Opinion: Slab-Style Kitchen Cabinet Doors

[Jeff Lee]

I'll be putting in custom kitchen cabinets on a home that I just closed. (Though I may sell it somewhere down the road.)

What is your opinion on the style of door used? I have a real bias toward slab-style doors. Something about the flat design with a bar handle looks great to me.

1. Would doing this affect (+/-) the selling price?

2. How do homeowners or people in general view this preference?

3. Is there any issues I should be aware of if I go this route?

[Scott Weaner]

Well, personally, I don't like those. They look like Formica to me, and would not put them in my house. However, I really don't prefer the contemporary look.

[Jean Bolger]

I do like these. As far as resale value, I don't know if there's a definite plus or minus. I would think it's just a matter of taste- some people like the more modern look and some people like old stuff.  If the rest of the house is reasonably modern in style I think it would be fine. What's weird is when you see a "modern" style house with a "french country" kitchen. Anyhow, since it seems it's going to be your house for a while, I'd say just do what you want!

[Jeff Lee]

@Jean Bolger I should've used a different photo. (I assume the one depicted is the 'french country.') I would prefer any of the two below: (probably the lighter colored one)

[Kyle Samuel]

Jeff Lee I think that if you have a very modern style house, the flat faced cabinets would work. Personally, I think they are ugly though and I would never consider putting them in any of my flips. I, for the most part, always use the shaker style cabinets(the dark cabinets in the second picture) in my flips. I've used white, antique white, and espresso shaker style cabinets, all with positive feedback from buyers. I really like the way shaker cabinets look because they are simple and clean looking, not to mention affordable.

[Jeff Lee]

@Kyle Samuel What merchants sell shaker style cabinets? I, too, like the second picture and I would welcome them, especially if they're cheaper than custom-made cabinets.

[Kyle Samuel]

@Jeff Lee I have used Fabuwood cabinets on a few flips. They are a Chinese company, I think they run around $140/linear foot. Which I would imagine would be much cheaper than custom cabinets. My cabinet installer says they are nicer than a lot of other cabinets that cost twice as much..

[Richard C.]

Pretty much all manufacturers have a shaker line. I have Kraftmade shaker cabinets in my house, and put Hampton Bay cabinets from Home Depot in my last rehab. Really not bad cabinets at all. I think simpler styles work better when dealing with cheaper cabinets.

[David Frandsen]

@Jeff Lee I think the real question is "what will sell the house in your area?" There are so many different tastes out there. Figure out what is selling in your area and go with something similar. 

[Jeff Lee]

Does anyone have any opinion on a location other than Home Depot to buy kitchen cabinets? I'd like to have a balance of cost and quality. (Maybe HD has it and I haven't found it.)

[Phil Z.]

That is a common Modern Asian design.  I think it would look stunning with very very dark cabinets and stainless pulls.  It would have to go with the style of the property tho.. either an urban building (i.e. NYC apartment) or a Modern Contemporary style home.

[Kathleen Leary]

This is what I have in my own home (put in by previous owner). They are solid oak with slightly chamfered edges rather than the sharp 90-degree in the photos. In my opinion, they certainly aren't trendy, but they aren't going to look dated in 20 years, either.

Changing out the hardware can really update a kitchen, rather than re-doing all the cabinetry. A plainer front won't interfere with other design elements you may have.