A refrigerator panel is one of two different parts. A door panel is a cabinet-style front fixed to the doors of a panel-ready refrigerator so it matches the cabinets. An end panel is a tall finished panel that covers the exposed side of the refrigerator opening. Door panels only fit panel-ready models; an end panel works with almost any refrigerator.
- "Panel" means two different parts. A door panel covers the front of an appliance. An end panel covers the side of the space the appliance sits in.
- Only panel-ready appliances take a door panel. The appliance maker's spec sheet sets the panel size, weight and mounting — not the cabinet maker.
- End panels are cabinet parts, so they work beside almost any refrigerator or dishwasher. You need one wherever a side would otherwise be left raw or open.
- Refrigerator end panels are tall; dishwasher end panels are base height. Ours run 96 inches high for refrigerators and 34-1/2 inches high for dishwashers.
- Lily Ann sells end panels, not appliance door panels. We also sell Forno panel-ready appliances, but the door panel is not included and is not something we list.
- As of Sep 2026: a White Shaker Elite 3/4-inch refrigerator end panel is $220.47 and a Colorado White Shaker dishwasher end panel is $75.14.
Two Different Parts Called a "Panel"
When someone searches for a refrigerator panel or a dishwasher panel, they usually mean one of two parts. A door panel sits on the front of the appliance and hides it behind a cabinet-style face. An end panel sits beside the appliance and finishes the side of the opening it lives in. They do different jobs, come from different places, and one of them only works with certain appliances.
Search results mix the two together, and they add a third meaning on top: the replacement control strip or stainless side piece that belongs to the appliance itself. Those are appliance repair parts. If that is what you need, the appliance maker's parts department is the right place, and this page will not help much.
Here is how the two cabinet-side meanings compare.
| Â | Door panel (front) | End panel (side) |
|---|---|---|
| Where it goes | On the appliance door | Beside the appliance, closing the side of the opening |
| What it is fixed to | The appliance, using the maker's brackets or template | The cabinets around it, like any other cabinet part |
| Which appliances | Panel-ready models only | Almost any appliance |
| Who decides the size | The appliance maker's spec sheet | The cabinet layout and the appliance's height and depth |
| What the look is | The appliance disappears into the cabinets | The appliance stays visible, framed by finished cabinetry |
| Sold by Lily Ann? | No | Yes, in many of our finishes |
Door Panels Only Fit Panel-Ready Appliances
A door panel can only go on an appliance built to carry one. These are sold as panel-ready, custom-panel or integrated models, and they arrive with a bare front and mounting points instead of a finished stainless or painted door. A standard refrigerator or dishwasher with a finished door is not designed to hold a panel.
The photo above is a panel-ready refrigerator as it ships: plain doors, visible hinge hardware, nothing on the front. The panels are a separate job. That is also why the appliance decides the panel, not the cabinets. Every panel-ready model has its own:
- Panel dimensions — the exact width, height and thickness the doors are built to carry.
- Weight limit — hinges are sized for a certain load, and a heavy solid-wood panel can exceed it.
- Mounting method — brackets, a template or a kit, and where the handle goes.
All three live on the appliance maker's spec sheet or installation guide. Get that document before anyone builds or orders a panel. A panel made to a cabinet door size rather than the appliance spec is the usual reason a paneled appliance does not close properly.
End Panels Finish the Side of the Opening
An end panel is a finished panel that covers a side which would otherwise be left raw or open. It does not touch the appliance and does not care who made it. That is why an end panel works beside almost any refrigerator or dishwasher, panel-ready or not. The same tall panels can frame a laundry pair; our guide to cabinets around a washer and dryer lists the clearances to check first.
Refrigerator end panels
A refrigerator often sits at the end of a run of cabinets, or in its own bay beside a tall cabinet. Without an end panel, its side is simply exposed, and the cabinet above the refrigerator has no finished side to line up with. A refrigerator end panel runs the full height beside the refrigerator, so the appliance reads as built in rather than parked.
Ours come in two shapes:
- A flat 3/4-inch panel, 96 inches high and 30 inches deep. The extra depth matters because a standard-depth refrigerator often stands further forward than 24-inch-deep cabinets.
- A 1-1/2-inch panel with a front return, 96 inches high and 24 inches deep. The return is a narrow strip across the front edge, which makes the panel look thicker and more solid from the front.
Dishwasher end panels
A dishwasher between two base cabinets needs no end panel — the cabinets on either side already close the opening. You need one when the dishwasher sits at the end of a run, on a peninsula, or anywhere its side would be seen. The panel closes that side and gives the countertop a finished support at the end where there is no cabinet.
Our dishwasher end panel is listed as a "dishwasher return panel": 3 inches wide at the front, 34-1/2 inches high to match a standard base cabinet, and 24 inches deep.
What Lily Ann Sells, and What We Don't
We sell refrigerator and dishwasher end panels, made in our cabinet finishes so the side of the opening matches the doors around it. We do not sell a door panel made to go on the front of an appliance. We say that plainly so nobody orders an end panel expecting it to cover a dishwasher door.
- Refrigerator end panels are listed in finishes including White Shaker Elite, Colorado White Shaker, York, Charleston and the Craftsman shaker colours. Examples: the White Shaker Elite 3/4-inch refrigerator end panel and the Colorado White Shaker 1-1/2-inch refrigerator end panel.
- Dishwasher end panels come in the same way, for example the Colorado White Shaker dishwasher end panel.
- Every finish has its own panels, fillers and trim page — for example White Shaker Elite panels, fillers and trim or Colorado White Shaker panels, fillers and trim. Order end panels in the same finish as the cabinets beside them.
- Panel-ready appliances. We also sell the Forno Rivestito 36-inch panel-ready French-door refrigerator and the Forno Rivestito 24-inch panel-ready dishwasher. The dishwasher listing states that the custom door panel is not included, and the refrigerator listing does not include one either. Plan on sourcing the door panels separately, to the Forno spec sheet.
What we cannot do is make or sell the door panel itself. If you want a fully hidden appliance, take the appliance maker's panel drawing to whoever is making the panel, and check it against the spec before it is cut.
Can Any Refrigerator or Dishwasher Be Paneled?
No. Only a panel-ready model is built to carry a door panel, and the appliance maker's spec sheet decides the size, weight and hardware. If the model is not sold as panel-ready, custom-panel or integrated, assume it cannot take one.
Three checks settle it before you spend anything:
- The model name or listing. Look for panel-ready, custom panel or integrated. If none of those words appear, it is almost certainly a finished-door model.
- The spec sheet. A panel-ready model's spec sheet gives the panel dimensions and a weight limit. If there is no panel drawing, there is no supported panel.
- The front itself. Panel-ready fronts arrive bare, with mounting points, as in the photo below. A finished stainless or painted door is the final surface.
You will find DIY projects online that glue or screw a panel onto a standard dishwasher or refrigerator. The appliance was not designed for that load, so check with the maker before adding weight to doors that were never meant to carry it. And an end panel is not a way around it — it covers the side, not the door.
If what you want is simply for the appliance to look planned rather than hidden, you do not need panel-ready at all. A refrigerator framed by end panels and a cabinet above, in the same finish as the rest of the kitchen, looks built in while keeping its own door. Our guide to matching cabinets and appliances covers which appliance finishes suit which cabinet colours.
What It Costs
These are Lily Ann's own listed prices, checked on our product pages on 11 September 2026. Prices change, so treat them as a snapshot, and we do not quote prices for panels we do not sell.
| Item | Finish / type | Size (as listed) | Price, as of Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator end panel, 3/4-inch | White Shaker Elite | 3/4 W × 96 H × 30 D in. | $220.47 |
| Refrigerator end panel, 1-1/2-inch | Colorado White Shaker | 1-1/2 W × 96 H × 24 D in. | $228.02 |
| Dishwasher end (return) panel | Colorado White Shaker | 3 W × 34-1/2 H × 24 D in. | $75.14 |
| Forno Rivestito panel-ready dishwasher | Panel-ready, door panel not included | 24 in. | $949 |
| Forno Rivestito panel-ready French-door refrigerator | Panel-ready | 36 in., counter-depth, 15.5 cu. ft. | $5,299 |
| Forno Rivestito French-door refrigerator | Stainless steel | 36 in., 15.5 cu. ft. | $6,299 |
Two things stand out. First, end panels are a small part of the cost of a kitchen, and they are the cheapest way to make a refrigerator or dishwasher look built in. Second, a panel-ready appliance is not automatically the expensive option: at the time of writing, our panel-ready Forno French-door refrigerator is listed $1,000 below its stainless twin, which has the same 15.5 cu. ft. capacity. What adds cost to a paneled appliance is the door panels, which are a separate purchase, and the care needed to fit them to the maker's spec.
Planning the Refrigerator Surround
Measure the refrigerator before you order anything, then pick the end panel to match its depth and the look you want. The refrigerator, the end panel and the cabinet above it are one unit, so plan all three together.
- Measure the refrigerator — width, height and depth, including the doors and handles. Depth decides which panel reaches far enough forward.
- Follow the maker's clearance numbers for ventilation and door swing. They are on the spec sheet, and they differ between models.
- Choose the panel shape. The flat 3/4-inch, 30-inch-deep panel reaches further forward; the 1-1/2-inch panel with a return looks heavier from the front.
- Plan the cabinet above. The end panel runs full height, so the cabinet over the refrigerator lines up with it.
- Order the same finish as the cabinets around it, from that finish's panels, fillers and trim page.
Planning a Dishwasher End Panel
You only need a dishwasher end panel when one side of the dishwasher would be seen. If it sits between two base cabinets, skip it. If it sits at the end of a run or on a peninsula, order one in the same finish as the base cabinets.
A built-in dishwasher normally takes a 24-inch-wide opening. The end panel sits outside that opening, so allow for it when you lay out the run. If you are still choosing the machine itself, our guide on how to choose the right dishwasher covers sizes and features, and you can browse our dishwashers and refrigerators and freezers.
The Short Version
Decide which panel you actually mean. A door panel hides the appliance and only fits a panel-ready model built to the maker's spec. An end panel frames the appliance, works with almost any model, and is a cabinet part you order in the same finish as your cabinets.
Lily Ann sells the second kind: refrigerator and dishwasher end panels across our finishes, plus Forno panel-ready appliances whose door panels you source separately. Start with your finish's panels, fillers and trim page and your refrigerator's spec sheet.
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