Beaded Shaker Cabinet Doors

Where a bevel cuts material away, a bead adds a raised rounded edge that casts its own shadow, so the outline around the panel is stronger and more traditional. It is the detail that makes a painted kitchen look like joinery rather than fitted units, which is why it turns up most often in older Monterey Peninsula houses.

The molding has to be cut into the frame and then matched up neatly at all four corners of every door. The extra wood costs almost nothing; the extra time does.

These two get confused constantly. Beaded shaker puts the molding on the door, around the panel. Beaded inset puts it on the cabinet frame, around the opening the door sits in. You can have either, both or neither, and having both gives the most traditional kitchen we build.