Glass gives you the open look without the dust. A glazed door shows what is inside and still keeps it clean, which is the one thing open shelving cannot do. Mullion bars add period character on top of that.
Open shelving photographs beautifully and lives badly. Everything on it collects dust, and anything within reach of a range collects a film of cooking grease that has to be washed off the crockery rather than wiped off a surface. It also demands constant editing: one mismatched box of cereal and the whole wall reads as clutter.
A glazed door solves the practical half and keeps most of the visual half. Light passes through, the cabinet reads as open, the room feels larger, and what is inside stays clean behind glass. If you have cats it also settles the question of whether they walk on your plates.
The trade is different rather than absent. Glass shows fingerprints and wants regular cleaning, and it costs more than a solid door. It also exposes whatever is inside, so the shelves have to be arranged rather than filled. See door styles, storage options and corner units.
Recent work
How it works
How a Glazed Door Is Planned
Choose which cabinets
Usually the ones flanking a range or a window, and usually two or three. We look at what you would actually put behind glass before deciding how many doors get it.
Clear, reeded or seeded
Clear shows everything. Reeded and seeded glass break up the view, which forgives a shelf that is not styled and still passes light. Seen in person, because photographs flatten the effect.
Mullion or single pane
Bars add period character and cost a little more. A single pane reads modern. This is decided with the door profile, since the frame has to suit both.
Finish the interior
Back panels are finished, shelf edges tidied and spacing set for what is going in. Lighting inside the cabinet is worth deciding now rather than retrofitting later.
What changes inside
A Glazed Door Changes the Cabinet Behind It
The moment a cabinet has glass in it, the inside becomes part of the room. Shelf edges that were never meant to be seen are now on show, the back panel needs finishing rather than leaving as bare board, and the shelf spacing has to suit what you are displaying instead of what fits.
That is why we ask which cabinets before quoting. Two or three glazed doors in a run of twenty is a feature. Ten is a display cabinet you also have to store things in, and it stops being restful very quickly.
Mullion bars are the other decision. Dividing the glass into panes adds traditional character and hides a little of what is behind, which suits period rooms and forgiving shelves alike. A single pane reads contemporary and shows everything. Both work with shaker frames, and raised panel frames take mullions particularly well. Glazed uppers also pair naturally with a kitchen island carrying the closed storage.
Inside the cabinet
Other door styles
The Other Door Profiles
Glass and open are for a few cabinets, not a whole run. These cover the rest.
Glass against open shelving, how many to glaze, and what changes inside.
For most kitchens, yes. You get the open look and the extra sense of space, but what is inside stays clean behind glass instead of collecting dust and cooking grease that has to be washed off.
Two or three in a typical kitchen, usually flanking a range or a window. Beyond that it stops being a feature and becomes a display cabinet you also have to store things in.
Glazed doors with bars dividing the glass into panes. They add traditional character and hide a little of what is behind, which suits period rooms and shelves that are not perfectly styled.
With clear glass, yes. Reeded or seeded glass breaks up the view and forgives a lot while still passing light, which is what most people choose once they have seen both in person.
Usually. Back panels get finished rather than left as bare board, shelf edges are tidied and the spacing is set for what you are displaying. It is a small extra that makes the difference.
Yes, more than a solid door of the same profile, and mullion bars add a little again. They also need regular cleaning, since glass shows fingerprints in a way a painted door does not.
It is worth deciding now rather than retrofitting. A glazed cabinet with nothing lit inside reads as a dark hole in the evening, which is the opposite of what you wanted from it.
Clear, reeded and seeded glass all photograph the same and look nothing alike in the room. We bring samples and work out which cabinets are worth glazing.
