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How Practical Is... Handleless Joinery?
Handleless joinery is popular in modern homes. But how suitable are cupboards that can only be opened with a touch?
Handles, it seems, are going out of fashion, replaced by drawers, cupboards and doors that are unencumbered by hardware and that can be opened with a tap, touch or pull. It’s a modern, simple and elegant solution, especially for streamlined or minimalist kitchens. But does handleless joinery pass the everyday test? Or does your cabinetry end up with greasy or dirty fingerprint marks?
How handleless joinery works… in a perfect scenario
Bag in one hand, mobile phone pressed to your ear in the other – and you need to tuck your shoes away in the hallway cupboard. This scenario is the perfect fit for handleless storage that can be opened with a little pressure with the knee.
In the kitchen, if you’re cooking and have dirty hands, a nudge with the elbow can open a cupboard or drawer. Essentially, it makes multi-tasking that much easier and offers a clean, minimalist look.
Bag in one hand, mobile phone pressed to your ear in the other – and you need to tuck your shoes away in the hallway cupboard. This scenario is the perfect fit for handleless storage that can be opened with a little pressure with the knee.
In the kitchen, if you’re cooking and have dirty hands, a nudge with the elbow can open a cupboard or drawer. Essentially, it makes multi-tasking that much easier and offers a clean, minimalist look.
Practical benefits of handleless joinery
- Handleless joinery looks good in streamlined, contemporary homes because the cabinetry fronts are uninterrupted by visible handles. This gives an unfussy, clean appeal and opens up a room, making it look more spacious.
- Handle-free joinery allows an easier visual transition between connected spaces, such as open-plan dining/living/kitchen areas.
- It works particularly well in kitchens with integrated appliances, allowing the kitchen to look streamlined where it counts. This means you can draw attention to other visual aspects of your space while ‘hiding’ your appliances with integrated cabinetry.
- As there is no ‘overhang’ from obtrusive hardware, navigating around a kitchen is easier while you prepare food, making it a sensible choice in smaller kitchens.
- For this reason, handleless kitchens are also considered safer – there are no protrusions to bump against.
- It also means no dust catches on the handles, making cleaning easier (particularly when cupboards and drawers are opened either from below or with a push-to-open mechanism).
Drawbacks of handleless joinery
- Let’s continue with the cleaning theme. Repeated touching of joinery to open and close the unit means that smears are inevitable. You may find yourself constantly wiping down your cabinets and drawers (although you can increasingly specify anti-fingerprint coatings or choose lower-sheen finishes and highly grained looks to minimise marks).
- Handles rarely break, whereas sometimes mechanisms do. There is a slightly higher chance of the internal mechanisms of high-use units needing replacement.
- Price can be another drawback. Due to the technique and craftsmanship that goes into the design of a fully handleless kitchen, they tend to be more expensive than kitchens with handles.
- They are not entirely disability friendly either, as the routed edges, finger pulls or edges can be more difficult to grasp and open compared to handles.
Increasingly, we are seeing mixed handle-free and hero-handle kitchens coming through. The best of both worlds?
Your turn
Do you have handleless joinery? We’d love to hear what you think the advantages and disadvantages are. Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Rethinking your cabinetry? Read this article first – Renovation Insight: How to Choose & Work With a Cabinet Maker
Your turn
Do you have handleless joinery? We’d love to hear what you think the advantages and disadvantages are. Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Rethinking your cabinetry? Read this article first – Renovation Insight: How to Choose & Work With a Cabinet Maker
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Some handleless cabinetry is made possible by hidden magnets or spring mechanisms that are activated by light finger pressure. A simple tap is all it takes for the joinery to open. For lower units, this pressure can also be applied with the knee.
For other types of handleless joinery, a groove, lip or hidden finger pull is routed directly into the cupboard or drawer front or edge, which lets the user pull it open with their fingertips.
Is your home crying out for new cabinetry? Find professionals near you, browse images of their work and read reviews from previous clients