At their best, Shaker-style cabinets lend depth and dimensionality to a kitchen space. Contrary to popular belief, you can mix multiple design styles in one kitchen. To that end, Shaker-style cabinets are a subtle, versatile way to imbue modern spaces with a warm, traditional touch. For the unacquainted, Shaker-style cabinets are characterized by a shallow, recessed center panel. Raised, square stiles border a central sunken panel to create an understated, minimal design element. At their worst, however, this cabinet style can create a shocking amount of extra hassle for home cooks and undermine any cosmetic value.
For starters, dust and grime can settle along the edges of those recessed panels — every edge. Multiply that by every single cabinet door throughout your entire kitchen, and the result is a lot of cleaning work. Unless you’re okay with tracing a Q-Tip or moist towel along those ridges to clean out gunk and grease as part of your regular chore routine, installing Shaker-style cabinets may not be for you. Aesthetically, Shaker doors can offer a clean, streamlined look, but actually keeping them grime free is another story completely. This can be particularly true for high-traffic households, where stray dirt and dust may accumulate quickly along those center panels.
The raised edges can collect dust and grime or, worse, water
產生的另一個主要（且可能更具破壞性的）劣勢，是Shaker風格櫥櫃對水損的敏感度增高。那些凸起的邊框可能帶來吸睛的視覺效果，但門下方中間面板的水平唇沿可能會鎖住水分。特別是位於廚房水槽下方的櫥櫃，或在任何烹飪區域容易濺濕、洩漏與噴濺的地方，長時間暴露於過多濕氣時，木材很可能膨脹與變形。
總的來說，在翻新你的廚櫃時，選擇Shaker風格的門可能是設計上的一個錯誤，應該避免。除非它們裝配有更新、符合潮流的五金件，這種經典設計有可能看起來過時、疲憊。所幸，對於偏好傳統設計風格的廚房用戶，無需絕望——也不必屈從於現代的平背式櫥櫃外觀。嘗試用意想不到的顏色為櫥門上漆，讓廚房更具個性，例如暖而低調的奶油黃色。恰到好處的色彩點綴，在定制家中廚房時，往往比裝飾性板材更具效果。此外，你在清潔日再也不用去拿棉籤。
