Here are some images of the doors

I would tell him to stop installation, remove the doors and replace them with what you had ordered (check your contract/paperwork to make sure it coincides with your request).

Let him know that you asked for the sample he showed you and this is not what he brought. Tell him you want them replaced with what you actually saw and requested. I agree, they don't look right in your kitchen.

Why aren't you talking in person with the person who made the doors and is at your house? How can an internet stranger be a better option...?

I prefer these to how they'd look without the center mullion. It would be too fat-looking otherwise. And this isn't any less shaker than it would be without it. Plain shaker would not go any better with what you have already, either.

But yes, you should get what you ordered. (Just saying, this might be better.)

Where is the ORDER? What did you actually sign for after this blurb?

"I heard him mention the word mission but I thought that was the same as shaker with no center stile and I’m more confused since the door he brought me to look at didn’t have a center stile."

It's not the same. You can't mix the two successfully.

You plead insanity , or you produce a work order with a style, a description,.........something.

The bad news is you don't have what you want and the worse news is nobody here can fixthe problem.

Stop him now....and ask how SHAKER became mission in your kitchen

I think the issue is there wasn’t a specific work order. He’s a much older guy that was referred by a friend who has used him on some projects. We started talking last winter and I showed him some pictures of what I wanted and then he showed me wood samples and I picked the rift sawn oak, which is beautiful. Then during the summer he brought me a door that just looked like a plain shaker and it was in the rift sawn oak. It was just an example door that was laying around and I said yes that is what I would like, assuming my cabinet doors would just be bigger versions of the door he brought over. Then I didn’t speak to him much as he came over periodically to take measurements. Then he sends to the doors to another guy who stains them and does the installation. That is the guy that was here today. The whole thing is very uncomfortable. He takes so much pride in his work and he thinks it’s beautiful. This is the old way to make doors by hand. He said structurally he has to have that center rail since the doors are too wide to make without it. I don’t know if that is true but I’m not a wood worker. Clearly I should have had a drawing, etc. We agreed on the scope of work and I have that but it didn’t specify the cabinet door style. We talked about that I sent a lot of images, he clearly misunderstood.

I love your new doors with the center stile. Lots of people make their islands different from the perimeter cabinets, whether it's paint/stain color, counter top, etc. I think you'd still be fine getting true shaker cabinets for the perimeter. Hmmm. Now you have me wondering if I should add the center stile to my island doors. It really does look nice.

While the workmanship looks top-notch, I agree that the center stile is ... unexpected. Specific thoughts:

- He brought you a sample door with no center stile? Then you had every reason to anticipate "the real thing" would look just like the door he brought you.

- How wide are these doors? Can anyone chime in on how this width "ages" with no center stile?

- Do you have your hardware yet? It might be smart to hold it up /tape it to the cabinet. You want to judge based upon the finished-finished product.

- No, I would not like mismatched cabinet doors. Either accept these or go with the standard Shakers, but don't mix them. I really think you'd be disappointed.

https://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Maximum_Cabinet_Door_Width.html

stop letting him make you feel badly -

he showed you sample, he needs to deliver it. End of story.

dont get caught up in the names (Shaker vs Mission). Just like he takes pride in his work you take pride in your home you want it to be beautiful. Old ways, new ways, lots of cabinets in wide widths in that style.

I think the doors he made are really beautiful, but you have to decide if this difference will bother you every time you look at them.

How wide is the widest door? If you followed the Woodweb link in my previous post, then you will know that your door widths are approaching or possibly exceeding the maximum recommended width for a 5 piece door. Widths are limited because makers won't guarantee wide doors against warping & twisting.

The doors that he delivered are more stable than a 5 piece Shaker style door. And are more expensive to make in terms of material and labor. You actually received a better product than what you thought you wanted initially.

Thank you all for your helpful comments. I’m meeting with the cabinet maker today. Yes, the doors are fairly wide. We are refacing so we have to deal with the widths as per the prior doors. Many of them are 23-24 inches wide, some narrower. They are solid wood throughout - all beautiful rift sawn oak (very heavy doors!). I need to ask him but I believe the when the wood is cut it comes only in quite narrow pieces so in order to make a shaker style door he would have had to glue a bunch of pieces together to make the recessed panel as opposed to one solid piece and maybe that would compromise the integrity of the door? He had mentioned he added the center rail for stability. I’ll let you all know more after I meet with him today. I’ll post a picture of the back of the door so you can see how it was constructed.