Agree with you. Remove the panels from the pantry cabinet or whatever that is. You don’t need them on the uppers at all. But they look nice if you like it like that... pretty choices!! Love the blue :)

It looks like they just stuck small doors on the side ... because that is exactly what they did!

These side panels should be customized and on that side view, there should be one large piece for the bottom and one for the top. I also prefer to extend the side panels to match the depth of the doors, which gives you a more finished look.

Side panels are one of my pet peeves! I made sure I picked a kitchen designer and cabinet brand that could do these properly and had them set up that way in their showroom displays, so I knew they could do it right.

This is how I like to have them done:

Same design as the door, but scaled to the size of the panel.

Extended to cover the side edge of the door and give a cleaner, built-in look.