Classic shaker or contemporary handleless - I can't decide!

[sweetmelody]

After our house renovation is complete (1930s bungalow) we will have a 24ft by 30ft kitchen/dining/living space. I was so sure that I was going for a contemporary handleless design. Something similar to the Roundhouse 'Brown' project but with oak doors on the island and pale grey/off-white matt doors on the perimeter units. My thinking was that in an open plan space, uber streamlined was the way to go....

But there have been delays in the work and this has given me dangerously extra amounts of time to 'research'. I am now really conflicted as I am now totally unexpectedly hankering after a contemporary-looking Shaker style like this. I would still go for the same colour combination of oak on the island and pale doors on the perimeter units but it is a very different look. I would have to have small, more inconspicuous, round handles and flat draw fronts (my kitchen plan is mainly pan drawers rather than cupboards) to keep it clean looking.

Note, I have neither a Roundhouse nor a Podesta budget!!

I have had both shaker style doors and slab doors (with handles) in the past and there were pros and cons to both.

Shaker - classic and less likely to date (boring?), looks 'more expensive' but would this style be too fussy and busy for an open plan space? Also, those little ledges just mean more cleaning...

Handleless slab doors - are these here to stay or will I get bored of them they date??

I would prefer the contemporary shaker in a 1930's home but don't know how much renovation you have done. have the 1930's been renovated out?
caveat: I am quite boring and like things I think won't date.

Hi 7to25 - thanks for posting. Apart from high ceilings, I wouldnt say the room itself has any particular 1930s features. I guess the point is that the house is neither a new build nor a 'period' property, but I dont know whether shaker would work in an open plan setting.

What style is the rest of the house?

Have you found a kitchen company to work with? At the moment you are looking at the most expensive of each of those styles, the reality of what you can afford may help you to make your mind up.

I'm having similar dilemma , think shaker style is more timeless and worried about getting kitchen that will date.

You could compromise and have a framed kitchen with flat doors, in the style of the HArvey Jones Linear range, best of both worlds that way...
www.harveyjones.com/our-kitchens/linear-kitchens

I really love the horizontal lines of the Harvey Jones kitchen. I think they avoid the impractical elements of the Roundhouse design, which looks self consciously bare and at the same time would be something of a nightmare to keep clean (drawers would get very grubby fast), and they bypass the Shaker style nook and cranny drawback and also the question of dating or looking like a ye olde kitchen from another time and place plonked down in an unnatural environment. The Harvey Jones design says 'professional kitchen' style to me, and combines practicality in the form of the oversized handles with a sleek horizontal look that the handles emphasise. It think the 'professional kitchen' look is the least likely to date.

I love the Roundhouse kitchen. I actually think the Shaker style looks a bit dated, but that could be because I put one in my old home about 10 years ago, and then put in a much more uncluttered contemporary kitchen in the house we moved to a few years ago. There is always so much 'stuff' in kitchens I think it's best to keep the style as simple and clean-lined as possible.

What kind of furniture do you want in the house? What style dining table and chairs do you want? That might influence your decision as much as anything else......

Contemporary all the way. I definitely think that is the more high-end look of the two. I also think the shaker looks a bit dated and when we were looking at houses I thought I would go mad if I saw another set of particulars with 'shaker-style kitchen' listed.

You could try someone like Kitchensynch for a modern kitchen at a bit of a discount. They do ex-display and second-hand (but often these look brand new to me). There are other companies that do similar stuff, names escape me at the moment...

The rest of the house doesn't have a 'style' as such. We are gutting and renovating the whole thing and it is really down to us how contemporary we go. If I was to describe our style and our furniture it would be classic modern, rather than whatever is fashion. I like contemporary mixed in with stuff that has character so rooms don't look like they are straight out of a brochure or a magazine. We have a Scandi-looking solid oak dining table (from ILVA, god rest its soul) and will probably be changing the dining chairs to something in the style of the Hans Wegner wishbone chairs (which I adore but can't afford!).

I am really keen on the Linear range (discovered via another thread) although I really want to mix oak with painted/lacquered (worried about chipping) and I have scoured the web for an inframe oak door without the Shaker inset panel, but without success. I think this is a manufacturing cost issue because Shaker doors tend to have a solid frame with a veneer/MDF middle. This wouldn't work with a Linear type door, obviously, and a solid oak door would be very expensive (drawer fronts don't seem to be a problem as it is a much smaller area that would be in solid wood, iyswim).

I too had a shaker kitchen 10 years ago, but remember it fondly as it is the only kitchen that I have spent money on. With subsequent kitchens I have gone the Howdens route and have never been as pleased with them quality-wise (although much more 'of the moment' in style). Not keen on long handles though. Cleaning, again and I guess I'm just 'over them'. Hence considering handleless, or discreet handles.

You're right, mathanxiety, what I want is a 'professional kitchen'. Not trendy, not a traditional ye olde job, but a stylish kitchen that looks like it s* happens in there!

Thanks for the Kitchensync tip, Narmada. I have been lurking on the Used Kitchen Company site but not seen anything suitable come up yet. The loose plan is either to use a kitchen fitter/joiner that has been recommended to me or another of the myriad 'handmade for less' kitchen companies that I have come across on my travels. Not seen anything like the Linear anywhere other than HJ, though.......

Sweetmelody

The linear look can be reproduced by getting a company to make our doors mdf spray painted and over lacquered to what colour/colours your wanting and they would be able to make the inframe also for you

I had the same dilemma a few months ago, and after much running round the houses we have a german Schuller kitchen on order, very plain but lovely white matt lacquer with handles. I'd been set on the handleless look (schuller do those too, as well as a whole range of other choices in a big range of colours), but decided it would be too clinical. Decided to go with matt as thought the gloss would date v. quickly.

Obviously don't know what it'll look like installed, but it looked fab in the showroom and I was impressed with how well-built the units looked. And very reasonable value, certainly compared to some of the companies mentioned above!

I came on to post about Linear but pannacotta beat me to it (what did you go for in the end??)

I think its the best of both worlds. Not quite sure what you are saying the problem is with linear and the wood? I got 40% off - you just need to haggle and hold out.

Unpainted kitchens - showroom in battersea will copy it for you slightly cheaper

Go contemporary. I think shaker style looks dated.

I am looking at getting a handle less shaker kitchen from Higham Kitchens at the mo. very reasonably priced and to me looks elegant with clean lines but classic too. Can't link on phone but google it.

Staverton - re the wood, I don't think that they offer a wood finish with the linear range. Only painted colours, and I was speculating as to the reason why. I want to combine an oak with a painted door. Did you go for the long handles that it is marketed with? I guess I'm finding the idea of going from handleless to really long
handles a really big leap!

I've seen the higham kitchens handleless shaker in a magazine and thought it was gorgeous but wasn't keen on shaker-grooves (as opposed to handle- grooves) on the drawer fronts. But I would imagine that they could do plain drawers too. Scary prices? Have you been to see it in the flesh??

sweetmelody - linear kitchens can leave it unpainted (and thus save you significant amounts of dosh) so you could do your own finish on the bare wood.

Second the idea of hanging on to the 'we're still deciding' trick with the linear range so as to get money off - I had a phone call from a bloke at their head office almost daily offering ever greater discounts until I finally told them we'd ordered elsewhere - even with the discounts they were still well out of our range.

Libelulle - what wood is it? I assumed it wasn't wood, hence my confusing post...

its not wood, the actual door is a painted mdf. the frame is wood

Its delivered already with undercoat and painted on site

I think handleless will date. Shaker is possibly a bit boring though. I'm not much help am I?

No you are not fruitsalad! But I echo your sentiments, hence my indecision.

I am leaning towards something Linear-like, but I do want some wood in there somewhere!

sweetmelody why dont you have a wooden worksurface instead? Walnut looks amazing IMO and quite contemporary if you look at these pics
www.norfolkoak.com/worktops/walnut-worktops.php

staverton we havent ordered our kitchen yet, having a few probs sorting out the buiding work etc....
How is your HJ kitchen coming along?

Pannacotta - they are stunning! Have never considered a wooden worktop. Well, actually, in our last kitchen we had a separate area at the end of the kitchen where we had our machine, dryer and boiler, and we but some of that Ikea worktop in there. But I remember putting down some wet clothes on it and the varnish (?) coming off on them. Can you have an undermount sink with one as this would be on the island where our sink is going?

I need an idiots guide to wooden worktops....

oh sorry sweetmelody I must have misremembered - I thought they were all solid wood. Their prices are all the more eye-watering in that case!