Just realized my old cabinet door patterns are 15 years out of date

Had a young guy from a high end shop look at my shaker style doors last week and he said 'nobody does that reveal size anymore' and now I'm rethinking why I've been using 1/4 inch gaps when everyone wants 3/8 inch, anyone else been caught off guard by how fast the little details change?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_miller221mo ago

Wait, @emeryfox, isn't that basically the same attitude I had before I actually tried the 3/8 inch gap on a test door last month? I always thought it was just trend chasing too, but once I swapped out a panel and stood back, the proportions actually looked more balanced to my eye. Maybe it's just me letting a random kid get in my head, but I'd rather tweak a reveal size than be the guy still building like it's 2010.

emeryfox1mo ago

So you're saying a kid who probably learned woodworking from Instagram told you your cabinet gaps are wrong and now you're questioning the last 15 years of work? That's exactly the kind of thinking that keeps people chasing trends instead of building things that last. I've been in enough houses to tell you that 95% of homeowners couldn't tell a 1/4 inch reveal from a 3/8 inch one if you put a ruler in front of them. The whole "nobody does that anymore" line is just a fancy way of saying "I read a blog post this morning and now I'm an expert." If your shaker doors are solid and the gaps look clean and even, you're way ahead of half the new stuff I see falling apart after two winters anyway.