Cabinet manufacturers offer a dizzying number of door style options to meet the needs of design-conscious consumers and today’s current trends.  The type of door you select goes a long way in determining the cost of your project, and it’s easy to get confused when designers begin talking about “raised-panel” this and “mullion-door” that.

Despite the numerous options you will see in a good kitchen and bath showroom, door style types can generally be grouped by a couple of features – panel type and frame type.  Of course, different panel types can be combined with different frame types to create a wide number of door style selections.

Panel Type

Flat (Recessed) Panel
A flat, lightweight center panel usually made of plywood surrounded by a solid-wood frame.

Raised Panel
A decorative, solid-wood raised center panel surrounded by a frame.

Reversed Raised Panel
This panel type offers the look of a flat panel door with the weight and feel of a raised panel door. This effect is accomplished by flipping the solid-wood center panel so that the flat side faces out.

Mullion Door
The panel of the door is separated with mullions, or dividers. Glass replaces the wood panels in most mullion doors.

Slab
A single piece of solid wood or laminated particle board with no surrounding frame. Slab doors range from inexpensive doors with basic edging to top-of-line solid-wood slabs with decorative edging.

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Frame Type

Square
The most basic door frame available, a square frame looks just like you would imagine. The top of the door panel and frame are squared at the top.

Arched
The top of the door panel and frame forms an arch at the top.

Cathedral
A variation of an arched door style in which only a portion of the door panel and frame are arched.14.5-square-door-style             14.6-arched-door-style              14.7-cathedral-door-style