Frameless or face-frame: how German cabinets are built
If you have shopped for kitchens in the United States, you have met face-frame cabinets: a solid wood frame on the front of each box, with doors hung on or inside it. German kitchens are built differently, and the difference affects how much you can store and how the kitchen looks.
Frameless construction
A frameless cabinet has no front frame. The side panels of the carcass are the structure, and the door or drawer front covers the whole box. With no frame in the way, drawers can be almost as wide as the cabinet itself, and the gaps between fronts are narrow and even across the whole kitchen.
The 32 mm system
Inside a frameless cabinet, the holes for hinges, shelf supports and drawer runners are drilled on a 32 mm grid. This system has been the European standard for decades. It means every fitting lands in a precise place, and it is why adjustments are so simple: a hinge can be moved in three directions with a screwdriver.
What it means in practice
- More usable storage, especially in drawers
- Clean, even reveals between fronts
- Easier adjustment over the life of the kitchen
- A modern look that still works with traditional door styles
Face-frame cabinets have their place, especially in traditional American interiors. If your design calls for an inset door look, we can build that too, on a frameless carcass with an applied frame. You keep the storage and the precision, and the kitchen looks the way your architect drew it.