How do I Choose the Best Metal Cupboard?

Picking a metal cupboard should be done by not only staying within your furnishings budget, but also choosing the features that are most important to you. Metal cupboards tend to look best in modern decors, but if yours isn't and this is the type of cabinet you want, make sure to choose a cupboard with details that blend well with your decorating style. One important feature to consider when selecting a metal cupboard is how it opens and closes.

Metal cabinets with sliding doors can be easy to open and close. If they are made of thin metal though, a ringing sort of noise could occur whenever the doors are moved. It's best to look for a metal cupboard with thick doors, even if they open on a hinge system, as there could still be some noise. If you're looking for a locking metal cupboard, be sure the lock or latch section works well and isn't warped.

Painted metal cupboards tend to work better in more traditional decors than cool silver-toned styles with glass inserts in the doors. A copper cupboard can work well in both traditional and rustic interior designs. The warm reddish-brown of copper or red or yellow paint options can take away the utilitarian, industrial look of metal cupboards to make them more adaptable to a wide range of interiors.

The more typical stainless steel cabinets, often with glass doors, are usually ideal for modern lofts and other contemporary living spaces. A stainless steel metal cabinet design also fits right in with many homes today. Modern stainless steel kitchen and bathroom fixtures as well as appliances and even counters can be enhanced by cupboards in the same material. Since stainless steel is light colored and often quite glossy in its finish, it's also ideal for small spaces, as it tends to be reflective and create the illusion of airiness.

If you are bothered by the ease in which stainless steel tends to attract fingerprints, then choosing a non-glossy finish can help reduce the appearance of such smudges. It's possible to get metal cabinet finishes in textured, or brushed, stainless steel; these tend to make fingerprints less noticeable. If you want stainless steel cupboards with glass doors, transparent inserts are great when you want to display neat stacks of dishes or rows of glasses, while frosted types work well for food storage cabinets with a jumble of contents that may not be so pleasing to the eye.