The Retro Cabinet Detail That’s Quietly Making Modern Kitchens Feel Cozier

Interior designers reveal why vent holes are making a comeback.

If you’ve noticed little cutout patterns in cabinetry lately, you’re not alone. It’s a trend that’s been quietly gaining favor among American homeowners as British kitchen brands like Plain English and deVOL have set up shop Stateside, alongside newcomers like Isla Porter, and inspired a new generation of homeowners with their nostalgic country house style. 

What Are Cabinet Vent Holes?

These small ventilation holes were historically installed in cabinets to allow air circulation—ideal in kitchens and pantries where keeping stored goods fresh was paramount, and in mudrooms where damp jackets and smelly shoes can pose a risk to the senses. Today, vent holes have become a favorite decorative detail for adding a touch of charm to modern door fronts. They’re frequently arranged in rows or diamond-shaped patterns and usually in the center or upper third of cabinet doors. 

How to Style Cabinet Cutouts

“There are so many different variations and styles of this that influence the overall look of a room,” says Utah-based interior designer Caitlin Creer. “With the machine most cabinet makers use to achieve this, you can create pretty much anything from a monogram to a very specific motif.”

In designing a Connecticut mudroom, Creer landed on a grid of three horizontal rows in the cabinet doors, which plays off the block print pattern in the blue and white wallpaper. “We loved the idea of something a little sweet that added as subtle detail,” she notes.

Introduce Shaker Style

Portland, ME-based designer Heidi Lachapelle also opted for vent holes in the cabinet doors of a mudroom in this New England lake house. Having dialed back the home’s decorative embellishments (think beaded details and ornate window trim), she installed Shaker-style cabinetry complete with diamond pattern cutouts in a fresh olive green color (Benjamin Moore Silken Moss) paired with a bold botanical wallpaper from Jasper. “We wanted to take a very traditional Shaker style and create something more contemporary. The mix of modern and traditional updates the look,” says Lachapelle. 

Try a Locker Room Look

In renovating the back entry of an Augusta, GA, home for a family with three school-aged children, interior designer Yancey Seibert Shearouse created a mudroom complete with a desk for keeping everyone organized. The wall of cabinets acts as a veritable locker room in which Shearhouse added vent holes for both ventilation and decoration. “They break up a flat panel and add a bit of whimsy,” she notes, as does the Waterhouse wallpaper in Bargello, which inspired the cabinets’ blue paint color (PPG Blue Light).

Incorporate Historical Detail

Minnesota-based designer Bria Hammel worked closely with the Historical Society Association in St. Paul while renovating a c1890 home, and vent holes made the grade during the kitchen update. “It was a perfect way to add visual interest to the otherwise neutral white cabinetry without compromising functionality,” she says. Their diamond shape pattern, along with subtle wood paneling and pared-down knobs and drawer pulls, lend a historic nod “without feeling fussy or overdone,” she says.

Upgrade a Laundry Room

Vent holes in a laundry room might call to mind a traditional airing cupboard, but perhaps counterintuitively, that term actually refers to a heated cupboard for keeping towels dry rather than one in which air freely circulates. In this Winnetka, IL, laundry room, interior designer Summer Thornton paired the decorative details with brass fixtures and a soothing color palette anchored by Farrow & Ball Breakfast Room Green.

“We wanted something nostalgic that felt like home, but the green and white colors and the cutouts kept it fresh,” she says. “Greens, of course, are often linked to nature, so they often have a fresh quality to them, and since it is so prevalent in nature, it is very calming on the eyes. The cutouts and open shelves help give the space breathing room, pairing beauty with function, which I think is the outcome of a really successful design.”

Exude English Charm

Lastly, looking at a home in the British countryside, interior designers Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham of Salvesen Graham included a grid of cutouts in the doors of this flower arranging room in a historical home in Cornwall, England. While it appears bold, drenching the entire room in yellow—vibrant on the walls and woodwork, softer on the ceiling—was done as a joyful contrast to the more neutral colors in the main rooms of the house. The vent holes, along with numbered detailing on the doors and scallop-trimmed shelving, adds to the room’s playful tone.