For those who travel abroad, it is not unlikely to hear from Europeans that Europe is becoming more like the US and to hear from those here in the US that the United States is becoming more like America. Europe. Although this converging trend towards a common center called the global market can sometimes create political or economic disagreement; for our lives and times, lived daily in our kitchens, it can only add some flavor when we can harness the best of all worlds with more in terms of, all in the spirit of better meeting all of our unique lifestyle needs and preferences. like never before.

Understanding the influences that contribute to the growing diversity in consumer tastes today is very important for cabinetmakers looking to satisfy their preferences. When it comes to the kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets we choose for our homes, many of us start by visualizing their appearance, which is driven by all of our experiences; maybe you have traveled a lot, grew up in the countryside or maybe in a big city and you start to imagine how a particular style, like contemporary or traditional, will work with your vision.

Once you have an ambitious vision of what you’re looking for in a design, you shouldn’t select cabinets simply for their appearance, but also for their build quality. It is important to first familiarize yourself with the different types of cabinets; including stock, RTA, semi-custom, fully custom, and a new channel of imported custom cabinets. You can see how easy it can be to get overwhelmed by all of these terms, so let’s keep things simple by clarifying the two types of cabinet construction, the traditional American front frame or the framed cabinet, and what is increasingly seen as cutting edge in cabinet construction. modern construction. manufacturing efficiency, full access cabinets.

American style gold “framed” construction.

Face frame cabinets use solid wood joinery on the front of the cabinet to form, as the name suggests, a face frame around the front of the cabinet, while frameless cabinets do not. You can usually tell the difference between the two types of cabinet construction by the way the doors and drawers fit against the front. With the cabinet framed, you’ll see a combination frame and door/drawer front, with wide reveals (or gaps) between each door/drawer front.

This is called the frame overlay style. When the cabinet doors are closed, you can still see the cabinet face frames around the doors and drawer fronts and often you can see the hinges as well. Framed cabinets are most likely the ones you’ll be familiar with, as they’ve been the standard style in America for several decades. This is due to the fact that framed cabinets became widely available from the big manufacturers who usually produce cabinets with frame faces and distribute them to various places to buy cabinets, including large home centers. Typically made with a plywood or particle board box held together by a hardwood frame attached to the front, framed cabinets are identified by the gaps between the doors and drawers where the frame is visible. The inside of the cabinet is wider on both sides than the cabinet opening. The face frame typically extends into the opening by about 3/4″ or more. Although the prevalence of full-access cabinets is increasingly featured in style and design publications, framed cabinets remain the go-to convenience option. the United States accounting for “about two-thirds” of cabinet purchases.

European style or “all access” construction

Full access (sometimes called European or frameless) is the standard for European-style cabinets; Resembling a box, they do not need a front frame as the front edge of the cabinet side wall works efficiently as the front of the cabinet itself. Full access cabinets are built like a box instead of using a hardwood front frame. The sides and other structural components of full-access cabinets are typically made of heavier or thicker materials, making the additional front frame unnecessary for structural strength. When the doors and drawers are closed, you can see more of both as they feature a “full overlap” where they cover nearly the entire cabinet with tight or continuous reveals (or gaps) between each door/drawer front. This style of overlay door hides the hinges completely and is adjustable for perfect alignment. Recovering the reduction in width and height lost with the presence of a frame with framed joinery, the interior width is the same as that of the opening; hence the term full access.

Full access cabinets offer a wide range of benefits, both aesthetic and functional. By creating a uniform design scheme from door to door, frameless cabinetry has gained wide acceptance in the United States in coastal regions and its benefits continue to be experienced by craftsmen and homeowners; its popularity is increasing throughout the country.

The Advantages of Full Access Cabinets

Driven by design tastes and practicality, homeowners and builders are beginning to understand the added benefits of full access cabinets and the consensus is that if you’re buying cabinets made by a quality cabinet maker, the full access cabinets are the best option.

• Design Flexibility: With full access cabinets, there are no front bezels showing on the cabinet, making them the preferred choice for designers who demand clean, simple lines; In addition, they offer a wide selection of features that allow for a virtually infinite measure of customization.
• Structural integrity: Full-access cabinets are built to last, and whether the entire box is made of industrial-grade plywood or particleboard, it’s structurally sound.
• Ease of installation: The ends and sides of the cabinets are flush like fine furniture and the hardware adjusts if you need to adjust the position of the doors for precise alignment.
• Easy and complete access: As the name implies, full access cabinets bypass the frame entirely, allowing full, unobstructed access to the inside of your cabinet. Using the entire box, the cabinet is made more accessible while providing a couple of extra inches of space; in some cases, up to 10-20% more storage space.
• Maximum space utilization:Full access provides more usable space within a frameless cabinet compared to a framed product of the same size, further enhanced with larger drawers and pull-out shelves; and, because the cabinet box itself is structural, it has fewer braces and braces inside the cabinet and therefore more space inside.
• Fits both traditional and contemporary designs: With a minimalist and smooth appearance, the full access is the preferred option for designers who demand maximum use of space, ergonomics and aesthetics, with the right materials. Flush doors and concealed hinges work just as well to execute a traditional look as they do modern or contemporary, creating a sophisticated, seamless look that can only be achieved with full-access cabinets.

As you’ve discovered, these two types of cabinet construction result in completely different capacity sets. While full-access cabinets can achieve both the architecturally inspired old world classics with all the time-honored antique qualities, they can also satisfy the sleeker, cleaner contemporary European motifs that framed cabinets can’t. Full access cabinets are the new standard in kitchen cabinetry with the quality of your furniture, and as a result, many new homes have full access cabinets. Full access cabinets simply present a classic case for No Compromise.