Ever since men started dwelling in modern houses, the need to utilise the living space thoughtfully evolved consistently. Be it the bedroom or the kids’ room; cupboards became the de facto furniture to organise our belongings. Whether built in-situ, bought off-the-shelf, or even custom-built by a carpenter and delivered – a house cupboard transforms our living space for all good reasons.
What was your typical cupboard like?
Many of us inherited a solid wood vintage house cupboard from our parents or grandparents. To date, you made it a bit of jack of all trades, per se. You store your clothes alone and stash anything and everything in it, along with apparel. Possibly you never thought that your cupboard could be your style statement or an object to enhance the existing room decor.
See also: Sunmica design to take inspiration from
Did you ever think that a house cupboard can have glass shutters unless it’s a book cabinet or a showcase to display collectibles and handicrafts? Have you ever heard of ‘walk-in’ wardrobes?
Don’t you use the top of your house cupboard as a loft to store some extra things as there is quite a gap there up to the ceiling?. Such ‘extra things’ surely look awkward and remain dusty as there are no hatches to cover their ugliness.
Check out our collection of over 30 wardrobe design trends
Can you still consider solid wood for your cupboard makeover?
Modern wardrobes are more ‘functional’ or ‘ornamental’ than their retro cousins. A vintage house cupboard was usually made of solid wood, polished to rich hues like brown or black. They often featured intricately chiselled wood carvings on top of doors or a latticework for embellishment.
Despite all that grandeur attached to traditional wardrobes, they lost their sheen over time. They gradually became misfits in the decor or modern household that demanded that oomph factor from the furniture that was supposed to complement the theme of the design apart from just being the storage place for your apparel.
The modern-day solid wood house cupboard resembles their modern cousins made of ply-boards, mainly featuring three mirror-polished shutters instead of conventional two. They are boasting of a more functional layout of the interior and the adoption of modern hardware. They have reincarnated to be adored by Gen Z and millennials alike.
Also check cement almirah design photo and all about cement cupboard designs
Design to cut out the boredom with trendy house cupboard concepts
The design concept of a modern-day house cupboard, if installed before possession of the home, generally strives to gel with or become part of the interior planning of rooms that house them.
Ever since ‘engineered woods’ like plywood, MDF, HDF, blockboard, particleboard, etc., gradually stole the charm from traditional wood because of their lower cost and modularity, the interior design concepts got a real shot in the arm.
Automated manufacturing processes have come up with endless opportunities not only for engineered wood to be chosen as the preferred material of construction but also for aluminium, glass, or even stone in this regard. Today’s interior planners thus have more tricks up their sleeves to create that magical makeover for you.
Configuring the shape of your house cupboard
You know how much space of the existing room you can share to have that trendy closet in – can it be in a ‘straight-line’, L-shaped or U-shaped? The straight-line layout is the simplest involving only a part or full of one wall, whereas L-shaped involves two with a corner and the extravagant U-shaped layout needs three of a four-walled room.
The house cupboard, in U-shape, with sleek glass shutters, is primarily a walk-in type, huge in storage, and hardly retrofittable in an existing room without disposing of pre-existing furniture.
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However, plan to buy a home, an apartment, or a villa. The architect can make provisions during construction to have a room layout complying with your desired U-shaped closet’s dimensions.
Sliding convenience
Based upon the position of your house cupboard near the entry to a room or afar, you can choose to make its shutters openable or sliding.
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Benefits of sliding shutters include:
- Unobtrusive while open
- Well supported at top and bottom and not on hinges only.
- Smooth functioning on quality hardware and guides, soft closing
An interesting fascia – can double up as functionality
Designer laminates and veneers spice up the plyboards of your wardrobe shutters by adding colour, texture, pattern, grains, etc., to create a signature style statement of that particular room.
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A conventional mirror panel on one of the shutters doubles up as a dresser, while a brown-tinted mirror adds a stunning, reflective look apart from its typical function.
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Design ideas with laminates
Sunmica, one of the earliest and most popular brands of laminates in India, is often confused with being different from laminates. Laminates are a popular surfacing material for a house cupboard. These are made of several layers of phenolic resin bonded papers, melamine, etc. but no wood.
See also: Sunmica colour combinations for your home décor
They come in 8 ft by 4 ft sheets, and thickness varies between 0.6 to 1.5 millimetres. You may choose from the following option to suit your dream design:
- Matte finish – moderately reflective and easy to maintain
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- Textured finish – simulate natural materials like Nappa leather, suede, marble, stone stucco, raw silk, etc.
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- Hi-gloss finish
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- PVC finish
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- Exterior laminates
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Preferred colours in non-textured laminates
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- Grey
- Frosty white
- Beige
- Two-tone – Light cyan with aqua blue, dark grey with wooden brown, etc.
Textured laminates
- Leather-finish (alternative to the actual leather cladding of cupboard hutters)
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- Fabric finish
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- Marble look-alike – matte or glossy
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- Wooden finish
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- Dual colour theme
Wooden finish in the middle and glossy white on top and bottom, dividing a shutter into three horizontal layers makes up for a nice look. A complete antique wood finish can be beautifully enhanced by adding an antique gold profile handle.
Source: https://www.mi.com/global/mi-handheld-vacuum-cleaner/
A hint of gold colour in the handle or profile bordering of shutters creates excellent contrast. Modern-day house cupboards believe in dark colour for the frames and light tone for the drawers and cabinets.
- Artwork, graphics, and geometric patterns
They were never thought of earlier but have found their way to your wardrobe fascia in a big way. An abstract design may reflect your personality, something you resonate with. At the same time, a forest scene may add further depth to the room.
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Design ideas with veneers
Veneers are slices of natural wood and are more expensive than laminates. Their properties hence match those of solid wood. Typicalities of veneer are the following.
- Unlike laminates, they need care needed by solid wood. Such care includes timely cleaning, polishing, PU coating, etc.
- They are recyclable and do not contain volatile organic compounds like formaldehyde.
- Cost more for fixing over plywood compared to laminates
- Usually chamfered at 45 degrees at edges while fixing overboard to avoid peel-off of fibres and better flushing with substrate below and appear as solid wood.
- Being slices of natural timber, their grain pattern remains unique and vendors generally sell them as per similar sheets in stock depending upon area coverage desired by the buyer.
- The post-polish colour and look are emulated by spraying water mist on the surface. The finish depends upon the quality of the polish.
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Design ideas with charcoal sheets
Charcoal sheets are unique PVC-based fire-retardant and waterproof decorative panels that find equal usage as accents equally behind TV cabinets and in shutters of a house cupboard. They can successfully be paired with veneers and laminates at judicious doses to create dramatic effects.
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As ingredients, charcoal imparts strength to the material, while styrofoam or polystyrene imparts resistance to warping. Below are listed your design considerations with charcoal sheets:
- They generally come in two sizes – 8 feet by 2 feet and 8 feet by 4 feet
- Thickness varies between 4-6 mm
- Can have metal inserts and shimmers as accents
- Can emulate materials like cork
- Does not have a surprise finish outcome of veneers.
Design ideas with glass panelled shutters
Using glass shutters in your house cupboard exudes a different opulence by attributing a premium look to it. Examples of design concepts are as follows.
- Tinted glass wardrobe – Openable shutters look nice with brown or grey-tinted toughened glass. Golden metal edging and door-actuated interior lights carve out the beauty.
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- Lacquered glass wardrobe – Available panels are green, white, brown, black, beige, etc. Earlier used in kitchen backsplashes for gloss, now find application in sliding shutters.
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- Glass and mirror wardrobe – Including one or two mirror panels among adjacent glass panels adds depth to the room by reflecting other objects and serving as an alternate dresser.
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- Hybrid glass wardrobe
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- Glass panelled walk-in closet – Looks friendly with tinted glass panels striking a balance between visibility and privacy.
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The limit of creativity is the limit to design iterations in a house cupboard and it won’t cost you a fortune to have that trendy makeover. We all know money cannot buy peace, but this little oasis of peace and wonder can be made real by spending little. The upper limit, however, depends on your budget only.
FAQs
Which cupboard is best for the bedroom?
Comfortable and colourful cupboards with designated mens' and womens' sections are the best. You can have sliding cupboards or long, integrated ones if the bedroom is spacious or compact ones if the bedroom lacks excess space.
What is a fitted cupboard?
A fitted house cupboard is designed to fit the space of your choice - leaving behind no gaps. It runs from the floor to the ceiling and can have multiple layouts - L-shaped, U-shaped, etc.
In which direction should we keep the cupboard?
According to the Vaastu tips, cupboards and heavy objects like almirahs should be placed in the south, the south-west or western direction of the bedroom, and open to the north.