Cabinet Basics: Cabinet Door and Drawer Styles
Last week we adDRESSED cabinet manufacturing basics including framed vs. frameless cabinets and the different styles of how a cabinet door or drawer can fit a cabinet box. If you missed it or want to read it again – CLICK HERE.
With that being said and to continue with the analogy of choosing what to wear, it’s almost as if we have all of our clothes laid out in front of us, but now we have to do some mixing and matching! Imagine it’s a Saturday and you’re free to wear whatever you want – with no holding back, you have every reason to be the best version of yourself. Now that’s what picking the style of cabinet doors is like for your home! Even though it may seem mindless and unimportant, it becomes representative of who you (and your family) are including your likes, dislikes, level of sophistication, and even your organizational skills. Choosing the style of cabinets, like every Saturday you get to relax, is actually an investment for your home (or your personal life) that has the ability to help or hinder the future YOU.
Now, how can that be? What even are the styles of cabinet doors? How do I know what’s right for me, my family, or my business??
Like many homeowners, you should be asking these questions in order to fully understand yourself, your style, and what cabinet style is best suited for your home or commercial space!
In order to help you fully understand the wide variety of cabinet doors, we will be taking you through the spectrum of the most popular and timeless options from simple (minimalist) to most detailed (ornate).
Slab (Sophisticated and Sleek)
One of our personal favorites and something that has been drastically increasing in demand are our slab cabinet door options. With innovative hardware (handle) solutions as described HERE(link to JDNF article), it’s now possible to have a completely simple and elegant aesthetic uninterrupted by handles sticking out. These style of cabinet doors are incredibly modern and contemporary in nature and are often used as a seamless compliment to transitional kitchens such as shaker doors mentioned below. Often, modern styles such as slab doors help create an open, yet very organized (minimalist), feeling in kitchens, bathrooms, offices, and laundry rooms. It is very popular for these to be face framed as full-overlay on cabinet faces because it emphasizes the flow and flawless design from one cabinet to the next.
Slab cabinet faces are like wearing your “Sunday Best” on Saturdays just because you want to. It embodies sophistication and a high level of organization, but depending on the person, they have the ability to be dressed down to maintain a casual, minimalist approach such as wearing a plain white t-shirt with nice pants and shoes. They can also be easily used as compliments to other (less modern) cabinet doors to get a transitional-style appearance or can contrast highly detailed areas of the kitchen.
Shaker (Timeless, Trendy, and Chic)
Many times associated with the subjective term “transitional” in interior design, Shaker cabinet doors are unique in the fact that they are considered flat-panel doors and have a recessed face design. This means that they aren’t completely modern and minimalist like slab doors and aren’t exactly detailed or ornate like traditional or farmhouse styles, but rather somewhere in the middle – giving it the “transitional” style. This has been incredibly popular in past and recent years; more specifically white shaker cabinets were incredibly hot about 5 years ago. The nice thing about shaker cabinet doors is their continued demonstration of timelessness, meaning it isn’t an eyesore (actually they usually add value) if you were aiming to sell your home in the future. These can produce a large variety of appearances based on handle choice and the ability to integrate other styles of cabinet doors into a unified kitchen such as Mullion or Accent doors.
In comparison to “Sunday Best” or a dressed-up white t-shirt outfit, this is the timeless and seemingly effortless look achieved by a solid colored shirt and some blue jeans. Don’t get confused, though! By picking the right colors, accents, and accessories, it can achieve an elegant and beautiful aesthetic, but it also has the ability to be down-dressed if the rest of the house does not follow in suit (like wearing worn or frayed jeans with a nice shirt and shoes). Much of the time, Shaker is a great “go-to” for those looking to upgrade their cabinetry on a budget, or even better for individuals who do a lot of house flipping and realty in order to “transition” into higher sales.
Raised Panel Doors
As the saying goes, we saved the best for last. Maybe not the best (they’re all amazing), but definitely the most popular over the past half of a century! It is a style where the center panel rises to the thickness of the door frame and provides the most detail out of all of the cabinet doors mentioned.
Because “raised panel doors” is a general term that encompasses a HUGE amount of cabinet door options, we like to break it into two styles that many individuals aim to achieve with varying levels of detail.
Traditional (Ornate, Warm, and Classic)
What most people would consider a classic, comfortable kitchen would fall under the traditional style of raised panel cabinet doors. The often-eclectic mix of ornamental detail throughout the kitchen is in contrast to the streamline trend created by more contemporary kitchens and recessed or slab panel doors. More often than not, traditional kitchens are inviting and can promote a cozy and “lived-in” aesthetic while still maintaining a functional and orderly feel.
Other patterns in traditional kitchens include Mullion cabinet doors, faucet fixtures, and light fixtures that have shape and detail. Also, various ways that focal points can be created in these kitchens in order to further emphasize the detail in the raised-panel cabinet doors are the use of various knobs, fabric (preferably striped), and more irregular wood floor patterns. All of these things will further the eclectic atmosphere that creates the classic and warm feeling of a traditional kitchen.
Mullion and Accent Cabinet Doors
Mullion cabinet doors are often a complementary feature that assist in showcasing or highlighting different aspects of the kitchen. They can be used to display things inside of the cabinet or on the contrary, bring attention to the cabinets and kitchen details surrounding the Mullion cabinet door itself. The reason these doors do such a good job of captivating attention is because they have glass paneling! This can be completely transparent glass for full insight or can be a smoky glass that simply provides an accent to the rest of the kitchen.
Speaking of accents, and not the language kind, accent cabinet doors are incredibly popular in trends today due to the uniqueness it brings the kitchen. Utilizing accent cabinet doors are taking advantage of an alternative color, finish, or style (used minimally/moderately) in order to create a heightened visual appeal of the main cabinet doors and kitchen style chosen. So, I guess they are similar to spoken accents by providing an extra tweak, twist, and taste to any given style of kitchen.
*Disclaimer – not EVERY kitchen or home will look better with accent or mullion cabinet doors because it is whole home style-dependent.
Alternative Styles
Although we went into detail on some of the most popular types of cabinet doors including flat-panel, recessed-panel, raised-panel, and mullion/accent doors, there are endless options and subjective terms for referring to cabinet door styles. Some other names that you may come across include “Farmhouse, Rustic, Craftsman, Beaded, French, Victorian, and Scandinavian,” but don’t get too confused because many of these alternative styles listed actually fall within the 3 types of cabinet doors described. Differences include the mixing and matching of various cabinet doors and additional room features in order to accentuate any of the given styles listed.
We hope you learned a little something about the endless possibilities when using styles of cabinet doors and have a better idea of what style may fit you or your home/office! Remember, choosing a style is dependent on who you are – the “Saturday You” – so don’t get caught up in what’s trendy or impractical, just decide on something that will help you in these three ways;
Personalized functionality/aesthetic
Everyday purpose
Potential future resale
Even if you still feel uncertain about what is best for you or your family’s lifestyle/home, be sure to consult with a professional (like UR Cabinets) in order to get the most out of your development or renovation project!
