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Shaker Kitchens: The Essex Favourite, Painted in Your Colour

We call it the Essex favourite for good reason. Shaker kitchens have a framed door with a recessed centre panel, painted in the colour you choose, and they manage to look timeless without feeling old-fashioned. Essex Home Kitchens designs, supplies and installs complete Shaker kitchens, with every trade managed by us under one contract, so the painted doors are only the start of what we take care of.

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10 years

Installation guarantee on every kitchen

£5m

Public liability insurance

NAPIT

Registered Electricians

Essex, since 2012

Established company, local teams

The style

What is a Shaker kitchen?

Close-up of a painted Shaker door with a recessed centre panel and a brass cup handle

A Shaker style kitchen is defined by its door: a simple frame around a flat, recessed centre panel. There is no carving and no fuss, which is why the style sits as comfortably in a Victorian terrace as it does in a family home built last decade. It is easy to live with for twenty years, and it takes colour beautifully.

Finishes

Doors and finishes

Shaker kitchen with open shelving, copper pans and blush walls

A painted Shaker kitchen from us has timber doors, finished one of two ways:

01Hand-painted timber, for a soft, crafted finish
02Factory-painted timber, for a uniform, hard-wearing coat

Either way, the colour is matched to whatever you choose. That might be a paint chip from your living room, a shade from a fabric, or a colour you have seen elsewhere and want to match.

Colour

Colours that work in a Shaker kitchen

Navy Shaker kitchen with white quartz worktops

Because the door shape is so plain, the colour carries the room. Two of our recent projects show the range:

01A sage green Shaker kitchen in Chelmsford, with an oak island top and a range cooker
02A navy Shaker kitchen in Brentwood, with white quartz worktops and new flooring throughout

Deep shades like navy and green give a Shaker kitchen weight, especially below a pale worktop. Soft whites, creams and stone colours keep a smaller room light. Many people choose a two-tone scheme, with a stronger colour on the island and a lighter one on the wall units.

Pairings

Worktops and handles that pair well

Oak worktop on a sage green Shaker kitchen

Worktop	Why it works with Shaker
Solid timber	Warm against painted doors, as on our oak-topped Chelmsford island
Quartz	Crisp and practical, as on our navy Brentwood kitchen
Granite	Natural stone with plenty of depth
Corian or Dekton	A cleaner line for a more contemporary take

Worktops are templated by laser after the cabinets are in, then fitted by our own stone team. See our kitchen worktops page for a full comparison.

Handles finish the look. Cup handles on drawers and round knobs on doors are the classic Shaker pairing, in brushed brass, antique bronze, nickel or matt black. Choose one finish and repeat it on taps and lighting for a scheme that hangs together.

Layouts

Layouts Shaker kitchens suit

Grey shaker kitchen with island and dining area, Chelmsford

Shaker suits period homes, 1930s semis and family kitchens. In a narrow terrace, a single run or galley with tall larder storage works well. In a semi where the kitchen and dining room have been opened up, an L-shape with an island gives you somewhere to sit. A range cooker set into a chimney breast is a natural focal point. Pull-out larders, corner solutions and drawer-in-drawer storage are designed around what you actually own.

Cost

What a Shaker kitchen costs

Complete kitchen projects with Essex Home typically range from £18,000 to £50,000 and above, depending on the size of the room, the cabinetry, worktops and appliances you choose, and any building work. Your quotation is fixed and itemized, so nothing is hidden.

Try it in 3D first. Our Kitchen Builder opens on a sage Shaker kitchen with a quartz worktop. Change the colours, turn the room and send us your design.

Our work

One recent project, start to finish

A family home in Brentwood: a load-bearing wall removed, a new quartz island and a full rewire, completed in three weeks on site by our own team. See the full project.

Handleless kitchen

Brentwood

White matt handleless, quartz island, structural opening to dining room

Handleless

★★★★★

"Everything was handled by Essex Home. The electrician, the plasterer and the tiler all turned up when we were told they would, and Dan managed it all. We never had to chase anyone."

Sarah & Mark T.

Handleless kitchen, Brentwood

Questions

Shaker kitchen FAQs

Are Shaker kitchens going out of style?

Shaker has stayed popular because the door is so simple. We describe it as timeless without being old-fashioned, and easy to live with for twenty years.

Should I choose hand-painted or factory-painted?

Both are timber and both can be matched to any colour. Your designer will talk through the look and feel of each during your free home visit.

What is the difference between Shaker and in-frame?

A Shaker door is a framed door with a recessed centre panel. Our traditional kitchens go further, with in-frame cabinetry, cock beading, mantels and dressers.

How long does a Shaker kitchen take to fit?

Typical installations take two to four weeks, managed by one project manager to a written programme.

Other styles

Explore our other kitchen styles

Clean and consideredModern kitchensOpen-plan extensions, new builds, apartments UninterruptedHandleless kitchensContemporary extensions, kitchen-diners, minimal interiors Proper joineryTraditional kitchensDetached family homes, farmhouses, listed properties Made for your roomBespoke kitchensAwkward rooms, large open-plan spaces, unusual briefs

Get a Quote

Book a free design consultation

Our designers will visit, measure up and show you how Shaker kitchens could look in your room, in 3D, before anything is ordered. Call 01268 264240 or get your free design & quotation online.

Get your free design & quotation Call 01268 264240