How we build cabinets
How we build custom cabinets:
frameless, framed and inset
We design and build custom cabinets in our own shop in Spring Grove, Illinois. Our specialty is European-style frameless cabinets, the budget-friendly way to a full custom kitchen. We also build framed cabinets, painted or stained, with overlay doors or stained wood inset doors.
This page explains the choices in plain words: how the box is built, how the doors sit, what the cabinets are made of and which hardware goes in them. It is the same order we walk through at the visit.
Related: custom kitchens, how to measure kitchen cabinets and every step from visit to install.
Frameless, framed or inset: the short answer
| Frameless, full overlay | Framed, full overlay | Framed, partial overlay | Inset (framed or frameless) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you see | Doors and drawer fronts cover the whole box; thin, even gaps; a clean, modern look | Doors cover almost all of a wood frame on the front of the box | Doors cover part of the frame, so the frame shows around each door | Doors sit inside the opening, flush with the front; an even gap all around |
| How it opens | No frame in the way, so you reach the full width of the box | A narrow frame edge at each opening | A frame edge at each opening | The opening is the frame, so the doors are set into it |
| Looks at home in | Modern and European-style kitchens, wood-look or solid colors | Shaker and transitional kitchens | Traditional kitchens | Classic and older homes, furniture-style kitchens |
| Work and price | The budget-friendly route | More work: the frame is built and fitted | More work: the frame is built and fitted | The most fitting work: each door is fitted to its opening |
None of these is "better" in every room. The right one depends on the look you want, how much you want inside each cabinet, and the budget. You can see door and finish samples by appointment at the shop.
What is a frameless cabinet?
A frameless cabinet has no frame on the front. The doors hang on hinges fixed to the sides of the box, and they cover the whole front. It is often called a European-style cabinet.
It is our specialty because it is the budget-friendly way to a full custom kitchen. Every box is still made to your room's sizes. The trade-off is a narrower color range: frameless flat-panel cabinets come in solid colors and wood-look veneer, fewer choices than painted or stained wood.
What is a framed (face-frame) cabinet?
A framed cabinet has a solid wood frame across the front of the box. The doors hang on that frame. It is the traditional American way to build a cabinet, and it suits shaker, raised-panel and classic kitchens.
We build framed cabinets with full overlay doors (the door covers almost all of the frame) or partial overlay doors (more of the frame shows).
What is the difference between inset and overlay doors?
An overlay door sits in front of the cabinet and covers the opening. An inset door sits inside the opening, flush with the front, with an even gap all around it.
Inset takes the most fitting of any cabinet we build. Each door is fitted to its own opening, so it takes more shop time than overlay. We build stained wood inset cabinets, and we can also offer frameless inset for a flush look in a modern kitchen.
Which construction should I choose?
Start with the look you want, then the budget:
- A modern kitchen in a solid color or a wood-look veneer, on a sensible budget: frameless.
- A shaker or transitional kitchen, painted or stained: framed, full overlay.
- A classic kitchen, or a house where the cabinets should look like furniture: inset.
- Not sure? Tell us at the visit what you like and what you want to spend, and we will tell you which construction gets you there.
What are your cabinets made of?
Boxes. Every box is 3/4-inch plywood or melamine (Tafisa or another established brand). The back is 3/4 inch too, the same as the sides.
Drawers. Drawer boxes are dovetailed maple, or Blum drawer boxes if you prefer them.
Doors and fronts. Mostly solid wood or melamine, depending on the style. Frameless flat-panel fronts come in solid colors or a wood-look veneer.
Wood. Walnut, white oak and the other species available in this market, stained or painted.
Finish. Renner, an Italian high-end coating.
What hardware do you use?
Blum soft-close hinges close every door quietly. Salice full-extension drawer slides let a drawer open all the way, so you can reach the back. We buy hardware from an established supplier and use other established brands where a fitting needs them.
Inside the cabinets we fit what the room needs, for example trash pull-outs, roll-out trays and corner drawers. Tell us what you want to store, and we plan the inside around it.
What door styles can you build?
- Slab (flat) doors, in wood, painted or melamine.
- Shaker doors: a flat center panel inside a square frame.
- Raised-panel doors, for traditional kitchens.
- Mitered doors, where the frame corners meet at an angle.
- Glass-front doors, with or without mullions (the thin bars that divide the glass), including arched tops.
Common questions about cabinet construction
Are frameless cabinets the same as European cabinets?
"European-style" and "frameless" mean the same build: no front frame, doors fixed to the box sides.
Do you build inset cabinets?
Yes. We build stained wood inset cabinets, and we can also offer frameless inset.
Do you use plywood or particleboard boxes?
Our boxes are 3/4-inch plywood or melamine board (Tafisa or another established brand), and the back is 3/4 inch too. We tell you which we propose for your kitchen, and why.
Can I mix construction types in one kitchen?
Often, yes, for example a frameless kitchen with a furniture-style island. We check that the details line up at the drawing stage.
What hinges and drawer slides do you use?
Blum soft-close hinges on the doors and Salice full-extension drawer slides. If you prefer Blum drawer boxes to our dovetailed maple boxes, we can use those.
Next step
Tell us about the kitchen
Schedule your free visit and consultation. Homeowners start here; general contractors, interior designers, developers and architects can send drawings and we build to them.