Most people start looking at replacement doors already knowing roughly what they want, and end up stuck on the same question a few pages in: with this many ranges and colours, which one is actually right for their kitchen? The style names don't always help. Shaker, slab, handleless, five-piece, solid ash, it's a lot of jargon for what's really a handful of practical decisions.
We've written before about why replacing doors makes more sense than a full refit and gone through what different door materials actually cost and how they hold up. This one's about the part that comes after you've decided to go ahead, working out which of our ranges actually fits.
The style question comes first
Before you get into individual ranges, it's worth settling on shaker, slab, or handleless, since that alone cuts the list down.
Shaker doors have a frame around a recessed centre panel, either built from five separate pieces or, in one of our ranges, machined from a single piece of MDF to look the same way. It's the option that ages well. A shaker kitchen fitted now will still look right in fifteen years, and if you ever want a change, new handles alone can shift the whole feel. Five of our seven ranges are shaker: Harrogate, Windsor, Cavallo, Chantilly and Mayfair.
Slab doors drop the frame entirely, one flat panel, nothing else. That's where our Valencia range sits, and it suits kitchens going for a cleaner, more modern look. The trade-off is that the handle does more visual work, since there's no frame to carry the design on its own, so it's worth browsing our handles, pulls and knobs alongside your door choice.
Handleless takes that a step further, the door itself has a grip channel built in, so there's no separate hardware at all. That's our Levana range. It's the choice if you want a kitchen with genuinely nothing sticking out, which matters more than people expect in a narrow galley layout.
What actually separates the five shaker ranges
This is where the real decision-making happens, because from the outside, five shaker ranges can look like the same thing five times over. They're not.
Harrogate is built from a single piece of MDF, precision-machined into the shaker shape rather than joined from separate pieces. No seams, smooth all the way round, and the most affordable route into a genuine shaker profile. If you're doing up a rental or working to a tight number, this is usually where we point people.
Windsor uses the traditional five-piece build in MDF, so you get the actual shaker shadow line, the visible step where the frame meets the panel, without paying solid timber prices for it. It's the closest match to what you'd find as standard at most of the big kitchen retailers.
Cavallo is Italian-made, five-piece, with a subtle woodgrain texture worked into the paint rather than a flat surface. It's our best-selling range, partly because it's the only one of the five that comes in green, sage and fir, alongside the usual whites and greys.
Chantilly and Mayfair are both solid ash. Not painted MDF dressed up to look like timber, an actual solid frame with real weight to it. Chantilly runs a wide 93mm frame for a bolder, more traditional look, and it's the only range with a natural lacquered oak finish rather than paint. Mayfair keeps the same solid timber but narrows the frame and drops the groove, so it reads as quieter and more contemporary. Same material, different character.
Valencia or Levana
Both use the same MF MDF and the same colour range across matt and gloss, so the real question is handles. Want to choose your own hardware, or keep what you've already got? Valencia. Want nothing there at all? Levana.
Within either, matt has become the more popular pick lately, it's more forgiving on marks and has a bit more warmth to it than gloss. Gloss still works well in a smaller or darker kitchen though, where bouncing light around the room actually matters.
If you're still not sure
- Tight budget or a rental property: Harrogate
- Want the proper shaker shadow line without solid timber cost: Windsor
- Want the widest colour range, including greens: Cavallo
- Happy to pay for genuine solid timber: Chantilly for a bolder frame, Mayfair for something quieter
- Modern and flat, don't mind fitting handles: Valencia
- Nothing sticking out at all: Levana
Ordering across ranges
Whichever you land on, they're all built to standard UK cabinet sizes, so nothing here locks you into a single supplier's whole system. Doors, drawer fronts and finishing pieces are sold separately within each range and can be mixed to suit your kitchen. If you're not sure how your cabinet openings translate into door sizes, we've got a walkthrough on measuring cabinet doors properly before you place an order.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I mix ranges within the same kitchen, say Cavallo doors with Windsor drawer fronts? You can, but we'd usually steer people toward staying within one range per kitchen, small differences in frame width and texture between ranges tend to show up more in person than they do in photos.
2. Which range is closest to a Howdens or Magnet shaker door? Windsor. It's the same five-piece MDF construction most of the big retailers use as their standard.
3. Is Cavallo worth the extra over Harrogate or Windsor? If you want green, Cavallo is your only option among the five. The woodgrain texture also gives it more depth than a flat painted surface.
4. Chantilly and Mayfair are both solid ash, so what's actually different? Frame width and shape. Chantilly's wider and has more presence, Mayfair's narrower and groove-free, so it sits more quietly.
5. Should I go Valencia or Levana if I haven't picked handles yet? Levana sidesteps the decision entirely, since the grip's built in. Valencia keeps it open if you're still deciding on hardware.
6. Do all seven ranges fit the same cabinets and hinges? Yes. Standard UK sizing and hinge positions throughout, so switching between ranges doesn't mean different fittings.
Still weighing it up? Call 0161 465 4007 and talk it through with the team, or have a look through the full kitchen doors collection to see the ranges side by side.