The type of cabinet door is determined, not by how it looks, but by how the door fits the front of cabinet box.

Frameless
Frameless cabinets have only one option available - a Full Overlay (see below).

The doors and drawers are mounted directly to the side panel of the cabinet on one side, and overlap the opposite side panel when closed. .

Some sort of door pull/knob is necessary to open the door. Hinges are concealed.

Framed
Framed cabinets on the other hand, allow four different types of door mounting options:
Inset, Lipped, Overlay and Full Overlay

Specialty
Tambour doors have their own frame and can be used on both framed and frameless cabinets.

Inset Door/ Drawer An Inset door sits within the face frame and is flush with the front edges of the cabinet box. Inset doors are most often used to achieve a formal colonial look or a rustic farmhouse style kitchen. Door pulls/knobs are needed to open the doors and drawers. Hinges are exposed. This type of door is only available with a framed construction, but the same look can be achieved on frameless cabinets using vertical pilasters.

Lipped Door The lipped door has a rabbet (groove) cut all the way around the door on the back edge. This cut allows part of the door to go back into the cabinet and leaves the remaining part resting on the cabinet or face frame. Because the door sits tight in the frame, some form of door pull/knob is needed to open the door/drawer. When viewed from the front, this door appears to be an Overlay door (see below). Only when the door, or drawer, is opened will you see that it is actually a Lipped door.

Traditional Overlay Door/Drawer The traditional overlay door is the most common type of cabinet door. The doors and drawer fronts are mounted so they rest against the face frame The term 'Overlay' refers to the amount of front frame covered by the door and drawer. The overlay is usually a ½", with 1" of the face frame exposed. The part of the front frame that is exposed is called the "reveal."  The reveal on Traditional Overlay cabinets is typically 1"

Full Overlay Door/Drawer A full overlay is where the door and drawer are mounted to completely cover the face frame. Full overlay doors have less than 1/8" between them. Some sort of door pull/knob is necessary to open the door. Hinges are concealed. This type of door is also used on frameless cabinets (see above). To tell whether a cabinet is framed or frameless, open the door and check for rails and stiles.

Tambour Door A tambour door is made of many separate pieces that are attached to a flexible backing sheet , and installed in a track which allows it to slide around a corner or roll up much like a shade. Ideal for appliance garages or in any cabinet where you want the door to remain open without getting in the way. Roll up models can be installed under straight or corner cabinets. For a truly custom door, the tambour can be made to look like a raised panel door, or even stainless steel.

Cabinet Door Styles add even more options to the final look of your cabinets.

See Also:

An Introduction to Cabinetry Stock, Semi-Custom, Custom Cabinet Quality - Part 1 Quality Cabinetry - Part 2 Cabinet Door Styles - Part 1 Cabinet Door Specialty Styles Cabinet Door Types Cabinet Hardware		Solid Wood Cabinetry Cabinet Materials/Finishes Engineered Wood Cabinet Wood Finishes Cabinet Basics - Wood Veneer Bathroom Vanities
related pages: Cabinet Allowances, Budgets, Costs Kitchen Allowances, Budgets, Costs - Part 1 Kitchen Allowances, Budgets, Costs - Part 2

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