Why You Should Think Twice Before Investing In Matte-Finish Cabinets

There's a lot to love about matte kitchen cabinets — they soften your kitchen's aesthetic, give it a lot more visual texture, and do a pretty great job at hiding smudges and scuffs. There's a lot about them that might not exactly be to your liking, however, including the fact that they're a little harder to clean and may have chipping issues depending on what was used to achieve the finish. There's also the issue of cost; the special coatings used to achieve a matte finish are pricier than a regular paint job.

But there's one con to matte finishes that more people need to talk about, and that's how they can make your kitchen feel smaller. Matte kitchen cabinets can make a room darker because the finish has a mildly rough texture that scatters light instead of directly reflecting it. With less light bouncing around, you effectively see less of the kitchen, making it appear smaller to the eye. While it may not be among the worst design choices you can make in a kitchen, the effect does get more pronounced if you're working with limited space to begin with.

If you want some of the benefits of a matte finish without compromising the visual space of your kitchen, you might want to try an alternative like semi-gloss paint. The finish can hide smudges while also offering a little bit of light reflection. You can also try a satin finish, which is a step below semi-gloss in its reflectivity, but still offers a similarly soft elegance to matte.

If you really have your heart set on a matte finish for your cabinets, there are a few things you can do to compensate for their space-shrinking effect. If your kitchen is near any windows, for example, you can use sunlight to enhance your kitchen's aesthetic with the help of light-colored floors. Well-placed mirrors can bounce more sunlight around the space, and also make a room feel bigger by adding the illusion of depth. Mixing your matte cabinets with reflective materials elsewhere can also really open up the space and add some delightful textural contrast.

Using the right color scheme makes your kitchen look bigger, too, so you want to work with a palette of light, neutral hues if you're planning on having matte-finish cabinets. In particular, white and beige help expand the space because they reflect more light than other colors. If the thought of sticking with just neutrals already feels too drab to you — especially if you're sick of millennial gray — don't be afraid to look into soft, cool tones like sage green and light blue. These colors create the illusion of space by reminding you of the natural environment.

Lastly, one of the simplest and most effective ways to make a kitchen feel larger is by reducing clutter wherever you can. You can, for example, give a tiny kitchen more storage with a simple addition like a microwave cart, which drastically cuts down on clutter by moving larger objects away from the visual center of your space. With proper organization, you can have your cake and eat it, too — or in this case, have your matte cabinets and a roomy kitchen.