Kitchen is about function, function, function for me. So my priorities are frameless cabs up to the ceiling, french door bottom freezer fridge, having propane run to have a gas stove, instant hot water, undersink drawer to maximize space, etc. Much lower on my personal priority list would be the specific door style and top-end appliances. So from my perspective, the vast vast advantage of frameless far outweigh the slight aesthetic appeal that they give to you. In fact, I am so passionate about frameless that for me, seeing inset cab doors drives me nuts because I get hung up on what a poor use of space they are. If you have space to burn, you may not care, but why would you choose a dog food cabinet that is 25% larger than what you had planned for, just so you could have inset doors? I love Arts & Crafts, but you can achieve that same feel with your door style choice, I believe. Pros of frameless: -Cheaper, apparently (although I don't recall that to be the case for me in 2007) -Maximum use of space. This pro, in a small kitchen, cannot be overstated! And to go hand-in-hand, be sure you are getting full extension drawer glides! You'll have to fill in your own Pros for inset, of course.

Re. loss of space with inset: thanks all for the answers. I had gathered from a number of posts above that the inset cabinets were causing folks difficulty, which didn't compute for me. The issue of space loss in inset drawers makes more sense. My drawers are all quite wide and have fairly narrow stiles, so I don't feel I'm losing too much in my case, but I can see that happening in narrower drawer stacks. I didn't really choose this design (I got them used), but now that I have them I'm really glad they are inset for the sake of stylistic coherence (1923 bungalow). There's just something about that smooth profile that feels delicious. Artemis, I remember my grandmother's 1900 farm kitchen and her lower cabinetry, which was basically a long painted box with doors into it. She could slide baking sheets & those massive Midwestern cake pans all along the 10' shelf if she needed to. Huge amount of space. Plllog - thanks, that does clarify. Just curious: isn't your custom guy building your cabs in place? As you know we used recycled cabinets and jury-rigged everything to fit, so I don't really have any experience with either full-on custom or factory-ordered, but our carpenter friend did build the things we added (drawer stacks, end panels, dishwasher case, fridge surround etc) right in place. That isn't how it normally works with a custom carpenter? (I'm already gearing up for my next remodel in 20 years, hah.)

Yes, I am. In theory there is no difference ( in terms of looks between the two ), in practice there are many. An integral bead will always be in plane ( its position will always be perfect ). The highest point of the arc of the bead is typically set .03" from the face of the face frame. This way the frame can be sanded without flattening the top of the bead. When you apply a loose bead by hand it is difficult to line up the bead accurately every time. So inevitably some beads will sit proud and be flattened and other times it sits too low, so it can look "wavy". Also, when you make beading, you are s4s ing stock and routing/shaping both sides of a stick and then ripping a 5/16" width off either edge. This leaves two long bowed beads. When you rip stock on a saw you release stresses in the wood. You never get perfectly parallel sides. You might get consistency from the first rip but you wont from the second. What this means is that you end up putting an imperfect bead on a face frame. What this means is that the step that is part of the profile will be irregular , the gap between the bead and the edge of the face frame will differ along its length. Also, most guys I know attach applied beads with pins and glue. The reason for the gap that might exist between the bead and the face frame is the lack of consistent clamping force. The pins will only hold the bead to the face frame in the immediate area where they are shot. Then all the holes have to filled. The filler must not shrink also. I would say that the average person would not mind all of these things but a cabinetmaker definitely would and you would never get away with an applied bead on an architectural job. If you are picky then I would go for the integral. Steve

Thanks, everyone! MamaGoose, Pickle2's kitchen is soooooo dreamy! I adore that apple green color! I sort of got lost reading about all the kitchen updates and backsplash woes, that I totally didn't even notice the uppers and lowers difference. I guess that's proof enough that it can work ;-) 12crumbles, The door styles for the inset uppers and the full overlay lowers will likely be very, very similar (probably with a recessed panel), so no worries there! For the island, i'm toying with doing a raised panel of some sort. No decisions yet, but thanks for the vote of confidence! Homechef, i've explored the Barkers and Scherr's route, and I haven't written them off yet -- I'll be reaching out to Scherr's for a bid once I get a little bit closer to making some decisions. I didn't realize they also did inset, so thanks for that! I'm holding off considering Barker until their growing pains have worked themselves out. I know I can just get doors from Conestoga via one of their resellers, so I don't think anything special is required for compatibility to IKEA (except for providing them accurate measurements). But, i'm speculating now, and making assumptions that the drawer fronts just attached via screws. Good idea to double check how everything comes together and talk it over with the door supplier. I'm not ready to give up on the Inset uppers, as I really like the look and think they will impart some charm. That being said, you are right, I am making it more complicated than necessary, lol. The wall of uppers will be prime viewing area from the family room, so i'm willing to put extra effort into their aesthetic -- even if I am the only one that notices the inset detail ;-) But, frameless uppers is the fallback plan, don't worry! So, on the list so far are Ikea supplemented by Scherr's or Conestoga. I thought I also read something about Omega now offering a frameless line (anyone have experience with them?). Are there any other lines that do both inset and frameless that I can consider?