Scherr's Versus Semihandmade White Shaker Doors That Fit IKEA Sektion Cabinets

There's a growing trend in homeowners choosing IKEA cabinet boxes and organizational inserts but sourcing their doors elsewhere, and it's dominating Houzz discussion boards lately. If you're looking for doors made to fit, with the bored holes for IKEA's European style concealed hinges already carved out and ready to go, there are several companies providing custom doors for IKEA. I've looked at all of them, and with samples in, I'm proclaiming the winner in the category of already-painted white Shaker is Scherr's. Here's why.

They Look and Feel Like Real Wood Doors

That's because they are real wood doors. Scherr's 400 series of Shaker doors have solid wood frames with 1/4" plywood panels. A solid wood panel upgrade is available, and I'm having that priced out. I love the sample. There's none of that plastic-y feeling you get with the IKEA Shaker-look doors. And by the way, you also get this with some so-called semi-custom lines such as Martha Stewart and Kraftmaid. They call it a factory finish varnish and say it's durable, but the hand-feel is meh.

Semihandmade's unpainted door is a a solid maple frame with MDF panel, and it's pretty sharp-looking. Their "painted door" is actually thermafoil, and for me it doesn't hold as much appeal as painted wood.

The Scherr's door has sharply defined panel insets, where the Semihandmade thermafoil door has concave arched molding. The Scherr's painted door is a true Shaker construction, whereas the Semihandmade thermafoil door might be more appropriately called a Shaker-look style.

Durable Finish

Before I saw Scherr's painted extra white door sample, I had just about resigned myself to buying unfinished doors and having them painted on-site. I wasn't thrilled. Custom paint isn't inexpensive, but a luxury upgrade that generally adds 20-25% to the cost. That would sort of negate the cost-savings of the IKEA flat-pack boxes. But more than this, it would also mean involving another subcontractor in my project, adding additional time at additional cost. None of this makes sense for my project, as I don't require a custom color; any crisp white will do. So, imagine my joy when I opened the Scherr's sample delivery to find not only is the woodwork superb, but the Sherwin Williams Extra White they come in is just right. It actually matches the trim throughout our house, even though our trim is the super generic Benjamin Moore White. Both are bright whites that will complement the Farrow and Ball Blackened paint that's already on the walls in our soon-to-be-open-concept room.

Via Houzz

Here it is in a kitchen that's being constructed right now and discussed on Houzz. Beautiful!