Kitchen styles, explained.

Cabinets cover most of what you see in a kitchen, so the door profile does most of the work. Pick the door, and the counters, hardware and colors follow.

The middle ground between classic and modern: traditional shapes, kept simple.

• Shaker or simple flat-panel doors
• Quartz or calm natural stone, simple edges
• Brushed brass, nickel or black hardware
• Warm whites, greige, soft greens and wood mixed in

Flat, clean and quiet. Fewer lines, so every joint and gap shows.

• Flat slab doors, often with no visible handles
• Thin quartz or porcelain counters and full-height backsplash
• Integrated appliances behind panels
• Wood grain, matte paint or high gloss, used in large plain areas

Detail and moulding: the kitchen looks like furniture.

• Raised-panel doors, crown moulding, decorative legs and corbels
• Granite or marble with shaped edges
• Knobs and cup pulls in aged brass or bronze
• Painted or stained cabinets, often a contrasting island

Built-in, hand-made feel. Inset doors sit flush inside the cabinet frame.

• Inset or shaker doors, open shelves, a large apron-front sink
• Butcher block, honed marble or soapstone
• Latches, bin pulls and exposed hinges
• Whites, creams, muted blues and greens, natural wood

• Door construction: slab and shaker cost less; raised panel more; inset the most, because it is fitted by hand.
• Cabinet sizes: standard sizes cost less than boxes built to the inch.
• Mouldings, legs, corbels and panel-ready appliance fronts.
• Natural stone with large slabs, book-matching or thick edges.
• Moving the sink, the range or a wall, which matters more than any style choice.