Pros and Cons of Frameless Cabinets (Infographic)

 

When it comes to installing new cabinets for your kitchen, one of the initial steps that you need to take is to choose between framed and frameless cabinets. In the United States, framed cabinets are considered to be the mainstream choice. However, frameless cabinets are now slowly turning the tides as more people are now opting to lean over the benefits of cabinetry without face frames.

Here’s a Free Trivia: Did you know that frameless cabinets first gained their popularity in Europe? That is the reason why they are also called “Euro Style,” “Contemporary,” or “Modern” Cabinets.

If you’re still undecided on whether you should choose frameless cabinetry over the framed ones, take a look at the following pros and cons of the former!

Pros of Frameless Cabinets:

• Creates a modern and smooth look – Frameless cabinets possess butted, nearly flush doors and drawers that provide a sleek, and elegant look in a kitchen. This benefit is quite impossible with framed cabinets as the face frames restrict the visibility of its contents, making the space inside much more stressed and tighter.
• Expanded storage space – Face frames limit the storage capacity of the cabinets as a whole, but without it, storing larger appliances such as juicers, bread machines, and other food processors are now achievable.
• They come with easy-to-mount shelves – Thanks to the absence of center stile that interrupts the space covered by double cabinet doors, the shelves can be directly mounted straight to the open cabinets. This feature leads to another nickname for frameless cabinets: full-access cabinets.
• Highly compatible with open shelving – Open shelving has been a long-lasting trend in the past months. In case you wanted to try open shelving, you can effortlessly do so by simply removing the doors of your frameless cabinets!

Cons of Frameless Cabinets:

• Lesser durability – Face frames are often integrated on cabinets to provide the necessary place for anchoring hinges. As a result, adjusting a poorly aligned door is relatively easier in framed cabinets. They are also designed to reinforce the sidewalls that give sturdiness to the entire cabinetry. In other words, frameless cabinets might not last longer than framed cabinets.
• Harder to install – DIYers always found installing frameless cabinets a challenging task. If your kitchen has some walls and floors that are slightly out of shape, it could be difficult to keep the “squareness” of your framed cabinets.
• Unreliable hinges – With the hinges solidly anchored directly to the sidewalls, frameless cabinets tend to need constant adjusting to maintain the proper alignment of the doors and its overall symmetry. Sidewalls are usually made from MDF (Medium-density Fiberboard) which are considered to be behind hardwood frames in terms of stoutness and resistance.

Remember that frameless cabinet can be the best choice for your kitchen if you’re looking to give it a modern and contemporary look. There can be some noticeable improvements in functionality but always treat it with care so that you can make good use of it for the years to come.

Let us help you uplift the look of your kitchen cabinets with our cabinet refacing service! Visit our website today at www.kcnetdev.wpengine.com or call us at (800) 581-0694 to learn more.