Kitchen 'cabinet hats' are the must-have design feature for 2025 – and they're the most unique way to personalize your scheme

As freestanding kitchens and furniture become more popular, we're seeing so many unique details that take kitchen designs to new heights, adding unique appeal to schemes of every style.

But there's one trend that's really caught our eye – kitchen cabinet hats. They're the perfect addition to transform standard kitchen cabinets into something more fun and visually interesting.

And no, we're not talking about adding a baseball cap or sunhat – but it is, in many ways, the perfect accessory to add to the top of your cabinets. Here's everything you need to know about this emerging kitchen trend.

What are kitchen cabinet hats?

When you picture a run of kitchen cabinets, or any cupboard for that matter, you might conjure images of different door styles, colors, and even hardware choices, but the one thing that always remains the same is the flat finish at the top. In fact, we often take the extra time to ensure we achieve the perfect straight line, whether the cabinets reach the ceiling or sit a little lower.

But the kitchen cabinet hats trend is taking a new approach. It's all about adding more interest to the tops of cabinets. Instead of the usual flat finish, the trend sees alternative shapes introduced.

'After seeing hats on cupboards of many interior designers I admire, I had to add one in our own home. I absolutely love it to this day and I’m plotting where I can put more! I think it adds that next layer is personality and detail to a room,' says Daniel Matthews, who's behind the Instagram account @a.modest.semi, in a post sharing his love of the trend.

The most popular kitchen cabinet hat shape is the classic triangle – a cabinet top shaped like a gable roof, pitching in the middle. It instantly gives your cabinet a more bespoke feel, and when it's introduced to a statement furniture piece in the kitchen, it becomes a focal point in the space.

'Cabinet hats provide the opportunity for you to get creative and add a stylish slant to things – a classical-type pediment looks terrific on a tall dresser-type unit,' says interior designer Benji Lewis.

'Alternatively, get practical and finish your tall units with cabinet hats that can provide additional storage,' he adds, a great option if you're willing to get creative to create new storage solutions in a less obvious way.

However, if you are going to embrace the kitchen cabinet hat trend, it's important to note that there are some considerations, 'Unless you’re brilliant at housekeeping then take your tall and wall units up to the ceiling. Otherwise, they become dumping grounds, gathering dust and looking messy,' warns Benji.

But if you're prepared for that little bit of extra cleaning, cabinet hats are a beautiful choice – and there are so many ways to design them to suit your interior design style.

In fashion, there is more than just one hat style to elevate an outfit, and it's the same with this interior design trend. While the pitched roof style of cabinet hat is the most classic in design, there's no reason you can't try something more decorative and unique.

This kitchen designed by deVOL Kitchens in collaboration with House of Hackney is a perfect example of how this trend can evolve into something more unexpected. Described as castellations, these kitchen cabinet hats give the space an instant sense of history and heritage without feeling gimmicky. It's proof that the kitchen cabinet trend is the perfect method to create a more personality-filled design.

So, will you be trying the kitchen cabinet hat trend? Much like the fluted kitchen cabinet trend, it's a fun way to add a more decorative finish to your space without compromising on functionality. Even if you don't want to add hats to your built-in cabinets, it offers the perfect opportunity to mix freestanding furniture in your kitchen with the hat detail.