"Micro-Shaker Cabinets" Are Having a Major Moment in Kitchens
Kitchen cabinetry has come a long way, having evolved from cupboard-like pieces of furniture in unfitted kitchens to rooms flush with rows of built-in upper and lower cabinets. Sure, open shelving re-entered the chat in the early aughts and hasn’t left, but most people rely on some type of kitchen cabinets to store everything from snacks and dried goods to cookware and dinnerware. And the look of kitchen cabinetry has undergone quite the transformation, too.
From the simplest slabs to ornate glass insert designs and beyond, more options than ever are available today. One cabinet trend that has my attention, though, is Micro-Shaker, or Slim Shaker, cabinetry.
According to a survey conducted by MasterBrand Cabinets earlier this year, soft modern, transitional, and modern traditional styles have really swung the pendulum of kitchen design toward a blending of old and new. And that’s where a trend like Micro-Shaker cabinetry comes in. This design tweak applies specifically to the Shaker style five-piece door and drawer fronts. With Micro-Shaker cabinets, the two flat-side rails and two flat top-rails are much thinner, allowing the flat-inset panel to take up more real estate on the cabinet front. This isn’t a totally brand new Shaker iteration, but more designers and homeowners seem to be adopting this even more streamlined style as of late.
The resulting cabinetry look is just a bit more modern — and maybe even cleaner and less imposing — than the thicker rail format the Shakers came up with in the 1800s. The proportions of Micro-Shaker cabinets almost remind me of picture frame wall molding, another trend that’s been so popular in the DIY space. The slim rails actually help to open up a space a bit visually, especially if you’re going with upper and lower cabinetry around the entire perimeter of your kitchen. I could see this tweak being especially useful in smaller kitchens, too, where airiness is harder to come by with bulky cabinetry.
Whether you go micro with your rails or not, the beauty of Shaker style cabinetry is its stylistic versatility in the first place. The Shaker style is not overly ornate, so it never looks out of place in a kitchen, even when paired with more contemporary elements. And this type of cabinetry style shines in natural stains or painted in just about any color. Sizing down the rails is just another way to put a bit more of your preferences and personality into your cook space.
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Ashley — Here Are the Best to Suit Your Style and Space
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On, and Here’s What They Said
