mgkinz, you just described our place exactly. We have also just finished gutting the main floor of our 100+ year farmhouse (has your plaster dust settled yet?)and are trying to stay true to the feel of the old house character but are not restoring. I know what you mean by "modern country". We have settled on the shaker cabinets (antique white) and will also bring back the old floor (pine) to it's natural state (but not too dark).

So I guess yes, my vote would be for the shaker cabinets!

I guess by modern country I mean semi-rustic...but no chickens, apples, or washboards...lol. I want it to have the feel of a farm house, but with every modern convenience. I just don't want to people to see the outside and then walk in and say "boy that kitchen doesn't fit"...does that make any sense?

I'm working with a house half the age of yours at 50 yrs young and I chose a modified shaker because all my interior doors are double recessed panel and I too wanted to match the existing doors & trim.

I tend to think of raised panels as formal(this might not be at all true, it's just how I think of that look in kitchen cabinets) and though all your inside doors are raised panel for a modern country I tend to think shaker would be perfect.

I was in the same situation you are, but I went with raised panels. Only because I looked at a lot of white kitchens and it seemed the shaker style was just too plain & cold for me. The raised panels were "warmer" if that makes sense.

I'm using SW dover white also. And remember, a lot of the farm style is what's in the accent colors and glassware.

Just don't use an under counter sink, because then it will REALLY look out of place. LOL.

I love the shaker look as well. But like you, we have a lot of millwork and it is all raised panels. Our cabinetmaker and kitchen designer suggested strongly we carry the raised panels into the kitchen. I'm glad we did in that the transistion is seamless and it looks like the kitchen has always been here with the rest of the house.

thanks to everyone for your input

oakleyok-do you have any pictures yet...or are you not that far? if you do i would love to see them.

pluckymama- I would also love to see pics of your kitchen if you have some

erikanh- your kitchen is stunning...I just love the blue (but could never get DH to go for that!) and truthfully i'm not sure that i would even notice the difference between the cabs and the doors

We are going to be building a new home soon (hopefully) and I often thought of the same worries you have. We are doing raised 2 panel doors (though I often thought I should do recessed instead) but for the cabinets in the entire house we are doing white shaker (some white beadboard shaker). I have such a huge inspirational gallery of photos and I have seen many people mix and match so I finally okayed myself to do this. I really wanted to do recessed interior doors to match the shaker style cabinets but my lumber yard can readily get the 2 panel raised at a better price so I just stopped double quessing myself. I love shaker kitchen cabinets and also like raised panel but I think the raised panel looks better in a more classy modern style home. For those of us trying to achieve an older vintage antique style shaker is the way to go! Please post when you have decided and show us pics!

we chose the both! How? Shaker (flat panel on the outside) and raised panel on the inside. So the surprise is on the inside. I love the look.

Personally I would go with the shaker - it's one of the door styles that you can make either more contemporary or more rustic, depending on the other design elements (handles/pulls, faucet, counter). However I think you should choose what YOU love - that will matter the most in the years you enjoy your kitchen.

I love white shaker! That's what we are doing in ours. I read a book by Nate Berkus, Oprah's go-to design guy whose work I've always admired. He recommends white shaker, as they are timeless and they are pretty much a blank canvas for other elements in your kitchen, as another poster notes. That said, raised panels can be timeless too, so long as you go with something pretty basic.

Both great choices, its' up to your personal preference.

At the end of the day, I suppose it's what you really like yourself. Which one are you drawn to? I like the Shaker look, but, I'm personally drawn to the raised panel. Good luck whichever way you decide!

I was thinking of maybe have raised panel doors with shaker-like drawers....would that be crazy??? I just wonder how hard it is to keep a shaker door clean, I assume that dust lays on the ledge.

mgkinz, that is one drawback, the edge does collect dust. That's one reason I'm glad I went with flat panel drawers so I only have to dust the doors.

I don't think that raised panel doors combined with shaker drawers would look right on the same run of cabinets, but I could be wrong. You might be able to get away with two different profiles on different areas though, like your island and perimeter.

It's funny because I have a raised panel with molding trim sample door that I've been hauling around to color match and I just noticed how dusty it looks. I was starting to think I'd be better off going with a shaker style that wouldn't have as many creases to collect dust. Maybe it is so dusty because it is laying flat rather than hung as it would be on the cabinets...?

Check out Ricklish's kitchen in the FKB. She did raised panel doors with shaker drawers. Here's the link:

http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/2008/05/ricklishs-kitchen.html

Here's a bottom run of cabs in my kitchen (back in the remodel days). We have raised panel doors and raised panel drawer on the bigger drawers and flat shaker drawers on the top smaller drawers.