This Is the Kitchen Cabinet Trend Designers Hate More than Open Shelving

When it comes to kitchen cabinet trends, designers aren’t afraid to play favorites and voice their opinions on what they like and don’t like, as they recently did in our 2025 State of Home Design survey. One look that the pros are especially averse to lately? Raised panel cabinets.

Even if you’re not aware of this common cabinet style by name, you’ve likely seen it before. In fact, you may have them in your own home (I’m looking right at my very own raised panel cabinets in my kitchen as I write this!). 

Experts aren’t too wild about this look for both practical and aesthetic reasons. As far as cleaning goes, these cabinets are a bit harder to maintain due to the unevenness of the door and drawer fronts — all the crevices can be dust and dirt magnets. From an appearance standpoint, raised panel cabinets can also make a space look a bit dated because of their more intricate, busy design with the elevated insets. They also tend to be more expensive. 

Of course, any kitchen cabinet can be beautiful in the right setting with the right care, so don’t worry if you love this look or already have it in your home. But if you’re renovating and want to add some oomph to your cabinetry without excess ridges and crevices? Then the pros recommend opting for Shaker or Slim-Shaker cabinets instead, as they still offer visual interest but are sleeker and more timeless.

While raised panel cabinets took first place on our designers’ no list, some pros are also leery of installing reeded and fluted kitchen cabinets and features. This may come as a surprise, due to the popularity of these textural cabinets in recent years. However, this likely has to do with the trendiness of this look as well as the fact that raised textured fronts, again, can be more difficult to keep clean. 

When in doubt, just skip anything that leans overly ornate. Designer Regan Romero says in addition to reeded and fluted cabinetry, “any specialty detail” is worth avoiding because these features can feel super-specific and of a moment in time. Given how much a kitchen revamp can cost and how much time you spend in your cooking space, it’s never a bad idea to choose simple silhouettes and profiles that will last for the long haul versus ones you’ll maybe tire of in just a couple of years.