Main Line Kitchen Design celebrates 13 years of Shaker being the most popular door style. Here is blog we wrote over 10 years ago. It was true then, as it is now!
Updated blog on the Shaker Door Style from June 23rd, 2011
Also called “Arts and Crafts” a Shaker door style is so popular because it is versatile. Depending on the countertops, hardware and fixtures used, it is equally appealing and effective in a traditional or modern kitchen. And in many styles in between.
There are many versions of this door style.
The doors can be inset, or more commonly full overlay but never standard overlay. In Standard Overlay, the streamline look of the door style would be lost. The stiles and the rails (the outside frame of the door) can be 2 1/8 wide. This is the traditional width, or wider.
The recessed panels can be plywood, or the more expensive and preferred reverse raised panels. For painted cabinets MDF center panels are recommended. The door can be any species of wood and either stained or painted. They are never glazed as (glazing such a simple door would only make it appear dirty).
Because Shaker door styles fill a broad range of design looks. They are the selection of choice when considering the resale value of a home.
One question I get asked by a large percentage of my customers is:
“Will my kitchen still be fashionable in 10 years or longer?”
Below are two Main Line Kitchen Design Shaker kitchens.
Main Line Kitchen Design is here to help you coordinate all your style choices. From 2011, when this blog was first posted up to today!
Thanks,
Paul
Calls with Paul Podcast Episode 28 Finding a kitchen designer. (mainlinekitchendesign.com)
6 Replies to “The Most Popular Shaker Cabinet Door Style is also the Most Versatile”
Eleanor
Thank you for such a fantastic and informative blog. We are looking at both Mouser and Downsview full overlay frameless cabinets. Downsview only does all MDF but we find the tight (3mm ) reveals to be very attractive. Mouser is all MDF also, but a wood frame with MDF panel can be purchased as an upgrade. I am guessing that Downsview will be more expensive but still waiting for quotes. Any thoughts on the quality and the reveal situation? Thanks.
pmcalary[ Post Author ]
Hi Eleanor,
I would think that Downsview will be significantly more expensive. It does have nicer finishes but spending a ton of money on frameless cabinets that already don’t last as long as framed and then choosing Downsview that only has a 5 year warranty isn’t something I would recommend. We only recommend getting frameless cabinets with slab door styles and then very carefully designing a kitchen with the construction limitations of the frameless cabinetry in mind. IE no doors wider than 18″ no large drawers or roll outs in cabinets wider than 30 inches. Designers that love frameless cabinetry are the same people that disregard construction, NKBA Guidelines, and often common sense, so be careful. In think Mouser might make a plywood frameless box. We would sell nothing less. Downsview does not to my knowledge.
Eleanor
This is so helpful, thank you. I have only had inset cabinets in the past so was not even thinking of size limitations on frameless. Was definitely planning on large drawers for pots and pans. May reconsider frameless but it seems to be everywhere.
pmcalary[ Post Author ]
Hi Eleanor,
I just got back from judging a design competition where most of the kitchens cost over 150K and many were over 250K. One bath cost 425K. Most of these kitchens and baths were frameless, over the top and hyper contemporary. However this is what design magazines, architects, and high end designers tend to value. The generational rich tend to choose timeless design, inset cabinetry, and tasteful understated elegance. This has been true for 50 years.
Kitchens like that don’t get entered into design competitions, and as a designer I don’t enter these kitchens because it’s not what the magazines and judges want. However it makes homes more valuable and it is what the more affluent general public wants in suburban areas.
We are in the affluent suburbs of Philadelphia call The Main Line. 90% of all the kitchens we sell are framed cabinetry. The 10% that are frameless kitchens are usually in the city in high rises and row homes where people want contemporary frameless cabinetry. Or in the very very expensive homes where architects, and interior designers lead their customers in this direction.
Surprisingly, the designers that work on the most expensive kitchens are not the highest paid kitchen designers. The highest paid kitchen designers get paid the most because they work on commission and they sell many many kitchens. These high paid kitchen designers tend to like framed cabinetry and inset cabinetry possibly because the cabinetry looks more built-in and custom. That is also why our company tends to sell so much framed cabinetry. The designers that we employ are all high paid professionals selling around a million dollars a year in cabinetry.
I have watched the kitchen market for 40 years and it really hasn’t changed that much. All the design and architectural magazines still show contemporary styling and the US market still sells 85% framed cabinetry. In Europe only the super rich get framed inset cabinetry because wood is so expensive. Over 90% of the cabinetry sold in Europe is frameless. But Europe doesn’t value durability or practical engineering. US appliance makers and cabinet makers make a far better product in general with a few exceptions. One of our customers just spent $165,000 on European appliances and they can’t fit a turkey or a pizza in any of their ovens.
This is why Wren Kitchens went bankrupt in the US but had record profits in Europe.
Eleanor
Thank you and fascinating to hear about the different approaches in Europe v. US and trends you are seeing in the market. Do you have any thoughts on Mouser versus Wood-Mode cabinetry? Appreciate it.
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