Shaker Antique White (Kitchen Cabinet Kings): Warped panels 

We are greeted by a 5 piece cope-and-stick style traditional shaker door with the Shaker Antique. The stiles and rails of both door frame, as well as the drawer face frame, are composed of birch hardwood with MDF center panels. The frame of the unit itself is also composed of birch, a quality wood versatile in a variety of climates and durable for a number of years (Picture 1). The MDF center panel fits nicely in place, with clean cuts on the cabinet frame and an overall solid construction with the materials used.

The finish on the Shaker Antique’s cabinet face is deservedly in the top tier of paint and finish jobs we have reviewed yet on our site, although it must be noted that the hue of the paint is noticeably off-white. Smooth, even texture, and thick application on every surface of the door, drawer face, and cabinet frame have us with our noses to the birch, inspecting for even the slightest of indiscretions and finding none (Picture 2). This is highly impressive, especially given that a hardwood such as a birch can be challenging to apply a paint and finish evenly. As the grade exhibits, the Shaker Antique has accomplished this feat.

With a non-matching natural wood grain interior, the finish on the inside box of the Shaker Antique is a UV coated laminate veneer. We have seen this before on the Artisan White Shaker from RTA Cabinet Store; the UV coating simply means that the interior resin is a water-based factory-applied coating assumedly more eco-friendly than resin finishes typically used in other cabinet models (Picture 3). It is an impressive finish, thicker than the vast majority of veneers that are the current industry standard. The exterior of the side panels on the Shaker Antique is stained to match the off-white color of the cabinet face. No cracks or chips can be found on either panel, and the back panel possesses the same UV coating as the interior of the unit.

Immediately we notice some significant damage to the top of the right side panel of the drawer box, which has been finished over with the UV coating. It is still an eyesore to the overall aesthetic of the box, which is hindered by the arch-top molding of the panels as it is (Picture 9). Awkward corner joints work against the dovetailing, which has been cut without precision and requires some forceful hits with a rubber mallet in order to get the box assembled semi-properly (Picture 10). With a bottom panel of the thinnest industry standard quality, the drawer box of the Shaker Antique is an illustration of haphazard manufacturing and carelessness (Picture 11).

In addition to being of a mediocre build, the drawer is also lacking in depth compared to the vast majority of industry standard boxes. At 2.5 inches deep, many items will undoubtedly get caught on the cabinet frame when opening and closing the drawer (Picture 12). This is guaranteed to be frustrating for the owner of the unit, especially considering the drawer touts full extension capabilities that would otherwise be seen as an advantage in this category. Rather than having access to items which get shoved to the back of the box, everything will get shoved even further to the back because the shallow depth will cause the drawer to get overfilled to the point of clogging (Picture 13).

The interior box of the cabinet’s storage capacity does not fare much better than the drawer box. With a floating half shelf measuring 3/4 inches thick and finished on three sides for flippability, the length reaches only halfway across the total length of the unit (Picture 14). This lack of shelf length, just shy of 11 inches, creates a disparity of usable space within the box, with more than half the available storage space in the cabinet going to waste because of the choice to save cost on materials rather than invest in valuable storage capabilities (Picture 15).

Branded as UCD hinges, these soft-close mechanisms require mounting to the borings in the door and to the cabinet frame (Picture 16). UCD is a medium-quality hinge but nevertheless dependable. It does take some extra time to install these hinges, but since there are pilot holes in both the door and the cabinet frame the process is straightforward. Overall the devices are effective in preventing the door from slamming against the frame and damaging it.

One unique thing we notice as soon as we remove the drawer slides from their cardboard packaging is that the beige plastic anchors are already attached to the back ends of the slides. This is only a slight convenience but still a feature we have yet to come across in any other unit. While they are not BLUM quality, these drawer slides feature soft-close mechanisms and full extension capabilities. They mount to the cabinet rame through pre-drilled pilot holes (Picture 17), making the mounting process quite simple.

Here we came across a disappointing fact concerning the connecting hardware shipped with the Shaker Antique unit: two beige metal cleats are missing from the bags and as a result, we were unable to attach the toe kick to the bottom of the cabinet. Beyond this fact, the rest of the hardware included fit well enough given the warped nature of the plywood side panels (Picture 18). The plastic UCD brand clips that fit into the drawer glides are rather clunky but still effective, with wooden blocks adding extra stabilization in each of the top four corners of the cabinet box.

One extra measure is taken that admittedly impresses us: the extra care and time invested into wrapping the door of the Shaker Antique (Picture 24). This ensures the paint and finish of the door are well-preserved upon delivery, and as we noted this has one of the top finishes on a cabinet face we have reviewed to date. We also give credit to the manufacturer for the detailed organization of the package, with the hardware and instructions placed in their own cardboard boxes for ease of handling (Picture 25).

Included are picture instructions which give a bare-bones rundown of how the Shaker Antique is to be assembled (Picture 26). Although the method presented is the best option, it still proves both challenging and frustrating for a single builder to accomplish. This is mainly a result of the warped panels. Each cleat must be fastened to the appropriate pilot hole with a hand driver as a power drill will snap the heads off of the wood screws