WHY SOME CABINET DOOR PROFILES USE THICKER MDF

Most homeowners have probably never asked how thick their cabinet doors are.

And for many door styles, there is no reason they should.

But when you start comparing simple Shaker doors with deeper, more detailed profiles, material thickness becomes part of the design.

At Artisan Studio, our one-piece MDF door collection includes profiles made from standard 3/4-inch material as well as profiles that use thicker 7/8-inch or 1-inch MDF.

Why?

It isn't simply because thicker is better.

The additional material gives certain door profiles more room to create depth, curves, bevels, beads, raised details, and stronger shadow lines.

START WITH THE PROFILE, NOT THE THICKNESS

A clean Shaker-style door doesn't necessarily need thick material.

Its beauty comes from simple proportions and clean lines, and 3/4-inch MDF works extremely well for many of those designs.

Other profiles are much more dimensional.

Our current 7/8-inch MDF door profiles are:

• Skinny Bead 187
• Fresno
• Bristol
• Franklin
• Madrid
• Florence

All of these profiles can also be produced by Artisan Studio in 1-inch MDF.

These aren't simply thicker versions of a basic Shaker door.

The additional material is part of what allows these profiles to have their distinctive shape and depth.

WHAT DOES THE EXTRA THICKNESS ACTUALLY DO?

Think about carving a design into a piece of material.

A shallow design doesn't require much depth.

But if you want deeper curves, raised areas, stronger transitions, or more pronounced details, you need enough material to create them.

That's where 7/8-inch and 1-inch MDF can become useful.

The extra material gives the CNC tooling more depth to work with when creating certain profiles.

THE DIFFERENCE IS VISUAL

This is really where homeowners notice the difference.

A simple Shaker door has a clean, understated appearance.

A deeper profile can create stronger shadow lines and more dimension across the face of the cabinet.

Depending on the style, that can give the cabinetry a more detailed, substantial, or furniture-inspired appearance.

Neither look is necessarily better.

They're simply different design choices.

IS A THICKER DOOR HIGHER QUALITY?

Not automatically.

A well-made 3/4-inch Shaker door can be every bit as appropriate for its design as a 7/8-inch or 1-inch detailed door.

Thickness should support the profile.

You shouldn't choose a cabinet door simply because someone tells you it is thicker.

Choose the style you like first.

If that design requires additional material to create the proper profile, then the thicker material becomes part of making that particular door correctly.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Most homeowners don't need to choose cabinet doors by thickness.

Choose them by appearance.

If you like simple, clean lines, a 3/4-inch profile may be exactly what you're looking for.

If you prefer deeper details, stronger shadow lines, beads, curves, or more dimensional profiles, some 7/8-inch and 1-inch designs may give you the look you're after.

The thickness isn't the feature.

The PROFILE is the feature.

The thickness is simply one of the tools we use to create it.