A shaker style kitchen is built around a five piece door: four frame pieces around a flat centre panel. It has been made that way for well over a century, which is the strongest argument for it. It sits comfortably in a Victorian terrace and in a new build, and it is very hard to make it look wrong. We make shaker kitchens to measure across Ireland, in Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.
Why does shaker suit Irish houses so well?
The framed panel echoes the joinery already in most Irish homes: panelled doors, architrave, skirting with a profile.
Walk into a house built before 1970 and there is almost always a moulding somewhere. A flat slab kitchen sits in that room as a deliberate contrast, which can work but has to be intended. A shaker door simply agrees with what is already there.
It also handles the awkward geometry of older houses better, because a framed door carries a shadow line that disguises the small inconsistencies a perfectly flat surface would highlight.
What paint colours actually work?
Muted greens, greys, off whites and deep blues carry the style best, and the wall colour matters as much as the door.
The safest approach is a quieter colour on the run of units and something stronger on the island if there is one. That gives the room a focal point without committing the whole kitchen to a colour you may tire of.
Worth thinking about in Irish light specifically. North facing rooms take the warmth out of cool greys, and a colour chosen from a chart in a shop can look quite different on a wet Tuesday in Dublin. That is one of the things the 3D design is for.
Shaker or in frame?
On a shaker kitchen the door sits on the front of the cabinet. On an in frame kitchen the door sits inside a visible frame, flush with it.
In frame is the more traditional and more expensive construction, because the frame has to be made and the door fitted into it with a consistent gap all round. It reads as furniture rather than as fitted units.
Shaker gives most of that character at a lower cost, which is why it is far more common. See our in frame kitchens page if the furniture look is what you are after.
Does shaker date?
Less than almost anything else. The style predates every kitchen trend of the last fifty years and has outlasted all of them.
What dates a shaker kitchen is rarely the door. It is the handles, the worktop and the colour. All three are cheaper to change than a kitchen, which is exactly why the style survives.
If longevity is the concern, keep the door simple, keep the colour quiet, and spend the money on the worktop and the hardware.
Who are our kitchens for?
Everything we make is premium and made to the highest spec: made to measure, built on a melamine faced 18mm plywood carcass rather than chipboard, designed in 3D and fitted by our own team, and it is priced to that standard. Quality at this level is not a budget purchase, and we would rather say so here than after you have waited for a quote. If you are working to a tight budget, we are honestly not the right fit.
A shaker kitchen starts at €12,000 fitted, including VAT, like every kitchen we make, and a typical family kitchen with a quartz worktop comes to €15,000 to €25,000. Our cost guide explains what moves the number.
How does it work?
Send us photos, a short video and rough sizes of the space and tell us what you want. Our designers draw it in 3D so you see the finished piece in your own room, and you get one complete itemised quote. Nothing is ordered and nothing is charged until you say yes.
Can one team do the rest of the job too?
The same team that makes this fits it, and we also do kitchens, fitted wardrobes, internal doors and windows. If more than one thing needs doing, it is one contractor, one schedule and one point of contact rather than four. See the rest of our work.
What is a shaker style kitchen?
A kitchen with a five piece framed door: four frame rails around a flat recessed centre panel, usually painted, with a simple square edge.
That is the whole definition, and everything people associate with the shaker style follows from it. The frame catches a shadow line, which is why a shaker kitchen reads as joinery rather than as a run of flat boxes. The centre panel is flat rather than raised, which is what separates shaker from the heavier traditional doors.
The style takes its name from the Shaker communities, whose furniture was built plain because ornament was thought unnecessary. That is also why it ages well: there is nothing on it to go out of date. A shaker style kitchen made today and one made in 1990 differ in the colour and the handles, not in the door.
Ours are made to measure rather than picked in standard widths, so the frame widths stay consistent across the run and there are no filler panels closing gaps at the ends. Behind the door it is the same build as every kitchen we make: an 18mm melamine faced plywood carcase, PUR edge banding and DTC soft close as standard.
Where can you get shaker kitchens in Ireland?
From us, made to measure and fitted by our own team, anywhere in Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, drawn in 3D before anything is made.
Most shaker kitchens sold in Ireland come in standard widths, which is why so many of them have a filler panel beside the fridge and a frame that does not line up across a run. A five piece door shows that more than a flat one does, because the eye follows the frame lines.
Made to measure removes it. Every door is cut for its own opening, so the frames align the whole way along and the run ends against the wall rather than against a strip of painted board.
Shaker kitchens go in right across Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, including Navan, Naas and Bray. Kitchens start at €12,000 fitted including VAT at 23 per cent, and how a new kitchen works sets out every stage in working days.
Frequently asked questions
Can shaker be handleless?
Not really, and that is worth knowing. The framed door suits a knob or a bar handle. If handleless is what you want, a flat slab door is the honest answer.
What handles suit a shaker kitchen?
Knobs on doors and bar or cup handles on drawers is the traditional combination. Finish matters more than shape, and we can send samples to hold up in your own light.
Can you match a shaker kitchen to existing joinery?
Yes. Matching the paint colour and the moulding profile to existing doors and skirting is what makes it look original.
Does a shaker kitchen cost more than a flat slab one?
A framed shaker door is more pieces than a slab, so usually a little more. The bigger difference is the finish and worktop you choose. Either way, every kitchen we make is premium and made to the highest spec, so it is not a budget purchase.
What is a shaker style kitchen?
A kitchen with a five piece framed door: four frame rails around a flat recessed centre panel, usually painted. The frame catches a shadow line, which is what makes it read as joinery rather than as flat boxes.
Do you only do kitchens?
No. The same workshop makes our fitted wardrobes and media walls and fitted furniture, and we supply and fit windows too, plus internal doors as part of a bigger order, so one contractor can cover the whole job with one 3D design, one quote and one schedule. Wardrobes ordered with a kitchen come on the same delivery and are fitted on the same visit.
Where can you get shaker kitchens in Dublin and Ireland?
From us, made to measure and fitted by our own team, across Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. Every door is cut for its own opening, so the frames line up along the run and there are no filler panels.