Thank you :-)

My sister has them and they are beautiful!

Thank you. does she mention any maintenance issue?

I have had inset cabinets in natural cherry and do not know that I would ever want to have painted inset due to the exposed face frame edges. Prior to living with inset cabinets I did not realize how frequently the edge of cabinet frames get bumped when taking things in and out of the cabinets or if something gets jammed in a drawer. Since the cabinets I had were wood the dings were not that noticeable but if they had been painted then there would have been quite a few chips that would stand out, especially in the most frequently used cabinet.

No, she hasn't mentioned any maintenance issues. They look top of the line. Her's is a small kitchen but really well done.

If you decide to go with inset, be sure to speak with your cabinet maker about the look you are trying to achieve. You may need to ask if you want them built as one unit, without seams between. I've seen this referred to as "ganged" and posting some pictures below to help illustrate what I mean. (If I'm using these terms incorrectly, someone please let me know.)

Inset cabinets, ganged:

Inset with a seam (not ganged, but separate cabinet boxes):

I have white inset cabinets. They are beautiful and I love the look. BUT….they definitely have drawbacks and you will need to consider carefully how you actually live and who will be using this kitchen.

First, you will lose space inside your cabinets due to the fact that the doors are inset and many times (when putting dishes in upper cabinets for example) your normal dishes actually occupy that small area where the inset door needs to go. So you will need to make sure that any dishes you are planning to put in them actually fit. You can always make your cabinets slightly deeper, or get new dishes, but you MUST measure your current dishes or any you might want to get in the future to make sure they fit. Mine did not btw. It’s a nasty little experience when you’re all excited setting up your beautiful new kitchen and your favorite dishes do not fit and the cabinet doors will not close!

Secondly, as someone already mentioned, because all the edges of the cabinets are exposed, you will see every single nick and ding along those edges and you cannot fix this easily when they get marred. A nick is a nick, and with a painted cabinet, you will have to fill those nicks in in order to get rid of them, and many times a ding exposes the underlying wood, so it will need to be touched up with paint in order to get the cabinets back to the way they were. If you have kids, or a spouse who is not exactly careful, or even have guests or company who will use your kitchen, I guarantee you, those edges will get damaged. For me it isn’t a problem because I am very easy on things and have no kids living at home. But for a normal busy household with lots of activity in the kitchen, it’s really something that needs to be considered.

I think they look lovely in a more traditional kitchen. They have to be PERFECTLY ALIGNED and always in adjustment. I would keep that in mind. They are not to be tried by inexperienced cabinet makers. Expect to pay handsomely and there's no free lunch. I f the deal looks too good to be true........

@Nidnay I forgot all about the depth issue, I had to replace my dishes to fit as well in our last house with inset cabinets.

We make custom cabinets but do not offer that style. My boss says there are too many callbacks as hinges settle over time with doors rubbing because there is no forgiveness. Wood expands and contracts. We do full overlay, but some people can choose to have end panels applied to the sides of a cabinet that comes out to the front of the cabinet doors, giving more of an inset look.