The cabinets that you install in your home can make or break the usability of your living spaces. Without quality cabinets, it can be hard to store anything or keep things neat and tidy. Cabinets are also a big part of the overall aesthetic of many of the living spaces in your home, so their design and styling matter when it comes to conveying the right energy and decor inside of your house.
Frameless cabinets are a beautiful, European-inspired cabinet design choice. This method of construction offers lots of storage space, easy access, and a really seamless design presentation. These cabinets require precision when being crafted and installed, but they can be the perfect choice for some homes.
That being said, framed cabinets are still the industry standard as they are highly durable, beautiful, and very effective at providing the necessary storage space in any home. If you are not sure what the differences are between these two cabinet types, this guide will help you understand the two design styles more clearly.
What Are Framed Cabinets?
Framed cabinets are built on a base of vertical stiles with horizontal rails at the top and the bottom. This framing style is highly durable and very functional as well as being attractive. The doors and shelves within a framed cabinet can be attached and utilized in many different ways as well, making this a versatile and effective means of creating storage spaces that you can count on.
What Are Frameless Cabinets?
Frameless cabinets are also called full-access cabinets. This is because they are designed with hinges on the sides of the cabinet box that cover the entire front of the box. This generates a very smooth and seamless exterior finish and creates large storage compartments that can be customized in a variety of ways. This is one of the leading choices in minimalist home design due to the smooth and rather featureless exterior finish of this cabinet type.
What Are the Differences Between Framed and Frameless Cabinets?
• Aesthetics
Framed cabinets can be made in many different styles and finishes. They might have a partial or full overlay, or they might be inset. There are lots of ways to make this kind of cabinet unique and different.
On the other hand, frameless cabinets are often much the same since their construction style doesn’t allow for a lot of variation in exterior finishes. They will tend to look modern, even when crafted from traditional wood products or with traditional styling in mind.
• Strength
In some cases, the frame in a framed cabinet can make it a better option if you need to store heavy things with peace of mind. That being said, frameless cabinets that are well-made will hold up to the same challenges as framed cabinets in nearly every case.
• Storage and Accessibility
Frameless cabinets often provide more storage space than framed cabinets, but the usefulness of the interior spaces of any style of cabinet comes down to how well the shelving or other solutions inside the cabinet are crafted. Framed cabinets have some space limitations due to the size of the frame holding them together, but that does not mean that they cannot be highly effective when it comes to creating storage solutions.
Both kinds of cabinets can create accessibility issues if they are not placed correctly or well-designed. Everyone can think of cabinet space in their home or in the homes of friends or family that is almost unusable due to placement issues or problems with cabinet depth compared to the size of the cabinet access point.
• Installation Process
Framed cabinets are almost always easier to install because the frame makes it simple to align the doors and drawers properly. Frameless cabinets might be harder to install correctly because the alignment has to be perfect, or the cabinet will not work properly or might not be strong enough to hold up to daily use.
As a rule, if you are going to try to install your own cabinets, you probably need to make sure that you go with framed cabinets. It can be very tricky to install frameless cabinetry without years of experience in the cabinet-making or cabinet installation business.
• Cost
Framed cabinets are often much cheaper than frameless cabinets. This is due to a variety of factors, some of which come down to the time that is needed to correctly install frameless cabinets so that they work properly.
Frameless cabinets are often made of wood materials that are more expensive than framed cabinets as well. This can lead to a beautiful end result, but it can also cause upfront costs that people are not prepared for when they are looking at design and styling options.
As a rule, you should get a complete budget put together before you look at cabinetry options. You might find that you love the look of frameless cabinets, but they just don’t fit into your budget. You should also consider whether or not you can afford the materials that you want most, and if you can see the cost of construction side by side for eachdesign type, you can make a more educated choice about which kind of cabinet to go with.
Framed and Frameless Cabinets Can be Ideal for Any Home
There are lots of pros and cons to both styles of cabinet that you can opt to install in your home. You shouldn’t lose sleep over the choice between one type of cabinet and the other. Often, budget restrictions and constraints related to interior storage needs can help to make the choice for you.
Always be sure that you are working with a skilled and experienced cabinet design team before you start buying supplies or ordering cabinet frames. You will want to be positive that you are going to get the exact result that you are paying for, and an experienced cabinet maker and installer will be the right choice for the work that needs to be done in every case.
