Shaker kitchen cabinets are rising in the market due to their minimalistic and elegant appearance. They can blend easily with the rest of the kitchen hardware and enhance the place’s overall feeling as they have many different styles.
What is Shaker Kitchen Cabinet?
Shaker kitchen cabinets are rectangular or square-shaped with another rectangular or square-shaped box within their surface. Every aspect of shaker kitchen cabinets aims for simplicity and the modern atmosphere that it brings to the kitchen, and they have various features that enable them to do their work.
A Shaker-style cabinet takes its name from a religious group that came to the US, the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, most often called the Shakers. They wanted to create a community that valued the simple things in life to foster honesty and integrity. They were self-sufficient and made much of what went into their homes, and they appreciated having a utilitarian rather than decorative. Simplicity and utility are the main characteristics of Shaker furniture styles, including kitchen cabinets.
A Shaker cabinet mainly comprises four pieces of wood to create the cabinet door frame and a fifth flat, recessed piece that serves as the center panel. The door was set precisely inside the cabinet box, or inset, and had exposed hinges. Back in the day, the cabinets were made of pine, birch, or maple.
Features Of Shaker Kitchen Cabinets
The most important aspect of these cabinets is that they can blend very well with almost every type of kitchen, for example, traditional, modern, or even small personal kitchens.
1. What are Shaker Cabinets Made of?
These kitchen cabinets’ primary type of material is hardwood, a timeless kitchen cabinet material. It is also a perfect choice if you want your kitchen surrounded by a natural aura. There are lots of different types of wood that you can select for your Shaker kitchen cabinet. For example, oak, walnut, maple, birch, and chestnut have unique appearances.
Suppose you also want to boast about your kitchen cabinetry to your neighbors with how unique the material is; Shaker kitchen cabinets can also be made from tigerwood, bamboo, and many other unique trees to create a luxurious ambiance.
On the other hand, these types of kitchen cabinetry can also be made of Plywood and the Medium Density Fiberwood (MDF). Both options are viable for budget-friendly kitchens as they are cheaper than hardwood.
Plywood is the option you want to go for if you want your cabinetry to last longer because plywood type of cabinetry consists of several thin layers of wood that enable it to last longer. On the other hand, MDF is the type of wood with compressed wood fibers, making it more resistant to cracks and more easily painted than the hardwood option.
2. Shaker Kitchen Cabinets Are Elegant And Easy To Blend
Due to having a minimalistic appearance, shaker kitchen cabinets are one of the best types of cabinetry you can choose for your modern and classy kitchen. This approach also makes your kitchen look larger due to the need for more necessary things that occupy space in other kitchens.
3. Shaker Kitchen Cabinets Have Perfect Availability For Finishes
Shaker kitchen cabinets offer different finishes for people who want to avoid the wooden appearance while conserving these cabinets’ minimalistic approach. The most common finishes applied to shaker kitchen cabinets are Thermofoil, Polyurethane, and Burnished finishes. These finishes will give you the look you want from your shaker cabinetry.
Thermofoil finish is mainly used for enhancing the wood’s surface and making it last longer. However, it is not so DIY friendly and requires special care and precision that only a professional can do perfectly.
Polyurethane finish, on the other hand, is DIY friendly, and it is the most common finish for Shaker-style kitchen cabinets as it brings out the earthly and natural feelings solid wood has.
A burnished finish makes your cabinetry look older than they are, and this aging process makes their fixtures look shinier and more attractive. However, they, too, are not DIY friendly if you don’t have an experience with this process.
For people that don’t want any finishes on their cabinetry, there is also the most classical painted finish that gets rid of textures that hardwood has.
4. What Color Goes with Shaker Kitchen Cabinets
If you do not want the natural wooden look in your kitchen cabinetry, you can paint them accordingly to your needs. And you do not need to worry about finding the best color for your kitchen, as shaker kitchen cabinets have a vast range of color options.
These cabinets can be colored blue, green, and red to the all-time classics white, grey, and black colors. Also, with the right finish, for example, matte. Or, you can opt for a more traditional white to make your kitchen look elegant and classic.
5. Shaker Kitchen Cabinets Have Various Styles
Standard Shaker cabinets, Skinny Shaker cabinets, and shallow Shaker cabinets are popular options for this type of kitchen cabinet. The standard Shaker kitchen cabinet type has the most visible rails and stiles, and their widths range from two and a quarter inches to three and a half inches. Also, the gap between the main surface and the recessed shaker panel is bigger.
On the other hand, Skinny Shaker Cabinets’ rails and stiles are smaller, and the gap between the recessed panel and the central panel is much more undistinguishable. These rails and stiles can shrink to just ¾ inches, making the recessed panel bigger, which makes the cabinetry look modern.
Shallow shaker cabinets also have a more significant gap between the recessed panel and main panel and are like Skinny Shaker Cabinets in appearance.
Why Should You Consider Shaker Kitchen Cabinets?
Shaker kitchen cabinets are perfect for many kitchens with their blending capacities with every kitchen type, various styles, and color options they provide. Also, due to their minimalistic look, they can make your kitchen elegant and modern while maintaining the aesthetic property that traditional kitchens have.
In terms of cost, they are also cheaper than the same type of kitchen cabinetry with similar styles and designs. So, selecting a shaker kitchen cabinetry is an excellent choice for your kitchen with its characteristics.
Conclusion
Shaker kitchen cabinets are a popular choice for those looking for a minimalist and elegant look in their kitchen. These cabinets are rectangular or square-shaped with a box within their surface, and their design is based on simplicity and utility. Shaker cabinets are made of hardwood but can also be made of MDF. They are elegant and easy to blend, making them a great choice for modern kitchens. Shaker cabinets have perfect availability for finishes, including Thermofoil, Polyurethane, Burnished, and painted finishes. They have many color options, including blue, green, red, traditional white, grey, and black. Shaker cabinets have various styles, including standard, skinny, and shallow shaker cabinets, with widths and gaps between the recessed and main panels.