We get asked some version of this question most weeks: someone's ordered doors and drawer fronts, measured everything twice, and then discovers there's a whole extra category of parts they hadn't budgeted for. Plinths. Cornice. Pelmets. End panels. None of them get much attention next to the doors themselves, and most suppliers don't explain what they're actually for, so people either skip them (and the kitchen looks unfinished) or order them in a panic once the fitter points out the gap.
Here's what each one does, whether you actually need it, and how to work out what your kitchen needs before you order.
What's a Plinth, and Do You Need One?
A plinth is the panel that sits along the base of your cabinets, closing the gap between the bottom of the units and the floor. Without it, you'd be looking at cabinet legs, wiring, and whatever's underneath your kitchen.
Some people call this a kickboard, some call it skirting, they're mostly the same thing with slightly different profiles. A plinth sits recessed, tucked back from the door line so there's toe room when you're standing at the counter, which is the standard approach in almost every UK kitchen. Skirting sits flush with the doors and has a more decorative, furniture-like look, more common in traditional or in-frame kitchens.
Do you need one? Yes, practically every kitchen does, unless you're going for an exposed-leg look, which is rare outside very specific design choices. Every one of our door ranges has matching plinths available in the same finish.
Cornice and Pelmet: What's the Difference?
These two get confused constantly because they sit close together, but they do different jobs.
Cornice runs along the top of your wall cabinets and closes the gap to the ceiling. Without it, you get a hard, unfinished edge where the cabinet stops short of the ceiling, and depending on your ceiling height, that gap can be a few centimetres of nothing looking distinctly unplanned. Cornice also visually extends your cabinetry upward, which can make a kitchen with lower ceilings feel a touch taller.
Pelmet sits underneath your wall cabinets, along the bottom edge, above the worktop. Its job is partly decorative, softening the transition between the units and the counter, and partly practical, it's what hides any under-cabinet lighting you've fitted. If you're planning LED strip lighting under your wall units (and most kitchens benefit from it), a pelmet is what stops you seeing the bare fitting.
Do you need them? Neither is structurally necessary, plenty of kitchens run without cornice at all, particularly in more contemporary designs where a clean, cornice-free top line is the intended look. But if your wall cabinets don't reach the ceiling, skipping cornice usually means living with a visible gap, and skipping pelmet means visible lighting hardware. Whether that bothers you is a genuine style choice, not just a corner you're cutting.
End Panels: The Bit People Forget Until It's Too Late
An end panel covers any exposed side of a cabinet run, the end of an island, the side of a base unit next to an open doorway, or a tall larder standing on its own. Without one, you're looking at raw chipboard or a carcass colour that doesn't match your doors.
This is the one that catches people out most often, because it's easy to measure your door and drawer fronts carefully and completely miss that the end of your run needs its own panel. If you've got an island, a peninsula, or any cabinet run that doesn't finish flush against a wall on both sides, check this before you order.
End panels come in a few variants worth knowing about: plain panels for a flat finish, tongue and groove for more texture and traditional character, and full-height versions for larder or tall units that run floor to ceiling in one piece rather than stopping at the worktop line. Several of our ranges, including Chantilly and Mayfair, offer tongue and groove options alongside plain panels.
Do These Need to Match Your Doors Exactly?
Yes, and this matters more than people expect. Finishing components are made to match the door finish, not the cabinet carcass colour underneath, which is standard practice across the industry. If you're ordering Cavallo doors in Sage Green, the plinth, cornice and end panels need to be Sage Green too, not whatever colour your carcasses happen to be. Every colour across every one of our ranges has matching finishing components available for exactly this reason.
What to Check Before You Order
- Count your wall cabinets that don't reach the ceiling — that's where cornice is doing real work, not just decoration.
- Check if you're fitting under-cabinet lighting — if yes, you'll want a pelmet to hide it.
- Walk your kitchen layout and count exposed cabinet sides — islands, peninsulas, and larder units standing alone all need end panels, and it's easy to miss one if you're only thinking about doors.
- Measure your base run's total length — plinths are usually sold in lengths (around 3 metres per length across our ranges) rather than per-cabinet, so you're working out total metres needed, not units.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is a kitchen plinth the same as skirting?
Not quite. A plinth sits recessed for toe room and is the standard choice in most UK kitchens, while skirting sits flush with the door line for a more decorative, furniture-style look, more common in traditional or in-frame kitchens.
2. Do I actually need cornice if my wall units already reach the ceiling?
No, if there's no gap to close, cornice is purely a style choice at that point rather than something covering an unfinished edge.
3. What's the practical reason for a pelmet if I'm not fitting lighting?
Even without lighting, a pelmet softens the visual transition between the wall units and the worktop. It's optional, but many contemporary kitchens skip it deliberately for a cleaner line.
4. How do I know if I need a full height end panel or a standard one?
Full height end panels suit larder and tall units that run from floor to ceiling in one piece, standard end panels suit base or wall units that stop at the usual cabinet height.
5. Can I order finishing components in a different colour to my doors?
You can, but it's unusual, and most kitchens look more deliberately designed when the finishing components match the door colour exactly rather than the cabinet carcass underneath.
6. What if I forget to order end panels and only realise once the kitchen's fitted?
It happens more often than you'd think. You can order them afterward in the matching colour, just be aware of potential lead times if the colour needs to be made to order rather than pulled from stock.
Not sure exactly what your layout needs? Call 0161 465 4007 and talk it through with the team, or browse matching finishing components across all our door ranges.
