Full-Access European Cabinetry Comes to America Part 3: A Classic Case of No Compromise!
• European Style or “Full-Access” Construction
Full-access (sometimes called European or frameless) is the standard for European-style cabinets; resembling a box, they don’t need a face frame as the front edge of the cabinet sidewall functions efficiently as the front of the cabinet itself. Full-access cabinetry is built as a box instead of using a hardwood face frame. Typically, the sides as well as other structural components of full-access cabinetry are made with heavier or thicker materials making the additional front frame unnecessary for its structural soundness.
When the doors and drawers are closed, you can see more of both as they present a ‘full overlay’ in that they cover almost the entire cabinet with tight or unbroken reveals (or gaps) between each door/drawer front. This full-overlay door style conceals hinges totally, and is adjustable for perfect alignment. Recovering the reduction in width and height lost with the presence of a frame with framed cabinetry, the interior width is the same as the opening; hence, the term full-access.
Full-access cabinetry offers a wide range of benefits, both aesthetic and functional. Creating a seamless design scheme from door to door, frameless cabinetry gained a wide acceptance in the United States on the coastal regions and as its benefits continues to be experienced by craftsman and homeowners; its popularity is increasing across the country.
The Advantages of Full-Access Cabinetry
Driven by design tastes and practicality, homeowners and homebuilders are beginning to understand the added advantages of full-access cabinetry and consensus is building that if you're purchasing custom cabinets made from a quality cabinet maker, frameless cabinets are the superior choice.
• Flexibility in Design: With frameless cabinetry, there are no face frames showing on the cabinet making them the preferred choice of designers who demand clean, simple lines; also, they offer a wide selection of features that allow a virtually infinite measure of customization.
• Structural Integrity: Full-access cabinetry is made to last and whether its entire box is made of plywood or industrial grade particleboard, it is structural sound.
• Ease of Installation: There is a dependable and simpler system for the installation of full-access cabinetry because there is a routine to follow that is also flexible. Also, the ends and sides of the cabinets are flush like fine furniture and the hardware is accommodating 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 altogether allowing complete unobstructed access to your cabinet interior. Using the entire box, the cabinet is made more accessible while providing a couple of extra inches of space; in some cases, as much as 10-20% more storage space without sacrificing quality.
• Maximum Space Utilization: Full-access provides more usable space inside a frameless cabinet compared to a same-sized framed product—further enhanced with larger drawers and roll out shelves. And, because the cabinet box itself serves as the frame for a frameless kitchen cabinet, it has fewer braces and reinforcements inside the cabinet, and thus more space inside.
• Suits Both Traditional and Contemporary Designs: With a minimalist, smooth appearance, full-access is the preferred choice of designers who demand maximum space utilization, ergonomics and aesthetics, with the appropriate materials. Working equally well to execute a traditional custom kitchen cabinet look as European, flush doors and hidden hinges create seamless, sophisticated looks achievable only with frameless cabinetry.
As you have discovered, these two cabinet construction types result in completely different sets of capabilities. While full-access cabinetry can achieve both the architecturally inspired, old world classics with all the time-honored antique qualities, it can also satisfy the sleeker, clean-lined contemporary European motifs that framed cabinetry cannot. Full access cabinets are the new standard in Kitchen Cabinets with their furniture quality fit, and as a result, many newer homes have frameless cabinets.
Full-access cabinetry simply presents a classic case of No Compromise.
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