[masraum]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I have shaker style cabinets in my kitchen. Made by Mad Genius German craftsmen. We underpaid by HUGE amounts for the killer work they did. They are some of the best in the area.

BUT, the shaker style that I requested, while it looks amazing, has a big flaw.

Sharp, corners and edges.

The square edges and corners don't wear nearly as well as more rounded edges. Case in point is my In-laws with circa 1986 cabinets that look nearly flawless. (Look dated and ugly as well, but that is a different thing).

My cabinets are about 15 years old and have some problems. I have come to believe that shaker style is simply not a very great style for longevity.

(Note on shaker style because it is a favorite factoid. The Shakers were a religious movement in the 1800's. They advocated separation of men and women. Families were not promoted and may have been discouraged. Resulting in very few children being born into the Shaker movement. See any Shakers around in 2023? Me either. They all died out. I find this hilarious.)

Poplar seems to be popular for cabinet doors these days, and it's not that hard. We just had shaker doors made for our cabinets. We asked for the outside edges of the doors to be hit with a 1/8" radius round-over router bit to help with that. I'm sure they will/can still get bumped, and the corners are still sharp, but it should help.

Shaker would not have been my first choice, but the GC sort of pushed them (they are popular, look great, etc...), and the missus agreed to go with them. I mostly left my opinion out of the decision for the kitchen, "whatever you like honey." I suspect they are quicker, easier, and cheaper than some other door types.