9 Basic Cabinet Door Styles You Need to Know About Immediately
Last Modified January 16, 2025
Exploring platforms like Instagram can provide inspiration for enhancing your cooking space. Not only does it give you insights into smart storage solutions, but it can also teach you about setting the atmosphere of your kitchen. Often, it is the subtle details that significantly influence a room’s ambience. For instance, the cabinet door style you […]
Exploring platforms like Instagram can provide inspiration for enhancing your cooking space. Not only does it give you insights into smart storage solutions, but it can also teach you about setting the atmosphere of your kitchen. Often, it is the subtle details that significantly influence a room’s ambience. For instance, the cabinet door style you choose can change the way people feel about the overall design. Today, we’ll talk about the 9 basic cabinet door styles:
A note about cabinet door styles
There is a distinction to be made between a cabinet overlay and a door style. The way a cabinet door is attached to the box frame is a cabinet overlay. On the other hand, a cabinet door style refers to the cabinet door design.
Shaker Style
The shaker style cabinet door has been made famous by HGTV. Their minimalist design makes them a versatile choice for a wide range of kitchen styles, contributing to their dominance in the market. Shaker cabinets continue to hold their appeal in both modern and traditional kitchens due to their clean lines and ability to complement various design elements.
Some professionals refer to them as recessed panel doors, which isn’t an inaccurate statement. There is a recessed panel in most popular door styles. That being said, the clean, straight borders of shaker style diverts from the decorative border of the recessed panel design. Furthermore, the shaker style is also made with a raised center panel.
The shaker style is defined by clean, modern lines and sharp angles. This is also seen in slab style cabinet doors, but without the center panel. This is a versatile design that is popular right now. We see them in kitchen styles from modern to farmhouse.
You can find the traditional shaker and slim shaker door styles on our website. The slim shakers are most notable for their thin border design. Forevermark is a popular brand that makes the Petit Blue and Petit Sand slim shaker door styles.
Slab Style
This style is characterized by a flat, unadorned surface and clean, sharp sides. It’s most notable in modern and contemporary kitchen design styles. At Waverly Cabinets, we have two brands that make slab style cabinet doors that can be purchased through the website: Cubitac and US Cabinet Depot.
Cubitac makes Milan Latte and Milan Shale. US Cabinet Depot makes Palermo Gloss White, Torino Dark Wood, Tornio Grey Wood, and Torino White Pine.
Our special order brands sell slab style cabinet doors. The Matrix series from CNC Cabinetry and the Advantage series, Manhattan release, from Adornus Cabinetry are a few. Ask our sales representatives for more information.
The slab style is perfect for modern or industrial style kitchens, especially with side handles or pressure release doors.
Raised Panel Style
The raised panel cabinet door style is characterized by a raised center panel and detailed edgings. It is the perfect choice for traditional or transitional kitchen designs, where a touch of elegance is highly desirable. Here are some raised center panels:
As seen above, the detailed edgings vary in depth and style. We see the subtleties of Gramercy White by Forevermark to the moderate style of Belmont Café Glaze by Cubitac. The raised panel is considered a traditional style.
The raised panel style is a popular choice for cottage kitchens and French style kitchens, especially the French provincial style.
Recessed Panel Style
The recessed panel style has a sunken center panel with detailed edging. A few door styles of note with a recessed panel design is Berwyn Opal by Wolf and Verona Midnight Navy by US Cabinet Depot. It’s often seen in contemporary kitchen design.
The detailing of this style varies from door style to door style. It’s available from a wide variety of brands, including those that we sell at Waverly Cabinets. Verona Midnight Navy and Oxford Sage are the latest door styles released by US Cabinet Depot.
Comparatively, the shaker style has sharp, clean edges that contrast the detailed edges of the recessed panel. Much like the raised panel, this style tends to be a thicker door than slab style.
Beadboard Style
Alright! It’s time for a little history lesson:
The original beadboard style was a wainscoting technique from the 1800s. The intention was to protect walls from wear and tear without being unsightly. It was especially common in coastal and rural homes for insulation and moisture prevention. It was adapted to cabinet doors during the early 1900s but fell out of fashion in the mid-century. However, it quickly made a comeback for the last quarter of the century, when the farmhouse style became trendy.
For those of you wondering, traditional wainscoting was a type of wood paneling installed on the lower half of a wall. Nowadays, it’s a nostalgic feature in homes that want a historic, vintage or retro vibe.
The beadboard cabinet door style is characterized by a distinctive vertical grooved paneling design that resembles traditional wainscoting. We have three brands that sell a beadboard style cabinet door: Wolf Home Products, Kemper, and Candlelight Cabinetry. Here are a few of their selections:
The beadboard style has yet to make a comeback, but a few cabinetmakers still manufacture it. The aforementioned brands are special order only, though. However, the available options make it worth your time.
This door style is a popular choice for coastal and farmhouse kitchens. Do you have a beadboard cabinet door style in your kitchen? Share it with us on social media by using the hashtag #HelloWaverly with a photo or video!
Mullion Style
The mullion cabinet door style is distinguished by decorative framing that divides a center glass panel into sections or panes. This creates that grid-like pattern that mullion doors are famous for. Oftentimes, these door styles are upgrade options rather than a stock item. The grid pattern can range from simple, symmetrical squares or rectangles to more intricate, custom shapes. On the left, we see a mullion door with a simple grid pattern.
Mullion cabinet doors often give a classic, elegant feel to the kitchen, reminiscent of traditional or vintage designs. They are commonly found in traditional, transitional, and farmhouse kitchens. Although, they can be adapted to other styles depending on the grid design and materials used.
Talk to our sales representatives for more information.
Glass Front
Not to be confused with open front cabinets, this style is easily recognized by the glass center panel. These cabinet doors are a stylish option that offers both visual appeal and practicality. However, most cabinetmakers offer this as an upgrade option.
The defining feature is the glass center panel replacing the typical solid wood. There’s no decorative framing like a mullion door would have. Instead, the decorative piece is the glass panel itself.
The glass can be clear, frosted, or textured, depending on the desired look. A clear panel shows everything inside the cabinet, but a frosted or textured panel looks stunning with cabinet lighting.
Most brands offer glass fronts as an upgrade option. Talk to your sales representative for more information.
Louvered Style
The louvered door style has angled, horizontal slats called louvers that are fixed into the center panel. The unique, shutter-like design provides texture and depth for visual interest. The small gaps between the slats provides ventilation, which make it perfect for laundry rooms and coastal kitchen designs.
The dowel joint is a technique popular for making louvered doors with stationary slats. Although, different construction methods exist.
The style fell out of favor decades ago, which makes it difficult to find outside of specialty shops. However, it remains a popular choice for designer furniture. Do you have louvered doors? Share it with us on social media with the hashtag #HelloWaverly and a photo or video attached!
Arched Style
The arched cabinet door style has a center panel with a curved, arch-like top that varies in complexity. The design was inspired by Roman and Gothic architecture, which were known for its use of arches. It was popular style during the early 20th century, but quickly fell out of favor as simpler designs became trendy.
There are several sub-types of arched cabinet door styles. For instance, we have double arch, cathedral arch, double cathedral arch, church top, and double church top. These are styles most seen in older homes. Decorative arches with glass inserts were popular between 1960 – 1980.
These are beautiful styles that have yet to make a comeback. Simple arched doors can still be purchased, but you have to really look for them.
What is your favorite cabinet door style?
Share your style favorites with us on social media with the hashtag #HelloWaverly and a photo or video. We’d love to hear from you! (Check out the sidebar for our social links.)
