Being an interior designer who also designs kitchens for my clients, I often get to have this conversation about the difference between framed and frameless cabinetry. Yes, there is a big difference, but it's not the one that so many deceiving cabinet manufacturers have led you to believe.
Up until the early 1990's kitchen cabinets came in only one construction- framed. Cabinets had 2 sides, a top and bottom, a back and a wooden frame in front on which your doors hang. This was just how it was done. Then, a revolution in cabinet construction soon began to take over in the American market, Eurpoean, frameless construction. On the East Coast, frameless cabinets took off as a popular choice for maximizing space within your kitchen. Frameless cabinets offer you full access to every inch of space inside your cabinet walls. There is no center stile (the strip most homeowners hate in the middle of their cabinet doors), blocking you from placing wide items into your cabinets. Frames also prevent you from filling your cabinets with the much larger styles of plates that have become a mainstay in our kitchens. Wall cabinets are 12" deep plus your door. A cabinet frame is typically a 1/2" thick, which you lose from the interior of your cabinet. You also lose a anywhere from a 1/2" to a full inch of width on your drawers when attached to a framed cabinet. It doesn't sound like much but it all adds up. Even more than that, for me, it's about the look.
If you look at framed cabinets today, you will notice a huge trend- full overlay doors. This means that the cabinet door nearly or completely covers the frame of your cabinet. Homeowners desire the look of a larger door and wish to see less or none of the frame surrounding the cabinet. With this trend in cabinetry, what is the point of buying a framed cabinet? Simply put, there is none; unless you ask a stock cabinet manufacturer. Some will lead you to believe that a cabinet's frame adds extra stability to the cabinet and a frameless constructed cabinet is weaker than it's counterpart, but this could not be further than the truth. The structure of your cabinet comes in the construction of the box itself. A stronger box will have thicker sides and be screwed together versus glued and stapled, as many cheaper cabinets are assembled. A frame doesn't do much other than add to the cost of your cabinets, as a frame is made of solid wood, versus the cabinet itself, which is made of either melamine or plywood. Other than a frame, the only other part of a cabinet which is actually "SOLID" wood is the door. Please don't ever listen to anyone who tells you a cabinet is made of solid wood. Plywood is not solid wood. Very little of an all wood cabinet is solid wood- the same amount of a cabinet made of laminate or melamine (the frame and/ or the door only).
So why isn't everyone making the switch to frameless cabinetry? Well, lies, misinformation and old habits die hard are the main reasons. Cabinet manufacturers continue to make them because homeowners continue to buy them and homeowners continue to buy them because manufacturers continue to make them, presenting them as the "stronger" option. It's just been done this way since the beginning of time and that's how our industry works- good, bad or indifferent. (I still struggle with the grip that Tuscan furnishings has on Arizona residents... sheesh, enough already ((but that's another post)). As for me, I prefer to educate my clients on the differences, showing them the construction of the custom cabinetry that my cabinet company, J&M Custom Millwork & Remodeling creates and allow them to make their own decision. Once they get to see the benefits of a larger interior, more space and the beautiful aesthetic of full size doors, most select frameless cabinetry on their own. They save a little money and get the look and space they desire and a gorgeous kitchen with full access. After all, you're paying for those cabinets, might as well get use of every nook and cranny in them!
If you'd like more information about kitchen cabinetry or are in the Arizona's Phoenix- metro area and planning to remodel your kitchen, please take a look at www.jmcustommillwork.com. Jay Dunbar can save you money on your kitchen or bathroom remodel, while delivery impeccable quality, high end cabinets at a great price point.
Up until the early 1990's kitchen cabinets came in only one construction- framed. Cabinets had 2 sides, a top and bottom, a back and a wooden frame in front on which your doors hang. This was just how it was done. Then, a revolution in cabinet construction soon began to take over in the American market, Eurpoean, frameless construction. On the East Coast, frameless cabinets took off as a popular choice for maximizing space within your kitchen. Frameless cabinets offer you full access to every inch of space inside your cabinet walls. There is no center stile (the strip most homeowners hate in the middle of their cabinet doors), blocking you from placing wide items into your cabinets. Frames also prevent you from filling your cabinets with the much larger styles of plates that have become a mainstay in our kitchens. Wall cabinets are 12" deep plus your door. A cabinet frame is typically a 1/2" thick, which you lose from the interior of your cabinet. You also lose a anywhere from a 1/2" to a full inch of width on your drawers when attached to a framed cabinet. It doesn't sound like much but it all adds up. Even more than that, for me, it's about the look.
If you look at framed cabinets today, you will notice a huge trend- full overlay doors. This means that the cabinet door nearly or completely covers the frame of your cabinet. Homeowners desire the look of a larger door and wish to see less or none of the frame surrounding the cabinet. With this trend in cabinetry, what is the point of buying a framed cabinet? Simply put, there is none; unless you ask a stock cabinet manufacturer. Some will lead you to believe that a cabinet's frame adds extra stability to the cabinet and a frameless constructed cabinet is weaker than it's counterpart, but this could not be further than the truth. The structure of your cabinet comes in the construction of the box itself. A stronger box will have thicker sides and be screwed together versus glued and stapled, as many cheaper cabinets are assembled. A frame doesn't do much other than add to the cost of your cabinets, as a frame is made of solid wood, versus the cabinet itself, which is made of either melamine or plywood. Other than a frame, the only other part of a cabinet which is actually "SOLID" wood is the door. Please don't ever listen to anyone who tells you a cabinet is made of solid wood. Plywood is not solid wood. Very little of an all wood cabinet is solid wood- the same amount of a cabinet made of laminate or melamine (the frame and/ or the door only).
So why isn't everyone making the switch to frameless cabinetry? Well, lies, misinformation and old habits die hard are the main reasons. Cabinet manufacturers continue to make them because homeowners continue to buy them and homeowners continue to buy them because manufacturers continue to make them, presenting them as the "stronger" option. It's just been done this way since the beginning of time and that's how our industry works- good, bad or indifferent. (I still struggle with the grip that Tuscan furnishings has on Arizona residents... sheesh, enough already ((but that's another post)). As for me, I prefer to educate my clients on the differences, showing them the construction of the custom cabinetry that my cabinet company, J&M Custom Millwork & Remodeling creates and allow them to make their own decision. Once they get to see the benefits of a larger interior, more space and the beautiful aesthetic of full size doors, most select frameless cabinetry on their own. They save a little money and get the look and space they desire and a gorgeous kitchen with full access. After all, you're paying for those cabinets, might as well get use of every nook and cranny in them!
If you'd like more information about kitchen cabinetry or are in the Arizona's Phoenix- metro area and planning to remodel your kitchen, please take a look at www.jmcustommillwork.com. Jay Dunbar can save you money on your kitchen or bathroom remodel, while delivery impeccable quality, high end cabinets at a great price point.
3 comments:
Nice! Definitely keeping this in mind when purchasing my kitchen cabinet.
That's great, keep it up!
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It’s really a nice and helpful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us informed like this.
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