Getting the Built-In Cabinet Look With Furniture
Freestanding cabinets, hutches, and vintage pieces offer stylish, flexible storage at lower costs, as interest grows in “unfitted” kitchens and resale finds.
NEW YORK — Commissioning built-in cabinets can be expensive, but there are some alternatives that look just as good and provide storage.
Resales, vintage and auction sites have large-scale pieces that can provide storage and have that built-in, high-end look. Some of these pieces include cabinets, glass display cases, hutches, and bookcases with glass doors.
Emily Arthur, co-founder and chief creative officer at New York cabinet company Isla Porter, says the best free-standing pieces are those that have minimal or no elevation from the floor. These pieces do not need to reach the ceiling.
Free-standing pieces can also offer flexibility compared to built-ins that cannot be moved to other rooms or transferred to another home when owners move.
Flea markets are another great place to find free-standing antiques, which can be transported in rented vans or trucks or by moving companies. Houzz's 2025 Emerging Trends report found that searches for hutches and china cabinets rose 181% year-over-year.
Mitchell Parker from Houzz says, "China cabinets and hutches fit nicely with a growing interest in 'unfitted kitchens,' a style that features a more collected look with stand-alone furniture and appliances rather than the more common built-in cabinetry."
Source: Wall Street Journal (05/30/25) Knoepflmacher, Nora
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