This is a face frame cabinet. Can you see the frame around the opening? The face frame covers the edges of the cabinet box. The hinges are attached to the face frame.
This particular end cabinet also has an end panel installed on the left side that matches the style of the doors.
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This shows full overlay doors and drawers. See, no significant gap between drawer and door fronts.
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This is a partial overlay. Can you see how the door fronts and the drawer fronts have a gap between them? It really shows up on the bank of drawers on the right.
For a full overlay, there would be a small 1/8 inch gap between the fronts – barely noticeable.
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These are frameless cabinets being installed. The edges you see are the edges of the cabinet box itself. Often when you order frameless cabinets and request stained or painted door and drawer fronts, don’t expect the cabinet edges to match the stain or paint! See the orange parts in the picture contrasting with the box edge light brown color?
The fronts will usually be full overlay so the edge should not be seen until you open the cabinet. It it bothers you to see that band of contrasting color, the cabinet edges are paintable. Sometimes a strip of iron-on banding to match the door fronts can be obtained from the manufacturer.
However I have recently seen inset door and drawer with frameless cabinets. Insets are more expensive as they take more work to make look right.
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Sometimes you have to provide spacers. This was a ‘U’ Shaped kitchen and this row of cabinets had to be spaced out between the two walls. The door and drawer fronts are full overlay but there is a vertical gap between the adjacent doors where the spacer resides.
Spacers and toe kicks will match the material and color of the door fronts.
Remember your geometry?
Do not plan an impossible to install cabinet. Allow room to move!
I have seen a cabinet that was notched in the back bottom corner to allow the item to tilt up.
Cabinets are versatile. Use them in your office or build a linen closet in your bathroom. Here 42 inch tall wall cabinets are stacked to create a bookcase. Top with some molding and it looks built-in.
What works for you? Here the owner ordered extra roll out shelves for the pantry and installed them close so she could lay the canned goods on their backs with the labels facing up. This allows her to see what she has at a glance.
There are all kinds of aftermarket inserts.
This blind cabinet would be hard to use without an insert that allows access to the back. This half moon Lazy Susan is just one of the options available for such situations.
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Watch the above video which explains the difference between Framed and Frameless cabinets.
There are ways to increase the storage space in a small kitchen without knocking out walls and increasing floor space.
Do you realize the cabinet box used today have not changed since the 1950’s! The electrical has improved, the lighting has improved, the plumbing has improved but the boxes have not changed much at all!
With some modifications to the cabinet depth the storage can be greatly improved. Increase the cabinet depth to 25 3/4 will allow 24 inch drawer slides and a 27 inch deep counter top. Using 15 inch deep wall cabinet can also increase the storage. Cabinet manufacturers are making more accommodations to variations from their standard sizes – of course they will come with a cost. The extra cost of such cabinets will be much cheaper than blowing out a wall to extend the kitchen!
How about using the toe kick area for drawers? These can be touch activated.
In the book I did not make a commitment to the soft-close hinges. After living with them for several years, I have finally gotten use to them and decided they are nice. My husband even talked me into buying soft, self-closing toilet seats for the bathrooms!