Well, as the apparently rare picky kitchen designer (I have to admit that I find constantly feeling compelled to defend my profession a bit demeaning and also sad). I usually suggest that my clients use European dishwashers with inset cabinets as they tend to be shallower than US products. US appliances tend to be closer to or greater in depth than standard 24"deep base cabinets. This also comes into play with warming drawers and wine refrigerators, beverage centers, etc. It all comes down to pulling the specs for each appliance, studying them and modifying the cabinet as required for the best appearance and function. There isn't one generic answer here. The products used and the positioning of the appliance will dictate the solution. If you've chosen a designer who isn't able to accomplish this you should move on to one of the thousands of us out here who do it successfully everyday. Other issues with inset cabinets are reduced storage capacity particuliarly involving drawer height clearances in "Pot and Pan" type drawers and plate storage in typical 12" deep wall cabinets. I spend a lot of time determining each client's individual storage needs and modifying the cabinets and plan to provide the best function possible. One of the things you may want to assess when you are choosing cabinet brands is how much this type of modification will add to your budget. One of my cabinet lines will modify wall cabinets to 13" deep at no charge and will change drawer heights at a very small upcharge. It is also vital that you select an excellent installer familiar with inset cabinetry, as the hinges and door clearances in inset provide very little (often no) room for adjustment. This is an extra concern in old houses with sloping floors and wonky walls.

I have inset doors in my kitchen that were recently installed. First of all, I just love them. Even though the finish is mahogany on top of cherry, the design is clean, simple and contemporary and makes for a sleek look. I chose to add texture by getting really spectacular hardware. This creates balance between the two. One caveat about inset doors, however is that you can see the gaps. I agree with Khat in that your installers should really know their product. Another con is the dust. These cabinets tend to get dustier than most. So far, though, it has been pretty good in my kitchen(which I will post soon). Either way, good luck.

One thing you may want to think about is the door hinges. I am having very traditional inset cabinets built, and I requested mortised hinges (after looking at mortised and non-mortised). I think the look is more sophisticated, and the gap around the door and frame seems to be a bit smaller.

My install is supposed to be happening this week. I don't anticipate any special problems, but if some turn up, I'll let you know.

Mine are being installed now. A couple of issues design wise...inset with a bead or inset alone? (I like the bead).

Think about the cabinet style and the size of the drawers or doors. I changed to inset mid design and one little error I made was that the uppers (which all have windows) are great, except for the runs going above the doors, which, if glass was used, would look like little eyeballs because of the style of my doors. I have reverse raised panels, but for these we'll modify the doors with an inset panel instead of the glass.

The same can be said for the drawers. I went with a mix of slab and five piece because on the smaller drawers, given our style of cabinets, the opening in the middle would have been less than an inch, and looked silly.

Hinges, hidden or visable.

Counter top debth. Inset counters don't normally have the same debth of an offset as normal cabs (normal is 1 1/4-1 1/2" from the cabinet face) and inset are 3/4 since you don't have an additional 3/4 door to cover.

If you're in an area with movement, adjustable hinges are important. We live on pilings in an earth quake zone, so our house wiggles a lot, so six way adjustable hinges are a big deal with our inset doors.

If your KD has not done an inset cabinet order, find another one so they won't miss any details :)

anna, I'm glad you started this thread, lots of good info. I'm getting inset cabinets too, possibly from Crown Point or Cabico. I'm interested in what brands of inset cabs other people have.

I agree with khat about having to defend KDs: most good ones are picky because they have to be. It's really getting old folks.....
anyway
Why would anyone be in this profession and not understand the devil is in the details?

I agree with igloo: if the designer is not familiar with inset or has never done an inset kitchen RUN
also on hinges go concealed hinges if necessary more adjustable
also beaded vs non beaded: the beaded will hide the gaps in the frame better
one or two things to keep in mind: HUMIDITY control and cabinet depth
measure your plates most inset wall cabinets are 13" deep as standard but check this! go deeper if necessary
If you're stacking try to do as one cabinet with door over door so you only have one rail between doors.
lighting inside cabs.: do beaded to hide light gap around cabinet doors, or see if company has some type of trim pc.
You already know about appliance issues
DW check out Miele
warming drawers are not designed to be flush for obvious reasons
wall oven cabinet may need to be deeper to accomodate specs
if you do arches in toekicks keep in mind the levelness of your floors. will show on every cabinet !
if you can do extended stiles if necessary looks better with inset cabinets then fillers
more work for the installer though
good luck with your KD search

Here are some great pics of inset cabinets

Here is a link that might be useful: Inset Cabinet Photos