by using a vintage sheet. Be sure to choose fabric with a color that matches or coordinates with your cabinets. Blue cornflowers would go well with pastel blue cabinets, while mauve roses could coordinate beautifully with darker finishes, especially earthy greens. Carry the same color palette into your flooring with coordinating tiles in classy geometric patterns — such as larger hexagons or an alternating checkered square pattern — to keep everything feeling cohesive and intentional.