Handleless kitchen cabinets

DEFINITION: WHAT ARE HANDLELESS KITCHEN CABINETS?

In 1960s, the handleless kitchen was born. As the name suggests, it is, generally speaking, a kitchen without handles. In handleless kitchens, the kitchen fronts are not interrupted by handle elements, which creates a clear and simple design language.

But don’t worry, the doors, pull-outs, or drawers of a handleless kitchen can be easily opened and closed. Recessed grips and unique door opening mechanisms enable handle-free opening. Practical opening fittings or push catches, known as “Tip-On” or “Push to open,” ensure good ergonomics when using the furniture: A brief touch is enough to open doors and drawers without handles. In this way, handleless planning can be implemented without recesses and with a very narrow joint pattern. The kitchen can also be equipped with electronic opening support.

TIP: Fronts without handles radiate modernity, making the kitchen appear puristic but less comfortable. You should be aware of this when planning the kitchen.

Characteristics of handleless kitchen cabinets

• Clear, smooth kitchen fronts without handles
• Reduced and puristic look
• Opening the handleless front requires direct contact (grabbing the recess or tapping the front)

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HANDLELESS KITCHEN CABINETS

Are you not a fan of ornate country kitchens or kitchens with eye-catching handles and design elements? Instead, do you prefer it simple and without much fanfare? Then handleless kitchens would suit your taste. A handleless kitchen creates a calm atmosphere within your four walls and looks elegant, exclusive, and modern. The charm of smooth and straightforward kitchen fronts hits the nerve of the times. The focus here is on the essentials, i.e., the shape of the kitchen. And with no banging on protruding handles, it’s also the ideal family kitchen.

If the kitchen is also equipped with mechanical “tip-on fittings” or electric opening systems for handleless fronts, the doors or pull-outs can be opened very easily with a touch. However, it can also happen that, for example, the door is opened involuntarily when being leaned against it. Soft-close door dampers ensure a quiet closing process and an undisturbed atmosphere.

The no-frills look of the handleless kitchen has a downside, though, and that is a loss of storage space – at least as far as kitchens with recessed handles are concerned: since the recessed handles are incorporated into the body, the usable storage space is reduced by the space required by the respective profile thickness. The usable height of base cabinets is lost, and the width of tall cabinets with vertical recessed grips is lost because the body sides have to be shortened.

Advantages of handleless kitchen cabinets

• Elegant, simple, and modern look
• Easy-care and smooth kitchen fronts
• No risk of impact or injury from handles (childproof)
• With push door openers: easy opening of the furniture by tapping
• Gentle, almost noiseless closing thanks to unique damping systems
• Large variety of planning options

Disadvantages of handleless kitchen cabinets

• A clean, handleless look is less cosy
• Visible fingerprints from constant touch (solution: matte fronts with anti-fingerprint coating)
• With push door openers: the fronts can open unintentionally when being leaned against them
• Recessed grips require space and take up usable storage space
• Gentle opening and closing take more time than with ordinary handles

TYPES OF HANDLELESS KITCHEN CABINETS FRONTS

The handleless kitchen cabinets fronts can be interpreted in different ways. The following operating systems are available:

• recessed grips
• Milled hollows
• Without recessed grips or visible grip marks

Handleless kitchen fronts are often equipped with recessed grips. Generally speaking, these recesses in the front replace a protruding door handle. So that you can reach behind the front, recesses are worked directly into the kitchen body and covered with recessed grip profiles. Recessed grip profiles or cornices in various colors are available for visual design.

However, the handless kitchen fronts can also be realized with recesses milled directly into the fronts. And being painted in the front color, these recessed grips are visually very discreet.

The handleless kitchen fronts can be planned without recessed grips for a puristic look with no traces of handling. This creates a homogeneous front with narrow joints. Access to the kitchen cupboards is via snap fasteners or electric opening aids.

TIP: Colored recessed grips additionally emphasize the horizontal line of the kitchen.

Recessed grips made of stainless steel or aluminum look classically elegant. They create a striking contrast with the kitchen, for example, black recessed grips in a white kitchen or white recessed grips in a black kitchen. Colors such as gray or cream are more subtle. Their colors should be coordinated with the kitchen fronts for a harmonious look. Handleless kitchen fronts with recessed grip lighting look particularly exclusive. The targeted lighting visually emphasizes the kitchen fronts.

A comparison of opening options for the handleless kitchen cabinets fronts

Handleless kitchen cabinets fronts with recessed grips

• Tangible kitchen front
• Recessed grip makes cleaning difficult and is a “magnet” for dust or crumbs
• Recessed grip strip available in different colors and with lighting
• Sometimes challenging to reach in high cupboards
• Interrupt the uniform look of the kitchen

Handleless kitchen cabinets fronts with milled recess

• Tangible kitchen front
• Recessed grip makes cleaning difficult and is a “magnet” for dust or crumbs
• Poor handling, for example, with long fingernails
• Sometimes challenging to reach in high cupboards
• Hardly noticeable visually

Handleless kitchen fronts cabinets without a recessed grip (with the opening system)

• Not tangible, opening only with light pressure or via sensor
• Very easy to clean
• Access to furniture even when your hands are full
• Reaching a high cupboard is made easier
• Pure purism: “Real” handleless kitchen: Clear kitchen front is not interrupted by anything

Alternatives to handleless kitchen fronts

If you don’t want an utterly handleless kitchen, there are other options to create the modern look of a handleless kitchen. Alternatively, the kitchen fronts can be equipped and operated with handle strips. These are mounted directly on the top edge of the doors or drawers.

Kitchen fronts with recessed handles are also visually reminiscent of the handleless ones. The handle shells are worked directly into the fronts so that you can reach into them.

VARIETY OF COLORS AND STYLES FOR HANDLELESS KITCHEN  CABINETS FRONTS

Handleless kitchens fronts are available in all colors, materials, and kitchen shapes and styles. It doesn’t matter whether you have a modern kitchen, even an industrial-style kitchen with concrete fronts or a wooden kitchen; anything is possible. Matt surfaces or kitchen fronts with an anti-fingerprint coating are ideal so that fingerprints do not appear on the fronts so quickly in kitchens without handles.

Anyone who would like to emphasize the simplicity of the handleless kitchen can fall back on subtle white, grey, or cream tones. Classic black looks very elegant and also highlights the clear shapes. Handleless kitchen fronts made of wood or faux wood are suitable for creating a cozier look. And if you prefer a striking style, you can do so with handleless kitchen fronts in expressive colors such as red, blue, or green.

COST OF HANDLELESS KITCHEN CABINETS

How much does it cost?

Kitchen furniture without handles is often more expensive than the one with handles due to special equipment and high-standard manufacturing processes. So that the handleless front can be opened easily, it must be equipped with mechanical or electronic door opening systems.

If you want kitchen furniture with recessed grips, you should be aware that such handleless kitchen fronts involve a complex manufacturing process, and therefore a higher price would be determined.

Of course, the price of handleless kitchen cabinet also depends on other factors: the shapes, size, and materials. The price range is extensive. A small handleless kitchen cabinet can be available for 3,000 USD. With large cooking island for an eat-in kitchen could cost over 10,000 USD. Exclusive wooden kitchen cabinets without handles usually cost more than 14,000 USD. Furniture set for a handleless kitchen can cost even more than 51,000 USD. However, buying handleless kitchen cabinets from China will greatly reduce your cost, you only need to use less than half of the budget to realize your high-quality handleless kitchen cabinets.

MANUFACTURERS OF HANDLELESS KITCHEN CABINETS

Where to purchase handleless kitchen cabinets?

Parlun is a direct manufacturer of custom kitchen cabinets from China and has long-term partnerships with many other high-qualified Chinese furniture accessories manufacturers. You can find satisfactory products with high quality but at an affordable price from us. Please get in touch with us for a free catalog and quote.

CONCLUSION: IF YOU LIKE IT SIMPLE, YOU SHOULD RELY ON THE HANDLELESS LOOK

The handleless kitchen cabinets exude simplicity and are timelessly beautiful because a simple look will never go out of style. Since nothing would spoil the look of the surfaces or break up the shape of the kitchen. The handleless kitchen cabinets blend in well with a modern ambiance. And it can also be used as an eat-in kitchen with a cooking island. Matt or high-gloss, light or dark, is then just a question of personal taste.