What to Know About Selecting Cabinets: Framed, Frameless, or inset?
One of the first things your designer may ask is if you have a preference between framed, frameless, or inset cabinets. Now, if you provide photos of the styles you like, it will become obvious right away, and this confusing question can be avoided. However, it’s good to understand the difference between these cabinet styles!
Framed cabinets generally have a more traditional appearance. With framed cabinetry, we can see the frame of the box. Inset cabinets will always have a frame. The downside is you get a bit less accessibility.
Frameless cabinets offer a more modern and Minimalistic appearance. Now, anyone who knows our design style is probably thinking that we prefer frameless. We love the extra storage. We love the clean line. But, we’re also suckers for inset cabinets!
Which do you prefer?
Each of these cabinet styles have a place in kitchen design, and often it simply depends on the aesthetic you are going for. When developing a design with your designer, share imagery of kitchens you like so that your designer may draw conclusions and provide the right cabinet construction for your storage needs as well as your aesthetic preferences.
It is also important to keep in mind the aesthetic of the home. A PNW Contemporary home might not be the best suited for a traditional inset shaker, but for our clients who really love this style, we offer a modern kick with an inset slab door and some hardware that bridges the time gap.
These cabinets are inset- meaning that the doors are inset into a face frame that is applied to the front of the cabinets.
Inset cabinets:
Looking at these cabinets, we can see that the doors are flush with the cabinet frame. This means that these are framed, inset cabinets. The doors and drawers are inset into a frame which is applied to the front of the cabinet boxes.
Inset cabinets are great traditional approach and provide a gorgeous aesthetic. That said, they do not provide the absolute premium of storage space. The reason for this is that every door/drawer has to be a bit smaller to accommodate the frame.
framed cabinets:
The best way to determine whether a cabinet is framed or not, is to look at the door. Is it proud of the box? If so, it is definitely not inset. Can you see wood between the doors/drawers? Whala- framed!
We have not yet had the request or interest in framed cabinetry, so I apologize that we have no images to show here. While framed definitely has a time and place, it is fairly rare to see it used today because it forfeits cabinet space with very little in the way of aesthetic value.
frameless cabinets:
Frameless cabinets put the door directly on the cabinet box- no frame. This offers a clean look that can be contemporary (as shown in the photos below) or can take a more traditional approach depending on the styling of the door, hardware, etc.
Frameless, full overlay slab cabinets offer an abundance of storage and a clean, modern look.
Looking for optimal storage as well as a traditional aesthetic? Try a shaker door on frameless cabinetry like this kitchen!