Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar Put a Dark Spin on the 'Invisible Kitchen' Trend – It's Modern, but Cocooning

Cabinet handles are one of the smallest, yet most influential, details in a kitchen. The choice of metal, shape, and style can greatly change the look of your storage and date your space over time. That's why many homeowners are opting to go handle-free. Especially in modern, white kitchens, the lack of hardware has become ubiquitous, deemed the 'invisible kitchen' trend by experts.

Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar replicated the look in their Los Angeles home with one key distinction: their cabinets are black. Sarah Michelle took to Instagram to share a video from the couple's kitchen, and the impact of the minimalist kitchen idea is just as chic as it sounds. The invisible cabinets are painted in a matte black that stretches smoothly across the top and bottom of the space. A chocolate brown backsplash breaks up the darkness, and cream walls bring in contrast. Sarah and Freddie replace the light lost from reflections off the hardware with a long window behind the cabinets.

To explore the invisible kitchen trend, we're deep diving into Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s space. Here's a glimpse inside, followed by my curation of products to achieve a similar modern yet cocooning look. Finally, we interviewed experts on the popularity of the look, and you can recreate it.

Recreate Freddie and Sarah's Look: The Black Kitchen Edit

For those of us who don't plan to paint our cabinets anytime soon, luckily, it's easy to integrate the sleekness of a black kitchen into any space with effective styling. These pieces are our editors' top picks to add a touch of black to your countertops.

Invisible cabinets, like Sarah and Freddie's, look especially striking in an open-plan kitchen, and much of their prolificness stems from the popularity of this layout. Design experts at Fisher & Paykel explain: 'Open-plan kitchens mean that homeowners often look to create a multi-use space that seamlessly blends the kitchen and living areas. As a result, the demand for clean lines and a sleek aesthetic is a high priority. Integrated appliances and handle-free cabinetry are simple ways to achieve maximum storage, but with a hidden design aesthetic, without disrupting the flow between rooms.'

Furthermore, a reduction of visual load has been a huge shift in interior design over the last few years. People want spaces that are streamlined and highly functional. As Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar's kitchen shows, an invisible design is conducive to this clean-lined, storage-optimized look.

Misty Callaway, designer at Callaway Homes, advises: 'Specialty and built-in storage is fundamental to how today’s kitchens function. When storage is thoughtfully designed, from customized drawers and pull-out shelves to walk-in pantries, it reduces clutter, improves efficiency, and makes the kitchen easier to use every single day. These features help homeowners get more out of their space.'

To replicate the look effectively, be sure to balance sleek modern lines with cozy, welcoming colors. Whether this is by integrating dark colors as Sarah and Freddie have done, or using different textures for the backsplash, the goal is to avoid a kitchen that looks like a white box. Accessories like appliances and vases on the countertops can also help create this depth.

Removing hardware can let your cabinets shine on their own, free from the burden of visual clutter. As kitchens grow increasingly modern, the popularity of the invisible look will only rise.

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