First impressions of your kitchen are typically formed based on the design of your cabinetry. It is the cabinets you select for your kitchen remodel that will determine whether it ends up looking more conventional, transitional, or modern.
It’s possible that you’re not familiar with the plethora of available choices when it comes to the design of your cabinet doors. Selecting the perfect cabinets for your kitchen can be challenging, but this Kitchen Cabinet Style Guide will assist.
The Three Major Categories of Kitchen Cabinets
We can categorize cabinets as either inset, as having a partial overlay, or as having a full overlay. Each of these terms describes a different way a door or drawer might be attached to, or set within, a cabinet frame.
Different budgets and aesthetic preferences are reflected in the three cabinet options. Here’s a rundown of the three main categories of cupboards:
Partial Overlay Cabinet
For many years, partial overlay cabinets were the norm in the business. With a door that has a Partial Overlay, a significant amount of the cabinet face frame is visible.
This design is frequently utilized to save production costs because the doors and drawer fronts are smaller and use less material than a complete overlay. You can generally find it in older homes or kitchens.
Full Overlay Cabinet
The doors and drawer fronts of full-overlay cabinets are designed to cover the entirety of the cabinet face. This style is a great complement to modern or transitional decor.
Because more material is required to create full-overlay cabinets, their price is higher than that of their partial-overlay counterparts. Since there is no vertical face frame stile in a full overlay cabinet, it is much easier to store taller or wider things inside.
Inset Cabinetry
Last but not least, inset cabinetry is quite distinct from partial overlay or complete overlay. The doors and drawer fronts of the inset cabinets are installed inside the cabinet openings and are flush with the frame.
Creating a flush panel requires a high level of skill in addition to special hardware, making it the most expensive option for cabinet doors. Traditional, transitional, and Craftsman homes all benefit from inset cabinetry.
Types of Kitchen Cabinet Doors
- Shaker Cabinet Doors: Doors of the Shaker design are currently the most sought-after among homeowners. They have simple design traits including a recessed panel and straight, unbroken lines. Learn more about shaker cabinets.
- Slab Cabinet Doors Style: Slab cabinet doors, also known as flat-panel doors, are a simple and sleek option. The door is made from a single, solid plank of wood. Ideally suited to ultra-modern, European, and other contemporary kitchens. Modern cabinets come in a variety of materials, but they always share a pared-down aesthetic and a lack of embellishment.
- Raised Paneled Cabinet Doors: Traditional and older homes are more likely to have cabinets with a raised panel in the door, like the ones shown above.
- Beadboard cabinet doors: a nod to traditional paneling, these face frames can complement a wide range of kitchen decors. They add visual interest and texture to the kitchen cabinetry with their vertical paneling.