Explore

Kitchen Styles

Explore

Kitchen Styles

Choosing a kitchen style is one of the first decisions in any project, and it shapes everything that follows, from door finish to worktop and hardware. Below is a short guide to the main styles we work with, along with a link to a fuller page on each one.

Handleless

A clean, streamlined look. Handleless kitchens replace traditional handles and knobs with an integrated grip rail or a push-to-open mechanism, giving a smooth, uninterrupted run of cabinetry. It suits a wide range of tastes, from minimalist to warm and traditional, and works well in both compact and open-plan settings.

Read the full guide to handleless kitchens for more detail.

 

Shaker

A timeless, versatile choice. Shaker kitchens are built around a plain recessed panel door with clean lines and no unnecessary decoration. The style has remained popular for decades and suits both period properties and new builds, whether painted in a solid colour or left in a natural wood grain.

Read the full guide to shaker kitchens for more detail.

 

In-Frame

A traditional, hand-built feel. In-frame kitchens have a door that sits within a solid surrounding frame, rather than in front of it, giving a slightly recessed front and a visible frame line around every door and drawer. This construction is closely associated with cabinet making of an older style, and it tends to suit period properties, farmhouses, and anyone wanting a more established, furniture-led look.

Read the full guide to in-frame kitchens for more detail.

 

Modern

A sleek, pared-back approach. Modern kitchens favour flat, unfussy doors, often in a matt or gloss finish, paired with simple hardware or no visible hardware at all. Colour and material tend to do the work instead of decoration, with strong use of contrast between units, worktops, and splashbacks. The style suits open-plan homes and anyone wanting a kitchen that feels current and low-maintenance.

Read the full guide to modern kitchens for more detail.

 

Not Sure Which Style Suits Your Home

Many of the practical differences between styles only really become clear once you see them side by side, in the material and finish you have in mind. Our showroom lets you compare doors, colours, and hardware in person, and our team is happy to talk through what would work best for your space and how you use your kitchen day to day.

Kitchens By Design

Handleless Kitchens

A handleless kitchen replaces traditional handles and knobs with a cleaner method of opening doors and drawers.

The result is a smooth, uninterrupted run of cabinetry with none of the visual clutter that handles can bring. It is one of the most popular choices among homeowners looking for a modern, streamlined look, and it suits a wide range of tastes, from minimalist to warm and traditional.

Kitchens By Design

Modern Kitchens

A modern kitchen is built around simplicity. Flat, unadorned surfaces, honest materials and a clear sense of order take the place of ornate detailing and heavy trims.

The style has broadened well beyond the cool greys and glossy whites it once meant, and now takes in warm timber, matt textured finishes and rich colour, all held together by the same underlying principle of clean, uncluttered design. It suits families who want a practical space for daily life as much as it suits those who simply want a calmer room to look at.

Kitchens By Design

Shaker Kitchens

A shaker kitchen takes its name from the simple, functional furniture made by the Shaker religious community in America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The style is built around a plain recessed panel door with clean lines and no unnecessary decoration. It has remained one of the most enduring kitchen styles for decades, valued for its versatility and its ability to suit both period properties and new builds equally well.

Kitchens By Design

Inframe Kitchens

An inframe kitchen is a style of cabinetry where each door and drawer front sits within a solid timber frame, rather than lying flush over the front of the cabinet.

The frame is built as part of the cabinet itself, and the doors are set inside it with a small, even gap all round. It is one of the oldest methods of kitchen building, and it remains popular with anyone who wants a look rooted in proper cabinetmaking rather than a purely modern finish. It suits period cottages just as readily as newly built family homes.

“Choosing a kitchen style is one of the first decisions in any project, and it shapes everything that follows”

Kitchens By Design