5 Benefits of Double Stacked Kitchen Cabinets

by Samanth Rose

 

Did you ever notice that some of the best things in life come double stacked? Like when you stack multiple sandwiches on top of each other to make a club sandwich, or multiple levels of seats on a double decker bus.

Turns out your kitchen might be improved with double stacked cabinets, where you have not just one row of wall cabinets but two stacked one on top of the other. 

Not only will a second row of cabinets reaching toward the ceiling give your kitchen a sense of uplift, there are several benefits of double stacked kitchen cabinets. Here are 5:

 

1) Extra Storage

One of the major benefits of double stacked cabinets is the extra storage potential.

This is particularly useful for items like antique dishes or family heirloom table linens that don’t get used too frequently but that you want to keep stowed away and secure. If you have precious kitchen items you don’t want to throw away, but still you desire to maintain a neat, uncluttered kitchen, double stacked cabinets can make that possible.

 

2) Take Advantage of Otherwise Wasted Space

Many homes have high ceilings in the kitchen. While this can provide an overall sense of spaciousness, it also often results in wasted space. Rather than leave your floors and countertops cluttered, you can take advantage of the unused vertical space for storage.

As you’re planning for two rows of cabinets, you’ll want to take into consideration exactly how much space you have and how to maximize its potential. 

While some homeowners plan their cabinetry to literally touch the ceiling, this can sometimes produce a claustrophobic feeling. Instead, you want to make sure you leave some space between your top row of cabinets and the ceiling, even if it’s just in a few selected spots.

For example, if you have exposed beams in your kitchen, you’ll want to keep some space surrounding the beams so that they stand out, then leave the space between the beams clear to emphasize that sense of openness. 

 

3) Avoid the “Frat House” Look

Unless you home is in fact a fraternity house, you probably want your home to have a more refined feel.

Think back to your college days, and you probably remember how the typical frat house looked, with rows of half empty alcohol bottles on top of the shelves. While this may make for easy access and a continuous party atmosphere, now that you’re a full-fledged adult, you can keep any alcohol you may have on the premises behind closed cabinet doors.

While you might incorporate a high-end wine refrigerator or specialty designed racks to display your favorite bottles, your kitchen will appear more elegant with the rest of the alcohol kept inside a cabinet. If you have young children, it’s a good idea to keep these far up and out of reach.

4) Beautiful Visuals 

By adding a row of extra cabinets, you can enhance the visual potential of your kitchen.

Most homeowners who feature double stacked cabinets in their kitchen use glass panes for at least some of the cabinet doors and maybe add in some open shelving too. This opens up ample possibilities for decoration.

Because you have more cabinet space overall, you can have enough closed doors for everything you want to keep hidden away and still have open space for any aesthetically beautiful items you might want to display.

 

5) Just Keep it Simple

When you add an extra row of cabinets to your walls, you want to be sure to keep it simple. In an important way, the cabinets themselves are an extra design feature, so you don’t want to go overboard with additional moldings and trim.

Also, don’t forget that you’ll have a whole extra row of cabinets to clean in a harder-to-reach space, so don’t make things more difficult than it needs to be. We recommend the simplicity of Shaker cabinets like our ready-to-assemble Essex Cabinet Collection, or flat slab panel cabinets, like our assembled Matrix Greystone Collection. These will be easiest to quickly wipe down. Further, you’ll notice these collections of ours feature wall cabinets that are 12”, 15”, 18”, or 24” in height, so you’ll have a variety of options as you’re planning your stack.

Curious how double stacked cabinets might look in your kitchen? If so, we can help you out with a FREE customized layout from one of our kitchen experts, so you can see how an extra row of upper cabinets might enhance your kitchen design. Find out more by giving us right now at: 1-800-788-7575.