Open a cabinet door in the kitchen of your dreams and suddenly you’re surrounded by a vivid tapestry of color and craft. As much as Catch-22 was a bird of contrasting colors, so are Portland kitchen cabinet designs. They are unintended yet quite fetching. Every time you enter a showroom it ‘s almost as if you were a little kid again in a candy store, with various styles, finishes and hardware options arrayed in front for your eager eyes.

So you’re sitting down with a steaming cup of joe going over the latest cabinet conundrum. Shaker doors? Flat panel? Something else? Your friend, an amateur home decorator, chimes in, “Go for the shaker doors. They’re like the little black dress of cabinets that goes with everything — so classic, so timeless.” But you — you’re trying to achieve a somewhat different vision. Blend and match a flurry of textures in a Portland-melded beauty which takes an industrial edge,to achieve your aims.

Have you ever considered color as a daring ally in kitchen revamp? Visualize this. A splash of emerald beside soft cream, speaking out elegance as you move. Or perhaps a more sleek, yet daring black image with gold handles–turning your kitchen into the prima donna of dinners. Portland’s topnotch designers can help your kitchen become a place where one look is worth a thousand words.

A sense of freedom from the conventional is at work here. It’s almost as if by doing this, people are putting their own lives on display. A little reckless, maybe. But you can imagine what an offbeat but large collection might tell everybody during one of your impromptu get-togethers.

Furthermore, your choice of wood becomes a play on choices–oak for the sturdy, walnut for tasteless glam, or birch to provide some mild warmth. We haven’t covered countertops yet, though! Look at how a concrete counter works in with the decision on cabinetry as naturally as if they were a peanut butterand jelly sandwich between friends.

And never overlook the most ‘with-it kid’ on the urban block: smart storage options. Drawer dividers that are like a warm embrace to your cutlery, pull-out pantries which change the very style of kitchen organization, corner units whirling round so that everything is handy to grasp: Yes, please!

To sum up, imagine the kitchen in Portland as a colorful drama–with cupboards playing the starring role. Here, designs are not just things to use but they are the outlandish expressions of a life in which utility and art merge. So Portlanders, are you ready to put on your thinking caps and introduce some avant-garde style to your culinary kingdom? The ball is in your court!