I'm not done with my kitchen yet but I went with flat panels. I didn't want the busy visual of having completed end panels. I think for a big pantry a flat panel would be great, you could always hang a piece of art on the end, or a hook to hold aprons etc.

we have a few "ends" on our cabinets (including under the island) and all of them are finished. I think it creates a nice, integrated and clean look. I actually didn't even notice (or think about!) this until just this post and we've had the kitchen complete for about 4 months!

You can kind of see the panels under the island here. That last row of "drawers" under the island is actually a door to the area under the sink, but we kept the hardware to keep the look consistent.

I think either is fine and you can go with your personal preference (or budget.)

We did flat panels, but we didn't have any full length floor to ceiling panels because all of our cabinets to the ceiling ended at a wall. I prefer simpler designs so it is more pleasing to me to have it flat. If I had an end panel on a tall cabinet however, I would have considered adding the rails to that.

Have you considered only doing on your pantry end panel and leaving the rest flat? That might be a decent compromise. I don't think it would look weird to only have your tall panels with the decoration. It would be cheaper than doing every end panel.

One thing to consider is how plumb your walls are. In my daughters kitchen, the wall behind the tall pantry is not plumb and the shaker panel door additions will help hide that. On her integrated fridge, they used an integrated side shaker panel and will probably have to add a thin molding to hide the unevenness. On the side of her bottom cabinet, she went with a minimal shaker panel. Of course with painted cabs, caulking may help. She has stained cabinets.

On the end of my pantry/dish hutch cabinet, I originally planned to use a full- depth, tall end panel. Instead, I ended up wrapping a drywall wall around from the adjacent room, with just a 3" projection of the cabinetry. This was done partially to accommodate a return air duct above the pantry. I like how it turned out, and was cheaper than a full end panel. The 3" projection provided a surface to end the baseboard neatly.

Mine are all finished in the Shaker style. I was never asked and just assumed that that is how it would be done.

Everyone, thank you so very much for your helpful posts! Wow, DIY2Much2Do (love that "handle"), I hadn't even considered that idea. Very interesting! Keep 'em coming!

I had planned on flat panels - liked the clean look and the cost difference was significant. BUT...they misordered the side panels for the refrigerator, and when they re-ordered them, they sent an extra piece, so the two ends that frame the entrance into the DR have shaker panels; the one at the end of the cabinet that goes into the back hall is plain as is the one by the back door. It works...

We have a mixer lift on the end of the island, so for the rest of the island end (the side of the drawer stack that faces the sink run) we chose a matching panel. The same is true for the right-facing side which has one little drawer and door, and the side facing the stove which has one drawer stack and a panel on the remaining portion. There is a visible end right across the aisle from the island (behind the water cooler), so that got a matching panel. If not for the mixer door, we'd have gone with flat ends. The end of the cabinet run just by the DR door (back right to the right of the stove) has just the finished side of drawer unit. We didn't use any end panels on uppers.

Edit: there is one end panel on the uppers above the water cooler.

Islands should always be finished all the way around. Not having an island finished properly, with proper toe kick in all areas, and having the countertop support and needed electrical planned into it from the beginning is a pet peeve. You're not getting a proper KD if essential elements are an afterthought

I also prefer views from an entrance, or views from a frequently occupied area have factory integrated finished ends. It is a better look than field applied doors.

My cabinet ends are a plain panel, and I'm perfectly happy with them.

I did flat panels by a back door to the deck that is only used by the chef who grills. You can't see it from any area in the kitchen/house. All others have shaker ends.

LOL - it's DH - and he only grills

Here's another example of an end panel. Good luck with your kitchen! :)

DIY2Much2Do, I like the baseboard that you added near your pantry. Can you tell me what was used to create it?

I would finish all sides of the island. I would not add any extra paneling to the sides of the wall cabinets.

@nnie,

I made my own baseboards, ripped on a table saw from 4x8 MDF sheets from Home Depot. Very inexpensive. The upper base piece is 3/4" MDF, the lower piece is 1/2" MDF.

Similar to this... The Joy of Moldings

Are your cabinets partial overlay, full overlay or inset?

I usually do integrated or matching doorstyle on inset and partial overlay.

For full overlay, I do a non-functioning door applied to the end. You can choose to have it flush with frame....or deeper, so flush with the door.

The photo below is an integrated end panel.

Showplace Lexington Oyster Gray with Espresso Maple · More Info

Showplace Lexington Oyster Gray with Espresso Maple · More Info

Same kitchen....this upper wall cabinet end panel is a non-functioning matching doorstyle panel. It is FLUSH INSET just like the cabinets themselves.

I have shaker/inset cabinets in my kitchen. Not sure how well these photos will show the kitchen and in particular the end panels. But I went with plain end panels, including on the side of where the wall ovens are housed (which is what you see when you enter from the dining room) and am glad I did. (Pardon the bad lighting in the photos - the lighting in the kitchen is fabulous but my photography is not - and one of these pictures is a "panoramic" shot on my iphone, which distorts the footprint of the kitchen (galley) but permits a glimpse of the side panel by the wall ovens.)

DIY2Much2Do, thanks. I love thejoyofmouldings.com. I often reference their page.

Do you have Brazilian Teak floors?

@nnie, Floors are Kempas. Specifically, Chesapeake Flooring Natural Kempas. I consider it "medium" everything... not too dark, not too light, not too narrow or wide, not too brown or red, not too uniform or too variegated. Very pleased with it.

We are extending Brazilian Teak into our kitchen and it looks very similar. Maybe I should just ask you for your floor plan and design elements and save myself all this stress!

@nnie... Brazilian Teak (Cumaru) was our first choice for flooring. Where we were shopping, it was considerably more expensive, or else we would have gone for it. The Kempas was similar in appearance, but just a little bit redder. So far, so good.