At Dura Supreme Cabinetry we love seeing photos of the many projects our dealers have designed with our product. We get to see many of their beautiful kitchens and baths, and we also get to see their creative chops in action as they mix not only finishes together but door styles as well. We are seeing this more and more as designers, as well as their clients, want to add details that help elevate a room so it’s not so humdrum. Don’t get me wrong! Humdrum is, shall we say…safe, and you can’t go wrong with a white shaker door style. But what happens when you take the simple elements of a shaker door and match it up with another cabinet door style? This can be done easily when you keep a few “rules” in mind for mixing up your styles to create interesting and cohesive designs.
What is a Door Family?
Dura Supreme offers so many different door styles to choose from that it can be a bit overwhelming to try and find different cabinet doors that mix well together. That’s where Door Families come into play to help simplify the choices. Door Families have a couple of elements in common; the same size stile and rail as well as the same inside and outside profiles. Many of our doors also offer the option of having a flat or raised center panel to choose from. Below are a few examples of some of our door families.
When using these commonalities between the different door styles you can create a cohesive design within a single room, or throughout a whole house to create different looks for each room while keeping the same size and profiles. Let’s take a look at several designs that use these principles to mix and match doors!
Door Families for Traditional Designs
You can’t go wrong with traditional designs when they are done as well as this kitchen project. Not only does it feature two different cabinet finishes, but it uses two different door styles that are from the same family; Hawthorne & Highland. Both have the same inside and outside profile, however, Highland is a recessed panel and Hawthorn is its raised panel sibling. Both are perfect for mixing in the same room or a whole house.
This kitchen features Dura Supreme’s Weathered “E” finish on Cherry on the Hawthorne door style for the kitchen island, wood hood, and built-in hutch area contrasted by “Classic White” paint for the perimeter using the Highland door style.
The stunning kitchen below is a traditional design at its best! Not only does it show two popular paint finishes that are timeless, it has two different door styles that complement each other. The perimeter cabinets feature our Dempsey door style in a custom paint (Benjamin Moore “Chantilly Lace” 2121-70 Personal Paint Match) and the kitchen island and fridge panels have Carson V-Groove in Black & Chantilly Lace paint. We are swooning! A perfect example of mixing doors that have different inside profiles, but blend beautifully because of the matching outside profile and consistent stile and rail size.
Design my Megan Dent of Michels Homes | St. Paul, MN
Photo by Scott Amundson.
Design my Megan Dent of Michels Homes | St. Paul, MN
Photo by Scott Amundson
There’s a lot going on in the below project when it comes to door styles. There are three represented from our Craftsman family of doors; Craftsman Panel and Craftsman Beaded Panel on the back wall cabinets and the Silverton door for the kitchen island. Because they all share the same size stile and rail and the same inside/outside edge profile, they blend seamlessly together. The differences are subtle yet unique.
The beautiful traditional design below mixes two inset door styles (Highland and Silverton) that blend beautifully because of the stile and rail size. Both of the doors also offer a decorative inside profile but even though they are not exactly the same, they still mix well in the same kitchen design.
Kitchen design by KSI Kitchen & Bath of Michigan.
Raised and Flat Panel – Better Together!
Below is a great example of mixing doors that come from the same family. This project features the Chelsea door in Putty paint with the Carson door in Quarter-Sawn White Oak with a custom stain finish. Both doors offer a cohesive look due to the same profiles and well as having the same size stiles and rails. The tight reveals of the center panel of the Chelsea door are what give it a striking look and lean towards a transitional style with our Bria frameless cabinets.
Design by Huey Brown Kitchens | Harahan, LA
Design by Huey Brown Kitchens | Harahan, LA
Door Families for Transitional Designs
Transitional designs are the more popular style that many kitchen projects lean into, as they mix traditional styles with contemporary styles for added character and flair. It’s easier to pull off because of the mix. Below is a beautiful example of mixing door styles that one normally wouldn’t think of. The project consists of a skinny shaker door like our Reese in White paint combined with the Homestead Panel shaker door in Hickory with Cashew stain. Both door styles are in the Shaker family of doors however, the contemporary “skinny shaker” styling elevates the design to a whole different level that we love!
Design by Hummingbird Home Renovations of Charlotte, NC
Photo by Toni Lovejoy
Design by Hummingbird Home Renovations of Charlotte, NC
Photo by Toni Lovejoy
This project features the contemporary styling of the Camden solid wood slab door in Cherry with a Cashew stain mixed with the Lauren door in Pearl paint. The soft bevel inside profile of the Lauren door is just perfect for adding depth to the door style. Notice how the hardware form was mimicked in the cabinetry details? Click HERE to read more about this beautiful project and the designer.
Design by Lindsey Markel of Dillman & Upton | Rochester, MI
The bright and open design below features our Reese door combined with our Moda-Vertical veneer door. The “skinny shaker” look is hot hot hot in design right now, and mixing it with the contemporary style of Moda in a Cherry Veneer stained in Cider brings it all together for this modern and airy transitional project.
Design by Alex Muller of Lane Homes and Remodeling | Richmond, VA
Photo by Aquatree Designs
Design by Alex Muller of Lane Homes and Remodeling | Richmond, VA
Photo by Aquatree Designs
Another transitional design using our Hudson shaker door in White paint with the vertical grooves of our Linea door in Gale Force, a Curated Color from Sherwin-Williams that Dura Supreme offers standardly with our Curated Color Collection. A beautiful blend of both cabinet door styles and finishes.
Design by Michelle Verrill of Kitchen and Bath Galleries | Raleigh, NC
Photos by Zeal Photography
Design by Michelle Verrill of Kitchen and Bath Galleries | Raleigh, NC
Photos by Zeal Photography
Mixing slab doors with 5-piece doors is so stinkin’ easy! It is a beautiful blend of traditional with contemporary, so if you’re torn between the two styles you can always combine both and get the best of both worlds! This project features our Hudson door in White paint for the base and wall cabinets, while the tall cabinets on the back wall were specified with our Metro veneer door in Walnut with Morel stain finish.
Design by Anissa Swanzy of SKD Studios | Newport Beach, CA.
Photography by Darlene Halaby
Design by Anissa Swanzy of SKD Studios | Newport Beach, CA
Photography by Darlene Halaby
This design features a unique slab door: the Dash door is one of Dura Supreme’s contemporary Textured TFL doors and it’s been mixed with the transitional styling of the Dempsey door in Linen White paint. Both offer a modern look and feel and the Dash door brings visual texture. A beautiful mix!
While many kitchens are designed with two different finishes, there are opportunities to introduce two (or three!) different door styles as well to mix it up. This is especially true when you are designing cabinets for a whole house. Not every room has to have the same door style, but you can certainly keep the same elements that pull them together. Paying attention to door families based on the sizes of the stiles and rails, as well as the profiles of the door will help you determine what will mix well together. Or, go hog wild and come up with your own combination of doors for the perfect design! The choices are endless! Talk to your local Dura Supreme designer to determine what door family is the perfect match for you.
Until next time, Be Well!
