" I prefer fewer visible gables on the upper cabinets "

What is a "visible gable" on a cabinet", I do not follow your question?

Millworkman, please see attached imaged. Note the gable at the end of the run of upper cabinets (flanking the window). I prefer when this gable is hidden.

I think you mean exposed side panels? Or the actual cabinet framing around the doors?

Chispa, sure, side panels! My cabinet maker refers to them as gables.

Side panels are box color unless you add an applied end panel. You ALWAYS add an applied end panel.

I am asking if I can hide the end panel with the door. So that the end panel is not visible,  as in the images I add to my original post.

If you mean exposed side panels, I'm not sure how you can disguise them - they're always going to be there at the end of a run. You can buy cabinet door panels to put on the ends so they look more finished. A gable in the context of houses is an exterior roof feature. That's why we're having trouble understanding what you're referring to. Or are you referring to soffits, which are boxed sections of drywall that bridge the ceiling and cabinets if the cabinets aren't tall enough to go all the way to the ceiling?

Still confused!

Are you having a problem with the side panels that get exposed when you have different upper cabinet depths?

Or even if all cabinet depths are the same you don't like seeing a cabinet frame and want doors to butt up to doors without the frame between them?

This.  I like when you don't see an end panel.

Does your cabinet line offer integral finished sides as an upgrade, instead of applied end panels? The majority of Euro cabinet do not. If not, the discussion is pointless. You have to have the applied end panels, or your cabinet sides will be the maple or white laminate that the box is made out of.

Even so, the plain finished sides are not as good of a look as the larger applied panels. Those integrate the light rail and upper finished moldings into a whole designed piece. The cabinets look naked without all of that, and have no way of accounting for out of level and plumb walls and ceilings.

DeWayne, what is the difference between integral finished sides vs. applied end panels? This is a fully custom kitchen and we are not selecting from any cabinet "line".

The side panels can be made to match whatever finish you have on the door (recessed panel, raised panel, fluted, etc), so they don't look plain and flat ... but if you are doing slab door , then you already have plain and flat.

The only way you will never have an exposed end panel is if all your upper cabinets are the same depth and they run all the way across one wall, with no interruptions for windows, hoods, etc.

Every single photo you showed have some exposed end panels?

Still not understanding what it is you want?

Mcarroll16, thank you! Yes, full overlay with no overlapping side panel. Our cabinet maker can do this as this is fully custom. Are there any downsides to this design?

Not that I'm aware of, but the pros may be aware of some. That's what we have--full overlay w/ no side panel. Agree with you in strongly preferring that look.

Cabinet boxes are built with front and back prefinished sheet goods, into that 5 sided box shape. The doors are then added on top of the box, to create a cabinet. But the sides of that cabinet are that white melamine that the inside of the cabinet is. UNLESS you pay extra for the sides of the box to be hand laminated/veneered with the door material, instead the box interior. It's labor intensive, versus just ordering a custom door to attach to the side.

Almost all of the foil doors in the market are outsourced from 1-3 makers in the industry. They do not make them in house. So when they are faced with having to custom make a cabinet side in a foil or veneer that matches the outsourced doors, they have to either source laminated sheet goods from that outsource, or the raw veneer/foil, and then set up a vacuum press in house. That is another reason to prefer the applied end panels. They will more closely match the outsourced cabinet doors, because they too are outsourced to that 3rd party.

TO have zero trim for those cabinets means that you have to have absolutely perfect steel framed walls and ceilings that never have truss lift, or settle. It is not a realistic goal without an absolutely huge budget.

I now realize my wording was confusing for most of you. What I am asking is Full Overlay vs. Inset cabinet doors on upper cabinets (keep in mind this is a contemporary slab design). If my base drawers are full overlay, is it best to go with the same style above? The upper cabinets are laminate and there will be matching edge.

You are just going to confuse people further. Most people are not familiar with frameless cabinet construction or installs.

Your cabinet maker is the one that can best answer the degree of customization that they offer, and the cost for doing so. But you are asking for issues with that approach.

Paging @bry911 to help OP.

I think you mean intergrated end panel.

J Sk, sure! I'm not a designer and I'm not familiar with the terminology. Obviously I understand that there needs to be a side panel, however I like it hidden by the slab door front.

You can actually have a combo of the two. My cabinets are full overlay (Diag 1), but I have a full width applied finished end panel added that makes it look like Diag 2. But you only see this at the end of a cabinet or drawer run.

Not inset, see how the drawers are full overlay and right next to each other.

A lot of this is just personal preference. If your kitchen is custom, then just tell them how you want it to look. Doesn't really matter what the rest of us like or don't like.

@chispa, I think what OP wants is NOT to see panel when she is looking at the front of cabinet.

Since the upper cabinets are laminate, there will be matching edge banding. I need to decide whether I want to see the edge on the front on the applied finish side panel OR on the side of the door if the door covers the integrated side panel. Either way there will be a visible edge band, however, which way will look cleaner/better?

Lomo, I'm asking here because I like to hear what others have done.

In modern frameless kitchens, you generally do not add applied end panels. You make the box ends either using the finished material or with a thin skin veneer. This is referred to, in my market anyway, as an integrated end panel or simply a finished end. If you are using a material like a laminate, this might mean that the inside of your cabinets will be partially the same finish as the outside. If you are working with veneers, it shouldn't affect the interior.

I've never heard the term "gable" and we wouldn't refer to this as inset cabinetry either.

I think I would like with modern cabinets like on this picture. But this one is high end so everything (edgebanding is looking great and smooth). Either way it looks good, if it is good quality . Did you see how your cabinet maker does edgebanding because you might not like at all. Many small cabinet makers do a poor job. Get a door sample from him.

I designed each of these. All with integrated end panels.

Kristin Petro, yes, the inside of the cabinets will be the same finish as the outside. Sorry for confusing everyone with "gable". Today I learned what I like is called an Integrated End Panel :)

J Sk, our cabinet maker has previously made our bathroom vanity with laminate and edge banding. We are very happy with the work.

@Kristin Petro, love your designs! ;-)

@Kristin Petro, thank you! Beautiful kitchens!

@Kristin Petro, do the slab doors with integrated side panels require any special hinge limiters so they don't bang into a wall or adjacent pantry door?

What you can get really depends on what is available from the cabinet company you will be ordering from. "End panels" doesn't necessarily refer to the sides of the boxes, it likely refers to decorative pieces applied afterwards to match the finish and conceal pins or screws in the box when the side of a cabinet is exposed, as it is in your uppers. And it's some manner of solid plank, about 1/2 or 3/4" thick or so. You cannot overlay the door on it without messing with the hinges. An alternative is a "skin," a sheet of veneer or other thin decorative surface, glued in place. Your designer may or may not be working with a manufacturer that offers this, and if you're that determined to show only the door in front, you may need to buy your cabinets somewhere else.

I include Blum 86 degree hinge stops when a cabinet opens into a wall, vent hood or deeper cabinet. Your cabinetry should also be designed with the appropriate fillers where needed. For modern slab, I always use overlay fillers.

I like the look you prefer, not what your designer is recommending. I personally think your look seems more high-end.

Since I was asked to post... None of what the OP wants is really that confusing...

A cabinet gable is just a cabinet cover panel. The nomenclature is a remnant of carpenter constructed cabinets rather than production and most cabinet makers should know what cabinet gables are. However, @MGdecor, cabinet gables are not integrated end panels, they are cover panels.

---

Yes, it is quite easy to have gables (cover panels), rather than integrated end panels, and still have the door cover the gable. It is done all the time and is not that hard, but it may change the hinge. You can choose to use a hinge for a thicker door, an offset hinge, or simply use a full overlay hinge in a frameless cabinet. A cabinetmaker who calls cover panels, "gables" is probably capable of pulling off the hinge as someone they likely learned their skill from a carpenter.

---

You are saying "full overlay" but showing a picture of frameless, so I am not exactly sure what your KD is suggesting with the inset. On the left you have full overlay, on the right you have frameless...

Regardless of which one you have, I am struggling to picture inset as a contemporary option. Below is a picture of a frameless inset slab(ish) cabinets and to me it screams classic farmhouse.

I don't think a thicker face frame is going to yield a more contemporary cabinet. However, I am not a designer and your designer may have some spectacular vision.

---

Since you were asking about doors to go over the cover panels, You can also have doors that are taller and cover the light rail.

On the left you have full overlay, on the right you have frameless...

Both of these are full overlay. The left image is a face-frame cabinet, the one on the right is frameless.

We had to add Blum hinge stops to a cabinet door that opened against the wall, and the cabinet doors that opened against the hood. They are $6/pair and a 5 minute job to insert into the hinge.

Both of these are full overlay. The left image is a face-frame cabinet, the one on the right is frameless.

Have you ever seen a partial overlay frameless cabinet? In my area, overlay refers to the amount of the face frame that is covered. In full overlay, the door frame fully overlays the face-frame, in partial overlay the face frame is partially covered. Frameless don't have a face-frame to cover.

In my area, if you ask a shop to build full overlay cabinets and expect a frameless, you would be disappointed when you got them.

This discussion has taken off in a very technical/academic direction! If I understand your question you are just wondering what door style for your uppers would achieve your desire for a contemporary design—full overlay! (Very unusual that your KD suggested mixing inset uppers, very traditional, with full overlay lowers given your design goals!)