Kitchen end/decor panels - is it normal they go on top?

[Sheepshanks]

I’d never thought about this before as our current kitchen was built by a local firm and matching side panels are built as part of the units.

Builder seems very keen we use Howdens and have finally managed to get a plan and price (via builder) - I’m dismayed by the way the decor panels appear so there’s lines all over the place between the doors.

Is this normal on kitchens now?

[singlecoil]

Can you post the picture? It would make the question clearer.

[Panamax]

If the decor panels are on the end it's not obvious why they would ever be "between" the doors. There will always be a modest line between doors where one carcass is standing next to another, although the way the door hinges cantelever should suppress this once the doors are fitted.

[singlecoil]

I can tell you why kitchens frequently have decor panels coming down to the floor in random positions. Various reasons- more panels, more money, also to help adapt the standard sized units to the space, if they need to make up say 60mm then 4 panels will pretty much to that.

But the main reason is to have somewhere to terminate and hide the ends of the plinth boards, which, being foil wrapped mdf or chipboard will show their cut ends otherwise.

[Little Lofty]

Decor panels are usually only between doors where a tall unit joins a floor unit.
You can see it on this photo of a Howdens kitchen I've just fitted for my mother.

[Sheepshanks]

singlecoil said:

Can you post the picture? It would make the question clearer.

Like this tall oven housing - the panels either side must make the unit 636 wide plus have the effect of recessing the oven slightly (which explains now why our design has one either side, even though the left side is against a wall!). It also recesses the doors too, so to my mind looks very odd when the other are "flush".



.
It also happens for the exposed sides of the units either side of our extractor fan - and our design they don't seem to repeat the spacing to the base units though, so not sure what they're done there. I'm minded to think it's a cock-up as we're having a 900 unit with integrated extractor over the hob so it's not like they've got space around a stand-alone extractor to play with.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Saturday 26th March 12:02

[joshleb]

Would you not see the side's of the oven without the panel?

[PositronicRay]

Sheepshanks said:

singlecoil said:

Can you post the picture? It would make the question clearer.

Like this tall oven housing - the panels either side must make the unit 636 wide plus have the effect of recessing the oven slightly (which explains now why our design has one either side, even though the left side is against a wall!). It also recesses the doors too, so to my mind looks very odd when the other are "flush".



.
It also happens for the exposed sides of the units either side of our extractor fan - and our design they don't seem to repeat the spacing to the base units though, so not sure what they're done there. I'm minded to think it's a cock-up as we're having a 900 unit with integrated extractor over the hob so it's not like they've got space around a stand-alone extractor to play with.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Saturday 26th March 12:02

I wouldn't put the hob there.

[Sheepshanks]

Little Lofty said:

Decor panels are usually only between doors where a tall unit joins a floor unit.
You can see it on this photo of a Howdens kitchen I've just fitted for my mother.

Looks good! Did you cut away the decor panels to allow the plinth to run continuously? I think it's the break in the plinth that the picture I posted shows (our design is the same) that makes it stand out.

[Little Lofty]

If you don’t like the look of the panels then the other option is to use someone like DIY Kitchens who use a coloured matched carcass. ( Howdens do a grey carcass but its grained) I prefer the overlap that the end panels give as it hides the front edge of the oven and edge of the doors, it also means you don’t have a mitred return on the pelmet for the wall units. You can cut the bottom of the panel so the plinth runs through (as per photo) and you could possibly cut the panel so it sits on the worktop if you didn't want it to run to the floor.

Edit:
Just seen your post, yes cut so plinth runs through.

Edited by Little Lofty on Saturday 26th March 12:22

[Sheepshanks]

joshleb said:

Would you not see the side's of the oven without the panel?

Yes! But it's so unobtrusive I couldn't visualise it without going to look at our current kitchen.

You do see the sides of the oven doors and the oven 'flange' - but together they're same depth as the cabinet doors so it looks fine sitting on the face of the cabinet.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Saturday 26th March 17:58

[Sheepshanks]

singlecoil said:

I can tell you why kitchens frequently have decor panels coming down to the floor in random positions. Various reasons- more panels, more money,

In Googling this issue, I found a post from someone complaining that 25% of the cost of their Howdens kitchen quote was decor panels!

[Mark V GTD]

joshleb said:

Would you not see the side's of the oven without the panel?

You would - but they are generally designed to be seen as they normally fit in to housings that are the same width as the oven externally.

TBH I never realised Howdens units were designed like this - it does give a curious mix of 'lay on' doors and recessed doors with the proliferation of decor panels. Not sure I like it now its been pointed out!

[Simpo Two]

Sheepshanks said:

joshleb said:

Would you not see the side's of the oven without the panel?

Yes! But it's so unobtrusive I couldn't visualise it with going to look at our current kitchen. You do see the sides of the oven doors and the oven 'flange' - but together they're same depth as the cabinet doors so it looks fine sitting on the face of the cabinet.

So you'd start with a base unit, stick an (integrated) oven on top with the sides showing, then screw a unit to the wall above? In this instance you really have to have the side panels to hold the whole thing together, visually if not physically.

Even though one side of the oven on your case is against a wall, it really needs some space to stop the door scraping a curve in the paint...

Edited by Simpo Two on Saturday 26th March 18:31

[Mark-ri571]

Little Lofty said:

Decor panels are usually only between doors where a tall unit joins a floor unit.
You can see it on this photo of a Howdens kitchen I've just fitted for my mother.

Looks good- are the units Hockley Slate Grey mirror gloss?
I’m currently pondering over the following design and now got me thinking about the decor panels.

Edited by Mark-ri571 on Saturday 26th March 16:28

Edited by Mark-ri571 on Saturday 26th March 16:31

[Sheepshanks]

Simpo Two said:

So you'd start with a base unit, stick an (integrated) oven on top with the sides showing, then screw a unit to the wall above? In this instance you really have to have the side panels to hold the whole thing together, visually if not physically.

Even though once side of the oven on your case is against a wall, it really needs some space to stop the door scraping a curve in the paint...

No - what we've got now is a 600mm tall oven housing. As it happens it's in what was the old boiler cupboard so you can't see the side panels of the housing. Effectively the housing is invisible - all you see is the top and bottom cupboatd doora and the double oven and all those things sit proud of the surface by the thickness of the doors. The new layout has the oven housing somewhere else.

But on all the rest of our units - those at the ends of runs and those around the extractor - the cabinets have been built with one side being made of a matching panel. So the cabinet widths all stay at their nominal dimensions and the door and drawers all sit on the face of the cabinet - there no mish-mash of some being on the face and some looking like they're recessed because a decor panel is sitting proud of the cabinet face.

[Simpo Two]

Sheepshanks said:

No - what we've got now is a 600mm tall oven housing.

600mm tall? You said it was like the one in the picture.

Until you post a photo - as suggested by Singlecoil in the first reply - we're running in the dark.

[Baldchap]

Sheepshanks said:

Like this tall oven housing - the panels either side must make the unit 636 wide plus have the effect of recessing the oven slightly (which explains now why our design has one either side, even though the left side is against a wall!). It also recesses the doors too, so to my mind looks very odd when the other are "flush".



.
It also happens for the exposed sides of the units either side of our extractor fan - and our design they don't seem to repeat the spacing to the base units though, so not sure what they're done there. I'm minded to think it's a cock-up as we're having a 900 unit with integrated extractor over the hob so it's not like they've got space around a stand-alone extractor to play with.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Saturday 26th March 12:02

That's normal.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

Baldchap said:

That's normal.

Agree - looks perfectly standard to me.

[Little Lofty]

Mark-ri571 said:

Looks good- are the units Hockley Slate Grey mirror gloss?
I’m currently pondering over the following design and now got me thinking about the decor panels.

It is Clerkenwell-gloss-dove-grey