Choosing Between Raised and Recessed Cabinet Panels

The modern world of kitchen cabinets offers a huge amount of customization available for clients, with numerous design and practical areas you have at least two choices in. One great example here is choosing between what are known as raised and recessed center cabinet panels.

At AWA Kitchen Cabinets, we’re proud to offer a wide variety of kitchen cabinet options, from utility and vanity cabinets to base and wall cabinets. Within each area, we offer both raised and recessed cabinet panels with several distinct style varieties – here are some basics on what each of these formats refers to, plus how to choose between them for your new kitchen cabinets.

choosing raised recessed cabinet panels

Raised Cabinet Panels

As the name suggests, raised cabinet panels refer to those that have a center panel raised slightly above the rest of the door, drawer or other cabinet definition. The idea here is to add an additional dimension to the cabinet, bringing depth and a three-dimensional theme to the kitchen’s appearance that helps it look both larger and more modern.

In most cases, those looking for detailed, intricate designs will generally choose raised cabinet panels. Raise panels can be found on a variety of cabinet styles, from traditional options to rustic and several others.

Recessed Cabinet Panels

Recessed cabinet panels, on the other hand, are those where the center panels are flat, but the borders around it are actually raised instead. This look brings a bit less depth than the raised panel theme, but it’s ideal for those looking for a sleek, modern feel to the entire kitchen and pairs extremely well with modern countertop materials.

We offer numerous cabinets that fit the recessed label, including our Shaker style cabinets. These and other recessed cabinet types are known to blend well with a variety of kitchen types, and they’re often chosen by those who regularly re-design or re-organize the kitchen.

Making Your Choice

How do you decide which of these two options is best for your kitchen? Some of this conversation revolves around the overall kitchen style – we mentioned that raised panels tend to do well with traditional and rustic kitchens or bathrooms, and they also work with transitional designs, but they’re sometimes not as ideal for modern or contemporary formats. In these situations, recessed cabinets are often the way to go due to their simplicity, blending and sleek appearance that fits into most modern designs.

There will be other factors at play here as well, though. These include other elements in the kitchen like floor tiles, appliance aesthetics and even the size of the space, all of which our areas our team will be happy to provide expertise in.

For more on choosing between raised and recessed kitchen cabinet panels, or to learn about any of our kitchen cabinets or quartz and granite countertops, speak to the staff at AWA Kitchen Cabinets today.