KITCHEN CABINET PROFILES

There are a lot of decisions that come into play when considering a renovation. Whether it is for your kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room, you should first define your design aesthetic. Are you more modern, country, traditional, or contemporary? Whichever style you choose, there is most likely a door profile to best suit your design. Let’s begin!

FLAT CABINETS

If you’re leaning more towards a modern or contemporary take on your kitchen, flat cabinets are probably your best option. Although you can definitely mount hardware on your flat paneled cabinets, this particular design offers a visually clean space by not having any handles visible. You can achieve this look with either a push-to-open system or very small & thin handles on the corner of each cabinet. We love the look of a matt grey or white with this type of profile. You can combine it with wood melamine to bring in some warmth or to add a little diversity.

SHAKER

The popular shaker cabinet is clean, timeless, and works with many different styles of kitchen. It’s flexible enough to go from modern to country, to traditional. Sometimes we will play with the border thickness depending on the look we’re trying to achieve. A standard shaker panel is usually 2 1/4” wide all the way around, but we’ve recently been specifying what we refer to as a “skinny shaker”, where the border is only 1/2”-1” wide. This is where it can be applied to a modern kitchen and totally fit in while giving an alternative to the flat panel.

There are two types of constructions for this door profile. With the right technique and tools, your cabinet maker may be able to provide a one-piece shaker. What this means is that the entire cabinet door would be constructed out of one piece of material and using a special CNC machine, the center recessed portion would be carved out. A more common construction is the 5 piece door, where the door is composed of the center panel plus four longer pieces that make up the frame. The problem with a five-piece shaker in a painted finish is that over time, with temperature and humidity fluctuations, you may start to see the corner joints since wood materials tend to expand and contract.

We also think it’s very beautiful when you pair a shaker cabinet profile in a painted finish with flat drawers. If you notice in the picture below, the top drawers are flat panels paired with shaker drawers below.

RAISED PANEL

Raised paneled cabinet doors are like shaker panels, but more ornate. The center panel is raised rather than recessed, hence the name. This style can be combined with many different door profiles, such as shaker, as seen below, or a more detailed style of shaker. This is not something that we specify much of these days but in some cases, may still be applicable. 

Designed by:  Hagstrom Builder

Here’s a great example of a modern take on raised panels.

BEADBOARD

Aiming for a cottage-style look? Beadboard cabinetry consists of vertical slats that are fitted into each other giving off that country vibe. Seen a little less in modern homes, but mostly in cottages or modern farmhouse designs. We love how this one is a modern take on the beadboard cabinet. The kitchen’s clean lines, modern black accents and the absence of any chicken paraphernalia really make beadboard doors an attractive look.

Designed by: HGTV Dream Home

INSET CABINETS

Inset cabinets have little to do with the cabinet door or drawer front. Everything to do with the actual construction or structure of the cabinet. The difference between inset cabinets and overlay cabinets is the slim trim that frames each door and drawer. The door sits level with this trim, that offers a flush facade. This leads to a more bespoke, traditional aesthetic and adds a certain richness to the cabinetry. Inset cabinets come in at a higher price, usually around 40% more than an overlay, because it involves more attention to detail and both the construction and installation are more time-consuming.

You can design it with either of the door profiles, but we’re definitely admiring this combination of a shaker and flat-panel cabinetry. Whichever door profile it is that you choose, this style is the definition of custom, which adds a touch of uniqueness to your cabinetry.

Designed by: Studio Mcgee