There are a number of trends going on these days in the world of man-made cabinet materials (TFL, HPL, Profile Wrap). 

The first saw the influx of the frameless cabinet design and surge of textured materials from folks like Stevens Industries, Salt, Tafisa and many of the early entrants. We then saw the improvements that the textured guys came to market with in terms of the look (think registered embossed) and quality of their products. Salt, Stevens and Egger come to mind there. 

An Egger shaker door looks very nice and rivals wood. 

The textured game is certainly getting its game together, and there are some amazing alternatives to wood. We also see the "Euro" look quickly being adopted where once there was more resistance. This will continue.

Now, the same thing is happening in the world of solid TFL colors. People are looking for a really good replica of the "painted” door that doesn’t break the bank.

On one extreme, there are all kinds of poor-man's matte materials. Arauco's velvet line is probably a good example. They look pretty good. You can scratch them easily enough, and they like to wear fingerprints like roses. But, in the right circumstance, they work great and sell. 

At the other end, you have FENIX, RAUVISIO Noir and other high-end players. Laminate super matte doors are beautiful but pricey. They hold up great too. 

What is evolving is that a number of the textured hitters are entering the market with some interesting and mid-level solid materials. They are taking the best of both worlds and offering good quality with a great look and sellable price point. 

StevensWood's Ashland collection has eight new solid colors. See them here  They are trendy and cover your typical whites, grays, blues and greens - all colors that sell nicely. If you want a solid-colored, StevensWood shaker door or even a StevensWood solid slab door, you now have an answer. Bingo!

Another entry is Olon's VelourTouch. We make a profile-wrapped shaker and slab door out of this that rivals the up-market players. It looks and feels amazingly. It isn't as sophisticated as, say, a FENIX (which is an HPL), but it prices out better and has a nice quality argument. 

It sure does seem like there are a number of new entrants and varieties hitting the streets. We say keep your eyes open!

You can check out our library of materials, pricing and color options by logging into our door portal. If you need a login, go here. 

All the best,

Steve