Kitchen and Bath Cabinet Construction Styles - Face Frame vs. Frameless

There are two basic styles of kitchen and bath cabinetry to choose from – cabinets with a face frame and cabinets without which are called frameless cabinets.

source: Home Style Choices

Face Frame Cabinet Construction

Face frame cabinets have a frame that is placed around the opening of the cabinet box and is typically made from the same material as the cabinet doors. In this style of cabinet the frame is visible around the doors and drawers. Higher quality cabinets make the face frames from solid wood while lesser quality cabinets may use plywood, engineered wood or laminate. Face frames provide extra strength and rigidity to the cabinet box and tend to be easier to install than frameless cabinets.

Face frame style cabinets have a more traditional look than frameless cabinets and offer several configurations for how the doors and drawers relate to the face frame.

Face Frame Cabinets with Traditional Overlay Doors and Drawers

This is the most common type of cabinet door and drawer front in face frame construction. The door or drawer front overlays the frame opening – usually by 1/2 to 5/8 of and inch on all sides.

source: Crown Point

Often times, a finger pull is routed into the top or bottom edge of the door or drawer eliminating the need for knobs or pulls if so desired. Usually hinges are concealed although exposed hinges can also be used. This is the most economical configuration of face frame style doors and drawers.

Face Frame Cabinets with Flush Inset Doors & Drawers

This cabinet construction style features doors and drawer fronts that sit flush in the openings of the face frame.

source: Crown Point

In some cases the opening of the frame has an added detail called a bead. This style is called Beaded Flush Inset.

source: Crown Point

Cabinet knobs or pulls are needed to open flush inset doors and drawers since there is nothing to grab onto, and hinges can either be concealed or exposed.

Face frame style cabinets with flush inset doors are more expensive than overlay doors and drawers because there is more labor involved in fitting and aligning them. Likewise, beaded flush inset is more costly than plain flush inset because of the labor to install the extra bead detail.

Face Frame Cabinets with Lipped Doors and Drawers

Lipped doors and drawer fronts have a groove cut all the way around the door along the back edge allowing part of the door to go into the cabinet and part to overlay the face frame.

source: Crown Point

From the front they look just like a traditional overlay door but because part of the door is recessed into the frame, lipped doors and drawers do not stick out beyond the frame as much. Cabinet knobs or pulls are necessary to open these doors and drawers, and both concealed and exposed style hinges can be used.

Frameless Construction (also known as European Style)

On frameless cabinetry, the doors are mounted directly to the cabinet box. The doors and drawers meet together without any visible frame around them and require concealed hinges.

source: Crown Point

Frameless or European cabinet construction lends itself to more contemporary styling. An added benefit is the door and drawer openings are slightly wider because of the absence of a face frame, providing easier access to cabinet interiors. Without a frame, frameless cabinets are typically limited to 36-inch widths and tend to be more difficult to install. Also, they are typically less rigid than face frame cabinets, and if not properly installed they may become unsquare. Most ready-to-assemble cabinets are frameless.