Textured? Frosted? Leaded? With so many beautiful options, choosing the best glass cabinet insert for your kitchen can be a hard decision.

Today, the market is full of many interesting choices for cabinet door glass inserts, and kitchen designers are incorporating them in a number of unique ways to create character and eye-popping appeal to the space. Depending on the type of glass, lighting options, placement and what’s being displayed, your cabinetry can transform from simply functional to fully aesthetic – creating a work of design art.

Let’s look at the five main choices for glass cabinet inserts for your kitchen.

Transparent

This is the most common and traditional style of glass. While it may be considered plain, it is also the fail-safe choice for long-standing beauty. You can select a solid glass insert or go with something more traditional, like divided-glass cabinet doors. The downside to transparent glass is that everything is visible, so if your cabinets are going to be used to store potato chips or mismatched glassware, a solid cabinet door is a better choice.

Frosted

Frosted glass inserts are best suited for a modern style. To achieve this look, the glass is blasted with sand or grit. While frosted glass does screen the front of the cabinet, it doesn’t mean that the glass is opaque. You’ll still have to be mindful of what will be stored inside.

Textured

Textured glass offers great eye appeal and is also popular for bathroom cabinetry. The glass is made by molding or embossing it with a pattern to create a more tactile appearance. Textured glass comes in many styles, including pebbled, beveled, ribbed and grooved. Textured glass is a popular design trend, however, so you may run the risk of having your kitchen look dated down the road.

Seeded

If the vintage look is what you have in mind for your kitchen, seeded glass is something that dates back to Colonial times. Its old-fashioned look makes it a natural choice for cottage or Shaker-style kitchens. The glass is made by creating pockets of bubbles within the glass, and because it is hand crafted, it is a more expensive option.

Leaded

If you are looking for a traditional, yet elegant space, leaded is the ideal choice. Leaded glass, according to Houzz, has an artisanal quality, plus you can further customize it to match your design. For example, you could create a Gothic finish, add a splash of color, etc.

Designing the Perfect Combination of Cabinets

Keep in mind that using the right combination of glass and wooden fronts takes experience. While you could easily pick out a few inserts from a catalog or online, finding the style of glass that best suits your kitchen design and your budget is not as easy as it sounds. It is all about finding a balance between shelving, glass inserts and accents, and you’ll want to consider the square footage you are working with to achieve the right look so that you don’t overdo it. By working with a design professional, you will save yourself the aggravation of going at this alone and making costly mistakes along the way.

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