Very subjective but I think shaker is more classic. There are a lot of beautiful raised panel door styles but I find that look more ornate and old fashioned than the simple lines of a shaker door. Shaker is both period and modern (still very minimalist and streamlined) at the same time. I think there are other variables to consider like finish and how much overlay. If she had a partial overlay it may be that aspect that you didn't respond to rather the door style. Most of what you are seeing these days is either frameless or full overlay (inset is still classic of course but not as common). Finish as well will impact on how dated something will look.

I like the shaker also, raised is nice also but it tends to be a little ornate for my tastes. Here's the link to the kitchen gallery, I'd go in and look around to see if any of the kitchens have the look you're trying to achieve. It may help you to decide what look is best for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen gallery

Both styles are 'classic' in the classic sense of the word. :) Raised panels go back at least to the Colonial era. The Shakers came later.

Personally, I prefer the more streamlined look of Shaker and the versatility of the design. It can be mission/ arts & crafts, cool contemporary, cottage/ country/ lodge/ beach/ garden/ retro '20's...

I agree shaker lines are more versatile and fit in every decor.

I agree with Shaker and there are lots of style of such. Maybe one with a routed door edge or a small thin applied moulding trim around the inside of the rails/stiles would make it look more classic.

We ended up going with raised panel inset cabs as our home has a lot of millwork with raised panels throughout. It is a very classic colonial house and the look of the kitchen when complete will be classic. Personally, though I love the shaker look and if it weren't for the raised paneling in the rooms adjoining the kitchen I would have gone with that. I think both are very classic and it will come down to what look you like and what fits best in your house.

To me, they are both very classic. You just have to decide which one you like better! Shaker is a bit plain to me. I like raised panel better personally. I think if you want cup handles and carerra, subway tile, etc. you would probably want the Shaker look. If you want to be a bit more fancy (not ornate, mind you), you may want to look at raised panel. I am doing a white kitchen too. I am trying to decide if I will do raised panel or recessed panel. If I do recessed, I will have a bit more detailing than just plain Shaker because I like the detailing.
I think looking at the FKB is a great idea to see what appeals to you!

bbstx, you're likely going to have this kitchen for a long time, so I definitely agree with the above--which you really like better is critical. Let's face it, Shaker--wonderful Shaker--has been so very popular for so long now that it has to become tomorrow's raised-panel at some point, with crowds of people wishing they could tear that commonplace stuff out, classic or not, and get something with more (read: current) *STYLE*. If I were you, and I have been, I'd try as hard as I could to isolate myself from the mood of the pack long enough to decide which I'd choose for my kitchen on a desert island. Actually, in my case it was easy because I'm older, and all I had to do was look back down the decades and remember what I'd never stopped liking, no matter where my temporary whimsy wandered, all that time.

I love both. I lived with raised panel for 21 years and now I have shaker and love it. Both are very nice and each is classic. I think it depends on the style of the rest of your house and of course what you'll not get tired of looking at.

I totally agree with Buehl. I choose raised panel doors and drawers in my new kitchen because I like the look and I think they'll always be classic, not dated. I also think that shaker, although technically classic, is very popular now and "may" date a kitchen in the future. I think back to my first house in 1981. If you had asked me to put in shaker style cabinets, I would have thought you were crazy. But if you had asked me if I would put in raised panel, it would have made perfect sense.

The original kitchen in my current house that I just replaced had laminate european cabinets with an oak trim. When we moved in I LOVED that kitchen. Boy were they popular in 1989! But now.... not so. If my original kitchen had raised panel cabinets, I don't think they would have looked dated at that time.

But, I think the bottom line is get what you like. I do agree that the shaker style doors are beautiful. I love the look, but I guess I'm too conservative, so I went with raised panel. I know I can't afford to be redoing my new kitchen any time soon!

Whatever you choose, good luck! And remember, this is all JMHO!

Barb

I think you also need to consider the detailing of these doors. You can take a plain shaker door with no detail that will look more contemporary and if you add a regular framing bead to the panel and put this in a beaded inset door frame it looks more classic and gives it more of a period look. Also, in my opinion the width of the rail and stile makes a big difference too - the narrower rail and stile seems more modern and the wider rail and stile gives it more of an antique and period feel. At least this is how I see it.

I love them both and for the longest time was set on getting raised panel doors, beaded inset on both our perimeter cabinets and island. Planning a mix of painted on the perimeter and stained cherry on the island. To me raised panels looked classic and gave it the period styling I wanted for our classic colonial home. Well I must have looked so long at different styles of doors trying to find the perfect one for me (which I did) that maybe I got tired of them or just changed my mind. I think I was afraid of so many raised panels in the kitchen and that it seemed too formal. And it seems that each time I saw photos of kitchens with inset recessed panel doors (Shaker style) it just said classic colonial farmhouse to me, but I had discounted them because it wasn't raised panel. Well then I realized that I loved it even though I had discounted those recessed doors all this time. So what we have ended up doing is going with painted beaded inset doors with a recessed panel door (with a regular framing bead in the panel)on the perimeter cabinets. On the island we will have a simple raised panel beaded inset door in a stained cherry. I am mixing the cabinet styles, the island will look more like a piece of furniture while the perimeter cabinets will look more built in. I want the look of a kitchen that has grown and evolved over the years and I think it will work. Hope so anyway.

Of course, you need to decide what it is you want to live with. Kitchens should last a long time and you want to feel good in them. It seems like you are taking a good look at what you want and asking great questions. Maybe a good question to ask is how formal do you want it? The wood choice, painted or stained, detailing (framing bead or edge, hardware choice, finish) all makes a difference.

Good luck. Hope you get to post update soon.

Thanks all for the opinions, observations, etc. I did not add to the original post that I recently visited another friend who had just completed building a new house with a very high end kitchen. She has shaker doors on her cabinets. When I first visited her, I didn't like the looks of the shaker doors, so I figured raised panel were just the ticket. But then I visited the other friend with the raised panel doors, and thought they looked dated.

My sister once put her finger on why we have trouble making these sorts of decisions. My mother and her sister both have lovely homes, but they do not re-decorate often. They have found a classic style and stuck with it. We were taught that decorating decisions are unchangeable and, as she said to the tile guy who was working with her to choose new tile, we have to live with them until WE DIE, which of course is not true. We can change whenever we decide we want to pay for it.

I think you need to go with whatever feels right to you in your own space.

To me, each type of door calls up a specific historical style (or later variation on that style, like today's popular white inset Victorian scullery). I tend to suspect that the most successful designs incorporate a number of stylistic elements from one coherent period, rather than mixing and matching, so a lot depends on the style of counters, floors, wall and window trim, etc.

Try not to think of it in terms of what's "in" or "out" or "contemporary" - think of it in terms of which period appeals to you overall (colors, lines, furniture), and how that fits with the architecture of your house and your overall decor.

Slab = 1900's, 1930's, 1950's, 1960's

Inset = 1910's, 1940's, current

Raised = 1970's, 1980's

Shaker = 1890's, 1920's, 1990's

I think you need to go with whatever feels right to you in your own space.

To me, each type of door calls up a specific historical style (or later variation on that style, like today's popular white inset Victorian scullery). I tend to suspect that the most successful designs incorporate a number of stylistic elements from one coherent period, rather than mixing and matching, so a lot depends on the style of counters, floors, wall and window trim, etc.

Try not to think of it in terms of what's "in" or "out" or "contemporary" - think of it in terms of which period appeals to you overall (colors, lines, furniture), and how that fits with the architecture of your house and your overall decor.

Slab = 1900's, 1930's, 1950's, 1960's

Inset = 1910's, 1940's, current

Raised = 1970's, 1980's

Shaker = 1890's, 1920's, 1990's

The classic traditional raised panel style first appeared in the 17th century. It has been incorporated into Colonial, Adam, Georgian, Federalist, Shingle Style, Queen Anne, and various revival styles. You see a lot of it up here in New England where there are older colonial homes as well as in Williamsburg, VA. It is definitely not a fad or trendy.

Look at different kitchens on the GW and see what you really are drawn to and that will help you decide.

Here here for true classics. And maybe take a renewed interest in wallpaper and curtains. Our parents were onto something when they worked out passing whims and boredoms at the sewing machine instead of sending their cabinetry to the dump.

WHICH raised panel and WHICH shaker? Since you are doing (I assume) full overlay, you have to consider how the entire door will look and how they will look lined up. Will you have a lot of narrower doors? Do you have a sample of each style picked out we could look at? I have raised panel (but beaded inset) in my kitchen and master bath and shaker in the guest bath. I prefer the raised panel. To me it is more traditional and timeless. The shaker seems boring to me, but it fits in the bathroom well enough (lots of beadboard). You also have to consider what would look better with other features you are planning for the kitchen, room features, rooms visible from the kitchen, etc. What style and age house do you have? What style furniture. My great room furniture is mahogany, mostly Henkel Harris or similar style with some asian antique accents. Shaker in MY kitchen (which is very visible from the great room) would just be wrong.

So, I guess my answer is, it depends!

I looked at FKB and found out what it was about my friend's cabinets that I didn't like. Hers had a very pronounced arched top. Someone on FKB had squared top (panel), raised panel doors, which is what I think I prefer.

I do not have anything picked out yet, although I have tentatively told the cabinetmaker raised panel. Because he is not through with the final drawings, I have some time.

Our house is small. The kitchen, eating area and living room are all open to each other. This piece, which is currently in storage, will be in the eating area (there is no formal dining room):

{{!gwi}}

The sideboard has raised panel doors. Between that and all of your good advice, I think I know the direction I need to go...raised panel.

Boy, am I overthinking this! When I went to get the picture of the sideboard, I found pictures of my last two kitchens. BOTH had raised panel doors with slightly arched panels on the uppers. I never noticed until right now!

bbstx, I agree your home calls for raised panel. It's beautiful and I'm sure you will design a classic and timeless kitchen to go along with your classic furniture. That sideboard is gorgeous! I can't wait to see what you pick out.

Funny! That's a lovely sideboard. Agree, definitely raised panel. Shaker would come off as specifically austere/plain/simple/casual/modern/? in that setting.

It that your current kitchen in the photo to the right? Must not be. It looks updated already.

As soon as I saw your sideboard, I said RAISED PANEL, which I think is the more "classic" or "timeless" of the 2 (raised or shaker). We recently purchased raised panel cherry cabinets with a very simple square door and I think it will work for us for a very long time. I orginally wanted a shaker door bc that it what is "in" now, but my DH insisted on a raised panel. I am glad he did...

Here is a link that might be useful: Here is a pic of something very similar to our raised panel cabinet door

chincette, the picture with the sideboard is not my current kitchen. That is the house we lived in before DH retired and we moved to our vacation home. The current house has very very cheap cabinets, doors so thin that the paper towel holder is held on with Command stips (which have held it on for four years amazingly enough!).

Here is a "taste" of what the kitchen looks like currently. Notice the closet not only has a washer and dryer but also the dishwasher in it! Ignore the greenery on top of the cabinets. When we were unpacking, I had to shove it somewhere. Looks like you need a machete and a snake bite kit to go in there!

{{!gwi}}

Another vote for raised panels to blend with your decor. We have a raised panel that is very non-fussy, with straight lines. I love them.

Although we have shaker in the bathroom, I like the raised panel in the kitchen better and I think its less trendy.

bbstyx, Thank you for asking this Q- I've been pondering the same thing, too. I would go along with those who say that while both are classic, the shaker is a less formal style. I, personally, don't think they are too simple - (for instance I also happen to love the ultra contemporary flat slab look) - I think I worry more about ending up a little too country or rustic for my taste. And yet some of the most beautiful kitchens I've seen here are in this style - I think it's been growing on me! Also, though I can see the point of those who worry the painted Shaker/cup pull/ subway tile look could ultimately be seen as trendy - it's easy enough to replace hardware, backsplashes etc. to update, and white cabinets look pretty timeless, IMO.

Also, I think you are right when you say that the arched top on the raised panels in your friend's house is what gave a more dated look to your eye - square raised panel would be my choice, too. Other things to consider - the treatment of the drawers. You can do them in raised panel, too or keep them simple . I've also seen curved, which to me is a more traditional look. Hardware, ie pulls and or knobs will make a big difference, too.

Another thing I think about in conjunction with these two options is ceiling height. Either look, for example, would be great in a space with high ceilings. I'm still not sure the raised panel (which you commonly see done with lots of up and downs) would look as dramatic or great with my 8 foot ceilings, though! As other people have noted, overlay, partial overlay, inset makes a difference, too. I'm either doing full overlay or inset. If inset, I'm also considering doing concealed hinges for a more transitional (to me) look. I even saw a great kitchen in a showroom with inset uppers and full overlay lower cabinets - it looked great!