In this section you will find answers to your questions
Today this design invention is experiencing a boom in popularity. “Kitchen of the future”, “Space furniture” – this trend is called as they name it. Kitchen furniture, devoid of the usual handles, confidently walks around the planet. This fashion did not bypass Russia either. Let's look at what is good about a modern kitchen without handles, whether such a solution is justified and who it will suit.
Kitchens without handles: pros and cons
To understand whether a kitchen without handles is convenient, let's look at its pros and cons. Here are the benefits of this solution:
- visually expands the room;
- creates a friendly space. Tight passages become more comfortable: you no longer risk accidentally hitting furniture with your elbow;
- simplifies cleaning: you don’t have to endlessly clean the convex handles;
- forms a stylish futuristic kitchen design.
Here are the disadvantages of a headset without handles:
- does not immediately become a habit. Opening and closing cabinets requires “retraining” hand motor skills. For example, you can understand whether integrated handles are convenient in the kitchen only after 3-5 days of using them;
- often requires the installation of additional mechanisms and electric drives, and this increases the overall cost of the kitchen set.
Why choose kitchen furniture without handles?
Stylish kitchen in black.
Such an interesting modern solution as a kitchen without handles will be appropriate in cases where:
• There are small children in the house who can hurt themselves on the fittings or easily open cabinets by pulling on them.
• A very small room where every piece of space counts.
• You often catch clothes on fittings and hit them.
• Do you want your kitchen to have a modern, stylish atmosphere.
• Love to introduce new designs into your interior.
• Visually, you like a sleek kitchen set without unnecessary details.
Interesting modern kitchen design.
Integrated profile handles
Profile handles for the kitchen cut into the end part of the facade, most often horizontally:
Even if work in the kitchen is in full swing and you are constantly opening drawers, your fingers do not touch the fronts. No dirt, grease stains or other troubles. This is a huge plus of the mortise handle-profile for the kitchen. But there is also a drawback: since the “design of the future” is just beginning to develop, the types of integrated handles are not yet very diverse. The standard choice today is an aluminum profile (white, black, chrome). However, a kitchen without handles with a profile looks original and expensive:
Mortise end profile handles
They differ from the profile in the installation location. They are mounted not in the frame, but in the upper corners of the facade, so vertical seams are formed with adjacent cabinets and the edge of the profile handle is visible along the upper edge.
Their advantages
- Along with all the advantages characteristic of a kitchen without handles, the devices in question allow you to open and close the cabinet without touching the surface of the body, which makes it possible to maintain its cleanliness;
- The profile is much more expensive than the profile handle;
Flaws
- Often such devices do not fit into the kitchen interior and are more suitable only for dark or glossy cabinets.
- Visually visible against the background of the cabinet due to color incompatibility.
Push-open mechanism: intuitive operation
How does this facade open, since there is not the slightest clue on it? It’s very simple – just lightly press your fingers. Do you want to close the box? To do this, lightly press it with your hand. That's all!
By the way, you can touch the façade not only with your palm, but also with your hand or elbow. This means you can open and close the door, even if your hands are full. Incredibly convenient! Today these are the most popular custom-made kitchens without handles.
When purchasing such furniture, choose facades with mechanisms from the Hettich and Blum brands. Having used this fittings for several years, we have become convinced of its strength and reliability. These systems can withstand thousands of opening and closing cycles.
Easy to open with just one finger press
Today, the most famous manufacturers of furniture fittings for kitchens without handles are two brands:
- Bloom;
- Hettich.
The “push-open” and “tip on” mechanisms for opening doors and drawing drawers they developed are most often installed in modern kitchen furniture without handles. The opening of the cabinets is achieved simply by pressing a finger, and sometimes electric motors are used.
Recently, handleless kitchens have become increasingly popular. Such furniture is usually made in the spirit of minimalism and has a rectangular appearance and smooth straight planes of facades that do not contain unnecessary details. There are no protruding elements in it, and everyone can choose to their taste how the doors open and the drawers slide out.
Milled handles on facades
But what about those who don’t like furniture with hidden handles, kitchens with built-in handles, or Push-open facades? Which option should you prefer? In this case, there is another alternative - milling the handles. That is, cutting them directly into the facades in the form of smooth recesses:
This style is suitable even for glossy kitchens, popular in St. Petersburg. Despite the intensive use of milled handles, the fronts remain clean and shiny. Another plus is the almost invisible handles for the kitchen: being part of the facade, they are visually indistinguishable from it.
You can combine two options: on the bottom – milled or hidden handles for the kitchen, on top – Push-open mechanisms. Then the upper kitchen cabinets without handles will be opened with a light press. And convenient invisible handles will help you perform the necessary actions with the lower drawers:
The theory of a kitchen “without handles”
It is almost always based on a return spring; to open the cabinet door, you need to press a little on the front and the mechanism pushes out the door or drawer. In the simplest implementations, the mechanism must be “cocked” (pressed with a little force) so that it works when opened again.
Mechanical opening system TIP-ON Lifting mechanism for upper cabinets AVENTOS HF Vertical lifting mechanism for upper cabinets
More expensive systems use so-called servos, which are very expensive, but working with such “handles” is as comfortable and convenient as possible. To open or close a sash with such a mechanism, a light touch is enough. At the same time, the sulfur drive does everything as smoothly as possible, makes almost no extraneous noise and does not eat up useful space.
Types of invisible pens
If you have decided that the facade of your kitchen will be smooth, you should choose how the cabinets will open and close. There are 5 technological solution options.
Gola profile false handles
A headset with Gola profiles built into the frame is the most popular option. The role of handles is played by the edges of the facades themselves. The profiles are made of aluminum and plastic, 3-4 meters long. Also, at the client’s request, LED lighting is added to Gola profiles.
The main advantage is the absence of vertical seams between adjacent facades. This makes the kitchen look neater. The downside is that when opening you need to pull the front, and this is not always convenient or practical. In addition, profiles “eat up” useful space in drawers.
Facades with push-open opening mechanism
To open such a facade, you will need 1 light press. To close it, you need to press it lightly with your hand. Some systems are made to be self-closing. Opening and closing is smooth and silent, even if you try to slam the door shut. This kitchen set looks modern and stylish. The facades are easy to wipe; there is no need to clean the fittings separately. Only with the push-open system can you design a kitchen with absolutely no gaps.
The main disadvantage is the high price. Facades require special care: they are easier to clean, but they also get dirty more often - fingerprints remain. The doors can open on their own if pressed accidentally. Another disadvantage: while one drawer is closing, it prevents the next one from closing.
Milled handles
Milled handles are cut into U-shaped recesses on the ends of drawers and doors. Their width and location vary. This option is more convenient than with a push mechanism. Recessed handles do not crush the facades, making the kitchen design look more expensive.
The disadvantages include the fact that the facades quickly get dirty from frequent touches. Such headsets cost 5–10% more than regular ones.
Mini pens
Microscopic handles reach a length of only 5 cm. They are installed not on the front part, but on the end or back part of the facade. Mini handles look neater than metal staples. With their help, you will touch the facade less, which means it will not get dirty. Such fittings are inexpensive, and you can install them yourself. Of the minuses: gripping the mini-handles is not entirely comfortable, but this is a matter of habit.
Invisible pens
If you don’t want to completely abandon fittings, you can install invisible handles. They are made in the color of the facades, so they are not so noticeable, and opening and closing the drawers will be more familiar. At the kitchen design stage, the service of painting handles is ordered. You can paint metal, plastic, wood or aluminum pieces.
Kinds
If a kitchen set has no handles, this does not mean that this furniture does not have doors. The previous functionality is retained. Only the technology changes, which involves the use of one of two available systems, the functioning of which facilitates hidden opening:
- Push-to-open – hidden handles for the kitchen with a mechanical or electrical drive from Hettich;
- TIP-ON is a kind of push-pull ejector incorporating a mechanical drive, introduced to the market by Blum.
When choosing a mortise option, you purchase furniture without handles, the façade of which has special recesses in certain places. Here it is possible to completely match the color with the surface or allow a play of contrasts.
The shape of such cutouts is not limited in any way. This is a classic with its rectangular contours, and completely different outlines. Everything is allowed that corresponds to your wishes and what the furniture workshop is capable of in terms of the technologies used, where the application is made.
The presented kitchen without handles, a photo of which is available for review, is equipped with a hidden mechanism for opening the upper cabinets. The lower tier is complemented by chrome rails installed on the doors. This design approach is associated with the intensive use of the lower modules, which determines this design choice.
Important! The opening system by simply pressing the surface greatly simplifies access to the contents of the lower drawers.
Kitchens with a soft emphasis on minimalism are facades, complemented by integrated handles for the kitchen; the photo where they are shown displays the bright turquoise design of the upper cabinets, which does not spoil the overall picture.
The completeness of the headset composition is the apron, which has become a replacement for the upper modules, which allows you to create a modern style.
