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Frameless Cabinets: Combining Modern Style with Smooth Function

Modern Kitchen with Slab Cabinet Doors 533766531

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When choosing new cabinets for your kitchen, one of the first and most important choices you face is between framed cabinets and frameless cabinets. Framed cabinets were once the most popular style of cabinet. In recent years, frameless cabinets have gradually emerged as equal or greater in popularity, driving demand and raising prices.

Frameless Cabinets vs. Framed Cabinets

Frameless Cabinets

Persian rug on a bathroom floor
Frameless bathroom cabinets

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Frameless cabinet construction is a style originally known mostly in Europe. They are also known as Euro-style, contemporary, or modern cabinets.

In this type of cabinet, there are no face frames. Instead, the doors and drawers rest directly across the edges of the cabinet boxes, and the door hinges are anchored to the side walls of the cabinets, often mortised into the side walls as hidden hinges.

Frameless cabinets have been around for many years, but it was not until about 2012 when IKEA's massive expansion into the United States made this cabinet style so popular.

It's easy to think of frameless cabinets as IKEA-style, but IKEA merely popularized a style that had been present in Europe for many decades. As part of the Euro-style invasion of America, cabinets with sleek, smooth fronts made from laminates, glass, or metal became popular—all of which require frameless construction. 

Frameless cabinets are usually, but not always, associated with slab cabinet doors. It is increasingly possible to find frameless cabinets with traditional style doors, such as raised panel, arch panel, Shaker, or cathedral.

Framed Cabinets

Bathroom with wood vanity and white shiplap walls
Framed bathroom cabinets

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Traditionally, U.S.-made cabinets have been constructed with rails and stiles that form a 1 1/2-inch wide face frame at the front of the cabinet box. The doors and drawer-fronts rest against the frame, and the door hinges are attached directly to the face frames. They are usually made from plywood or particle board.

There are advantages to this framed style of construction. They create a classic, vintage look, and there is a good deal of style flexibility, as framed cabinets can accept an almost infinite variety of door and drawer styles. Because the hinges are solidly anchored to hardwood face frames, these cabinets are very sturdy, and it is relatively easy to adjust the doors if they fall out of alignment. 

Frameless Cabinets

Pros
  • More storage

  • Modern, sleek

  • Shelves easy to adjust

  • Open shelves

Cons
  • Hinges need frequent adjusting

  • More difficult to install

  • Less sturdy

  • Higher demand, prices

Frameless Cabinets Pros

Shelves Easy to Mount

Because there is no center stile interrupting the space covered by double cabinet doors, you can slide shelves straight into the open cabinets. This may sound like a minor advantage—until you have tried to navigate a large shelf into a framed cabinet with a face frame that limits access. For this reason, frameless cabinets are sometimes known as full-access cabinets.

More Storage Space

When it comes to storage, cabinet size matters. Because there is no face frame to create a lip around the cabinet openings, it is much easier to store appliances such as restaurant-quality food processors, juicers, or bread machines in frameless cabinets. 

Smooth, Modern Look

Frameless cabinets with the edges of doors and drawers butted nearly flush provide an elegant, sleek look in a kitchen—a look that is impossible to achieve with framed cabinets where frames are always visible. When slab doors are chosen for frameless cabinets, the seamless look is complete. 

Open Shelves Possible

Because frameless shelves have no frames to form lips around the cabinet openings, the doors can be omitted entirely to provide open-shelf storage. 

Frameless Cabinets Cons

Hinges That Often Need Adjusting

Hinges are less reliable since they are mounted to sidewalls that are often made from MDF rather than hardwood frames. Hinges on frameless cabinets may need continual adjusting in order to keep the doors straight and the cabinet fronts looking symmetrical. 

More Difficult Installation

Cabinets may be harder to install since exact precision is essential to the modern look. There is a smaller tolerance for error with frameless cabinets, which means that DIYers may find them harder to install, especially in rooms where walls and floors are slightly out of square. That being said, IKEA and other RTA (ready-to-assemble) cabinet manufacturers go to great lengths to make frameless cabinets DIY-friendly. 

Less Sturdy

Frameless cabinets are less sturdy than framed cabinets. The hardwood face frame on framed cabinets serves to greatly reinforce the sidewalls to which they are anchored—an advantage that is missing from frameless cabinets. Frameless cabinets, especially economy types, may not last as long as framed cabinets. 

Trendy, Popular

Frameless cabinets are popular and trendy and often will cost more. This is merely a matter of supply-and-demand​ since frameless cabinets actually contain no more materials (and often less) than framed cabinets. The cost factor is more of an issue with higher-end cabinets, not economy cabinets such as those represented by IKEA. 

In the final measure, frameless cabinets may be the perfect choice for any room where you seek a modern, contemporary look. The functional advantages, such as more storage and better accessibility are notable but aren't as important as the sleek style statement made by these Euro-style cabinets. 

Choosing Cabinets

There is no wrong answer when it comes to choosing a cabinet style, but the decision that should determine your final choice is a matter of the purpose and functionality you want your space to serve. With the ability for open shelving and more room for bigger kitchen items (like appliances), frameless cabinets are the best choice. Frameless cabinets are also the better option for those focused on aesthetics as this style is more modern, sleek, and updated to present trends. If you are looking for cabinets that will last for a long time, then quality and stability will determine your choice in framed cabinets. You'll get your money's worth here, and you'll have plenty more options for cabinet and drawer sizes, although you might need to be more flexible on styles and colors offered by brand.

FAQ
  • What are the disadvantages of frameless cabinets?


    The main negatives of frameless cabinets include difficulty installing, frequent adjusting of hinges, and stability issues as they are less sturdy than framed cabinets. Another disadvantage is that they are on trend with the latest styles, making them more expensive than more traditional designs.

  • Are frameless cabinets harder to install?

    Yes. Since frameless cabinets come fully finished from the manufacturer and are usually not customized, exact precision and measuring is crucial to securely fit them into your space.

  • Are frameless cabinets more expensive?

    Yes. Frameless cabinets tend to be more on trend than framed cabinets, so style and design drives the cost.