Partial Overlay Cabinets in new kitchen to match rest of house?

13 years ago

We have custom partial overlay builts in in our study and living room in the same traditional style (raised panel painted white) and made by the same cabinet maker. We have also it in our current kitchen which we are remodelign and moving to a back room of the house. We could reuse some of the current kitchen cabinets where they are as it is partially becoming a butlers pantry so a small cost savings. Otherwise we could have the rest made by the same cabinet maker.

The question i have is if partial overlay cabinets are hopelessly out of style. I hardly ever see them in new kitchens. We like the current cabinets and they held up really well over 20 years of use but i wonder if i will look at them in 5 years and say what a short sighted decision.

Our architect recommended inlay cabinets for our kitchen. Which are more expensive and we don't absolutely love. the other option is full overlay which i find to be heavy looking for our smallish kitchen.

Just looking for advice and counsel for others who had different cabinetry in the rest of the house and thoughts on whether partial overlay traditional cabinets will looked dated. Thanks!

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Comments (7)

sabjimata
13 years ago
I actually just learned that partial overlay is an American thing. Apparently it is unseen in Europe.

That being said, i have had partial in all 3 of my kitchens--2 of which we put the cabinets in ourselves. It definitely is not a popular style, but I actually prefer the look to full overlay and have convinced myself that it has a retro-American cottagey feel.

In the end, I don't think it's that huge an issue. If your kitchen is done nicely, it's done nicely.

Are you thinking about this for resale? Because 10 or 20 years from now, most kitchens will look dated. But whatevs, right?
rnest44
13 years ago
I was in a similar situation. I chose to go with full overlay because I did not care for the function of the partial overlay with thick stiles down the center of the cabinet between the doors. Do the doors on your partial overlays meet or do you have stiles? That would influence my decision. I've mixed old and new. I painted some of the old too.
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jalsy6
13 years ago
I discovered this forum after I had ordered my p.o. Cabs through hd, as my budget just couldn't swing anything else and I really wanted soapstone...now I see all those beautiful inset cabs and like you, see that no one does partial anymore. But i'm hoping that when all is finished, the partial part won't stand out as the most noticeable detail of the kitchen! We had a very small (felt like a lot of $$ to us) budget, and were going for the biggest transformation we could accomplish of our 1935 kitchen.
cotehele
13 years ago
We choose partial overlay in the kitchen because it was less expensive. At the time I thought I was settling, but I am very happy with the way the kitchen turned out. The double doors have no stile between them. The bakery has inset doors and drawers. I do not like them any better than the partial overlay. In fact, it is irritating that the doors must be fully open to slide the pullout.
John Liu
13 years ago
Partial overlay has been in kitchen cabinets since, well, forever. It has always existed alongside of inset. In some vintage cabinetry, you'll see both styles used in the same piece. There is no reason for one to be right and the other to be wrong. As your house already has partial overlay, I'd go that way.
sophie123
Original Author
13 years ago
I did end up choosing the partial overlay. They are custom and were not any cheaper than full overlay (but cheaper than inset). No stiles in the center. We are opening up the kitchen somewhat to the two rooms that have the same cabinets (den and living room) so the transition seems better as its not a very big house (older 1940 house). The other reason is that i like the pull out cutting boards and you can't get that in full overlay. I'm getting 3! The cabinet maker really didn't like the inset cabinets even though they charge more for them. Pointed out some problems with them which i took with a grain of salt but made me think he probably makes a better cabinet that isn't inset. I'm painting them different colors so i'm hoping to add some pizzazz that way.
lascatx
13 years ago
I agree with those who said partial overlay is a classic style. You like the current cabinets and they are in the rest of your house. Why fix what ain't broken?

You are seeing inset because it's a trend and the trend has been encouraged, at least in part, because folks have to rip out everything to get them -- so it sells more cabinets (not just new doors or rollouts, etc.). That makes cabinet makers happy. But if you are happy with what you have, enjoy it and know that is why you have it. You will be happier still when the trend fades and you didn't spend more on something you might have bought only because you felt it was more stylish at the time.