Guide To Cabinet Door Hinges For Your Kitchen and Bath

The type of hinge you use on your cabinet doors partly depends on the type of cabinets you have. If you have frameless cabinets you will need to use concealed hinges. If you have face frame cabinets, you can use concealed or exposed hinges. Here are some of the more popular hinges used in cabinetry today.

Concealed or European Hinges

source: Rockler

These are the most common hinges for frameless cabinetry but they are also used on face frame cabinetry as well. They consist of a cup, an arm and a base plate. The base plate is mounted on the interior cabinet side, the cup is recessed into the door frame and the arm connects them together.

The great thing about concealed hinges is that they are fully adjustable. They can be adjusted up, down or sideways making door alignment easier. Usually, concealed hinges are self closing too. Because they are concealed these hinges have no impact on the style of the cabinets and tend to be very cost effective.

Exposed Butt Hinges

source: Rockler

Exposed butt hinges are used on face frame cabinets with flush inset doors. They are mounted directly on the face frame of the cabinet and on the frame of the door. They can also be recessed into the frames.

Exposed butt hinges give an old world feel to traditional style cabinets. Some come with decorative tips or finials on the top and bottom. The cost of butt hinges can vary greatly depending on their finish and added decoration. Typically they are not available with the soft close feature.

Wrap Around Hinges

source: Rockler

These hinges have a U-shaped design that wraps around three sides of the cabinet face frame, offering more strength and stability for heavy or oversized doors. They can be used on both face frame and frameless style cabinets and are available with the soft close feature.

Surface Mounted Hinges

source: Rockler

Surface mounted hinges are mounted on the door and face frame and are completely visible when the door is closed. They come in several styles such as H-hinges, T-hinges, and butterfly hinges and they come in a variety of finishes as well. Typically these hinges are not available with the soft close feature.

The number of hinges you need per door will depend on the size and weight of the door. Here is a set of general guidlines from CabinetParts.com.

Door Height	Door Weight	Number of Hinges required
> 40”	> 11 lbs	2 hinges
40”-60”	13-20 lbs	3 hinges
60”-80”	29-33 lbs	4 hinges
80”-85”	40-48 lbs	5 hinges