This kitchen cabinet style — a flat-panel door covered in melamine (or maybe some were done with laminate? I don’t know for sure), with full-width wood finger pulls at the top — golly, there were a lot of these.
If you need a replacement — or maybe, you’re ready to lead this 1980s revival in your kitchen or how about a craft room? — you can still get replacements.
Jan. 2021 update: Old source looks discontinued… but I found a source — WalzCraft.
This company really seems to have this market covered. It looks like there are three designs and each available in three melamine colors/finishes — white, almond, and maple.
These are such a blast from the past! I’m thinking they’d be great for a funky 1970s kitchen too!
Again: 1980s style melamine kitchen cabinet doors with wood trim — by WalzCraft.
Gary says
I have this style cabinetry in my rental condo.
S764 TENANT (MELAMINE)
Just need direction on locating replacement hinges as the old ones don’t stay closed and can no longer be adjusted no matter what I do.
Cabinet doors are in fairly decent shape so not ready to replace.
Please advise. Thanks in advance!
-Gary
pam kueber says
Hi Gary, I don’t know the answer to this question — try the company profiled. Good luck.
Caryl Sawtelle says
where can I find these? I need the small size that go over a refridgerator or stove for a replacement?!!!
pam kueber says
Hi Caryl,
hmmmm. The hotlink (in bold blue) takes you to the original page where these were spotted, but the style is no longer featured.
Seems like these were Woodmont doors. Try the company directly and see what they say >>> https://woodmontcabinetry.com/
Other than that… I would have to do more research / google / so you can dive in too. Another thought: Try your Restore Habitat for Humanity or other salvage place, Facebook Marketplace, craigslist, ebay, etc. but you’ll be looking for a needle in a haystack given you need an exact size….
Finally, it seems like you could have doors fabricated. They are “just” laminate with oak edges… of course, anything custom can get spendy quick.
Good luck!
pam kueber says
Hi again, Caryl:
I found these — https://walzcraft.com/product/tenant-almond-melamine-door/
They are melamine finish (not laminate) — I’m not sure, historically, whether these types of cabinet doors were melamine, or laminate, or whether both were offered.
Barry says
I’m not quite ready to renovate my kitchen, and need a couple of ’80s era, tan-colored laminate replacement doors with the wooden bar along the top. Woodmont no longer manufactures them according to Eclectic-ware. Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you!
Pam Kueber says
Hi Barry, I don’t know of any other resources without doing the research… My first thought was to look at Barker Doors. They don’t show them — but you could always ask…
Other than that: Start googling… which is what I’d do.
Another thought: These can’t be so hard to make. Maybe a local cabinetmaker could do it for you?
Also, you might have luck finding extras vintage.
Good luck.
Annie says
Hi, I need to order a few of these. Where do I order them from?
Pam Kueber says
Click the link to the company that’s in the story — it’s in bold blue text. Note, I no longer see this style on their page, but you should ask them. Another company to try: Barker Doors.
Katharine Carroll says
I’ve had these cabinets in numerous apts over the years. I liked the practicality of them. No extra handle to catch clothes & ease of clean up. The fact that they are streamlined & not a lot of design with wood grain made it easy to decorate. They’re not everyone’s preference, but they have their positives.
Angela says
I love these!! In the right home. Our children just bought a large home with a gunnite pool, green house, koi pond, immaculate landscaping and these cabinets give the garden, terra cotta floored kitchen such a great vibe. I lovieeee it! But maybe I know nothing about design. Lol. I just don’t want modern anything in that home. Not even modern retro… unless it’s the new Cafe white fridge with gold handles
Erica Freeman says
I admit it, I’m freaked out that an ’80s revival is being discussed in a retro design site.
I’m also freaked out that there’s an ’80s revival. Those cabinets—PLEASE NO!
Mary-Catherine says
Hi, Pam, It was great to see this info about replacements for the Euro cabinets.
I am a REALTOR in a large New Mexico town, and there are a number of 1980’s homes that still have these cabinets….some look good….others, not so much.
Some 80’s homes have been renovated and these cabinets are GONE!!!
I would like to share this basic info with my fellow REALTORS, I can get the basics to fit on one side of an 8 x 11 sheet of paper…..just need your permission to share.
Thank you in advance.
Joe Felice says
I saw a picture of a kitchen with these, and the wood strips had been painted, and they looked fantastic.
ineffablespace says
I linked to the Formica UK site instead of the US site.
They have 120 plain color (colour) offerings including a few really nice pale blues, a pale yellow
and pale pink :-/.
I wish we couldn’t even open sites that have great stuff we can’t get
Why does Formica have such better colors in foreign countries. 🙁
ineffablespace says
I know I keep chiming in, but the more I think of it, the more I think it is really the almond laminate that causes the primary objection.
I’ve seen these doors with all wood faces, and there are versions of this door through companies like Seimatic, where the entire door is one lacquered finish (usually in very bright white, or an actual color) with the profiles routed into the slab, and people don’t seem to find them so objectionable.
And the metal and laminate version of these doors with a metal edge pull rather than oak has never really been out of production.
Brooke says
I have a visceral response specific to my cabinets because they replaced beautiful 1960’s birch cabinets with amazing midcentury knobs. We have 2 of the original cabinets in the garage and I can picture how beautiful a whole kitchen would have been with them. I can’t believe the original owners replaced them with these 80’s cabinets :/
You can definitely tell my kitchen cabinets are still this style but painting them out made me feel better about them in general. So maybe if they’d had better colours to choose from or the all wood version the kitchen wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The colour as you mentioned was also a huge factor in the appeal. The cabinets in combination with the beige backsplash (complete with cornucopia of fruit!), dusty blue countertop, beige sheet linoleum and light yellow walls made the whole kitchen feel dirty.
I also think that poor quality is also associated with this cabinet style. I’ve seen so many examples of this kitchen falling apart that I probably associate poor quality with all kitchens of this type which is wrong since like with any style there are cheap and high end versions. My cabinets are in great shape for being 30-37 years old and they would probably last for a while yet.
While I’m itching to replace my cabinets with something more mid-mod looking I’ll just have to wait.