^

Textured Painted Kitchen Cabinets: More Than a Trend

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Key Takeaways

  • Texture is becoming essential in kitchen design, shifting from high-gloss to more tactile surfaces.
  • Superior Cabinets’ Sandwash Collection offers textured painted MDF finishes with a soft matte appearance.
  • Textured painted kitchen cabinets provide visual interest while being practical and forgiving for everyday use.
  • Matte finishes remain popular for their calm and soft look, and the Sandwash Collection enhances this with subtle texture.
  • Texture in cabinetry is not just a trend; it’s a proven product that has evolved over decades.

Textured Painted Kitchen Cabinets: More Than a Trend is a timely topic because texture is becoming one of the most important design conversations in the kitchen and bath industry. From countertops and tile to slab backsplashes, hardware, furniture, and cabinet finishes, homeowners are looking for surfaces that have character. The era of cold, flat, high-gloss surfaces is shifting toward materials with depth, touch, and everyday practicality.

Author: Shahan Fancy, Superior Cabinets.

At Superior Cabinets, this is not new. Our Sandwash Collection has been part of our finish story for over four decades, offering textured painted MDF cabinet finishes with a soft matte appearance, tactile feel, and practical performance for real homes.

Texture Is Showing Up Everywhere

Texture is no longer limited to rustic woodgrain or decorative wall treatments. Today, texture can be found across many kitchen surfaces, including countertops, tile, stone, cabinet finishes, and even ultra-compact surfaces.

The trendspotters saw texture almost everywhere at The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) 2026 this year in Orlando, Florida. Tactile, sensorial design was the undisputed star of the show. Read more – NKBA Research Reveals Design and Lifestyle Trends at KBIS. Additionally, at EuroCucina 2026 in Milan, Italy, heavy and micro texturing were major trends.

What Are Textured Painted Cabinets?

Textured painted cabinets are cabinet doors and drawer fronts with a painted finish and a very subtle surface texture that you can see and feel. The Sandwash Collection by Superior Cabinets offers textured paint finishes on MDF, creating a durable, dependable cabinet surface with a distinctive matte-looking finish. The collection was inspired by oceans and seas and includes a curated palette of soft, coastal, neutral, and deeper tones.

This is different from a standard smooth painted finish. It is also different from thermofoil, laminate (TFL), stained wood, or high-gloss cabinetry. Sandwash sits in its own category: a textured painted MDF finish designed for cabinetry, busy lifestyles, without compromising style.

Texture Is Not Just About Looks

Texture can absolutely be beautiful. It adds depth, softness, and visual interest to a kitchen, but the bigger story is that texture can also be practical. In cabinetry, a textured matte surface can be more forgiving than a flat, smooth, high-sheen surface. It can help reduce the appearance of fingerprints, soften glare, and make everyday wear less noticeable.

sandwash dune surrey door by superior cabinets
The low-sheen, textured appearance of the Sandwash Collection paint shows fewer unsightly fingerprints.

That is especially important, as homeowners have wanted less-fussy surfaces for some time now. People want kitchens that look beautiful, but they also want unburdened finishes that make sense for daily life. Busy families, high-touch kitchens, mudrooms, laundry rooms, vanities, and islands all benefit from finishes that require no constant attention, such as wiping away fingerprints, water drops and cooking debris.

The Matte Advantage

A butler’s pantry in textured painted MDF Sandwash Sea Grass (green) in a london door style by Superior Cabinets.
Project PROVIDENCE features a Butler’s Pantry with Sandwash Sea Grass Cabinets by Superior Cabinets. The matte effect of the paint looks incredible with natural and synthetic light.

Matte finishes and sheens remain popular because they feel calm, soft, and elevated. They also tend to look beautiful because they reflect less light, much like high-gloss surfaces. Sandwash takes that matte look further by adding a subtle textured surface. The result is a finish with more dimension than standard smooth paint, while still feeling clean and refined. This is where Sandwash works particularly well. It gives cabinetry a low-sheen, furniture-like appearance without feeling overly delicate or precious.

More Than a Trend – The Sandwash Collection at a Glance

Texture may be getting more attention in kitchen design right now, but textured painted cabinetry is not new to Superior Cabinets. The Sandwash Collection has been part of our product offering for decades, giving homeowners, designers, and builders a finish that feels distinctive, looks matte, and performs in real life. That is the difference between a trend and a proven product. A trend gets attention for a season. A proven product earns trust over time.

The 12-textured finishes in the Sandwash collection by Superior Cabinets.

A trend gets attention for a season. A proven product earns trust over time.

Images of four of the eight Sandwash collection door styles by Superior Cabinets. Images of Antonio, London, Surrey, Darby.
Images of four of the eight Sandwash collection door styles by Superior Cabinets. Images of Chicago, Dakota, Tisdale, Renfrew.

History of the Sandwash Collection by Superior Cabinets

One of the original founding partners of Superior Cabinets, Charles “Charlie” Larre, proudly standing in a kitchen he had just built and installed in 1989.
Charles (Charlie) Larre, an original founding partner of Superior Cabinets, poses with an innovative Granberg Adjustable Height Kitchen painted in the Textured White Finish, now known as Sandwash Clearwater.

Summary

Visit a Superior Cabinets Showroom and Design Studio in Saskatoon, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, or Winnipeg, or connect with an Authorized Dealer Partner in Canada or the USA to explore Sandwash textured painted kitchen cabinets in person.


Read more articles by Shahan Fancy


LOOKING FOR MORE?

Here are some additional helpful articles to check out:
Integrated Cabinet Lighting: Where to Use It and Why It Matters
Laundry Room Design Tips
Blue Kitchen Cabinets: Are They Still in Style?
Kitchen Garbage and Recycling Planning
A 2016 Kitchen Throwback: A Little Nostalgia, A Lot of Character
Fusion Finishes Collection Updates – 6 New Smooth Paint Colours
Laminate Collection Updates
The Sandwash Collection Updates
Thinking About Wine Bottle Storage?
Kitchen Trends
The Nature of Wood – What you need to know when selecting real wood cabinets
Introducing the Verra Door: A New Take on the Slim Shaker Cabinet
Going Deeper: Introducing 4 New One-Piece MDF Door Styles
New Rustic Knotty Alder Door Styles
Zenith Drawers with Integrated LED Lighting: A Bright Idea
Moments in Lighting: FlexyLED by Richelieu Now Available Through Superior Cabinets
The Urban Super-Matte Collection
The Sandwash Textured MDF Collection
The Thermofoil Collection
Melamine vs. Plywood
Sleek Door Profiles are a Dominating Trend
Kitchen Designer Cheat Sheet
Ways to Save Money on New Kitchen Cabinets
The Kitchen Cabinet Buyer’s Guide
Planning A Kitchen Renovation During A Pandemic
Common Corner Cabinet Types and Ideas
Bar Support Selection Guide
Butcher Block in the Kitchen, What You Should Know
Farmhouse Sink Considerations
Common Mudroom Design Oversights
New Paint Finishes on MDF for Summer
New Wood Stains – Inspired by Nature
Choosing the Right Drawer System

USA Visitors

It looks like you’re visiting from the United States. For the most up to date product information, please visit our USA Website.

USA Website

Close