Handleless kitchens - pros and cons

ezman

Hi,

I'm stuck deciding whether to go handleless in my new kitchen. My biggest concern is with the grooves at the top not lining up because my wife is OCD about that sort of thing I think if we did go handleless this would be the only style we could afford (j-groove).

Do you have a handleless kitchen? Any regrets.
Did you opt for good old, tried and tested handles? Do you wish you'd got handleless?

Thanks,
Eric

Reece_

There's no reason for the grooves not lining up, there's plenty of adjustment in cabinet hinges, if you couldn't line them up then the kitchen would of been fitted truly terribly and that would probably be the least of your worries.
I like the look of handleless, I wouldn't really say there's a lot or pros or cons of either, just personal preference, if you opt for handles though you have an easy way of changing the appearance of the kitchen a little bit in the future with some different styled ones, only main con maybe of handles is if you go cheap and find the plating wearing off quickly or them breaking entirely.

martin1959

My wife has difficulty with handleless as she has a touch of arthritis and makes gripping the grooves to open difficult, and as we anticipate it may get worse over time, we have opted for minimalist handles that are barely noticeable, but easier to grip.

ryder72

Hi Eric

If you are looking for handless kitchens, I would very strongly recommend avoiding the J-groove style. Its not even handleless but a cheap & lazy attempt to try and make a kitchen 'look' handleless.

A proper handleless kitchen would have a recess in the carcase with metal C & J trims fitted in. Door/drawer front sizes are then modified to allow enough space to open them. From a manufacturing perspective, it requires retooling of machinery and not everyone can do it. I will also say with a lot of confidence that you would need to look at continental manufacturers to get the best handleless systems. They have been doing it for years and have got it to a fine art. British manufacturers just dont get it. In any case stay clear of foil wrapped doors on true handleless kitchens. I would try perusing several systems to decide if its for you.

In terms of costs, proper handleless kitchens are no more expensive than kitchens with doors and you would get a lot more choice of colour and finishes than just plain matt and gloss doors in a few colours. THe J-groove doored kitchen are actually more expensive than proper handleless doors. This is because they are usually lacquered and this makes them mid-priced finishes as compared to laminates which come in at lower price points. Further, its difficult to get lacquer into the groove and often you will find they are rough to touch on the inside of the groove allowing them to pick up dirt and grease. Finally, try opening dishwashers and fridges with the J-groove. THey just dont provide enough grip and if anyone in the family suffers from arthritis, its just not going to work.

Good luck with your search.

zeeww_2

We had just gone through the same thought process in the last 6 months or so. My advice would be to try and see as many kitchens/models as you can, try them all and get a feel for how you would use/work with them. We must have viewed more than 10 different models (after narrowing down all the different types of kitchens to 'handleless').

As Ryder said, the 'J' handles are predominantly British-made kitchen doors, and some prefer these compared to doors with handles. We tried these kitchens at various places (mainly PWS doors), but found that we didn't really like the J handles. The prices aren't cheap either. So we then looked at proper handleless with recessed grip rail, including German and British made (PWS Tomba, Mereway Futura, Schueller, ProNorm)

We have decided on a German kitchen (between Schueller and ProNorm), due to PWS Tomba and Mereway not very effective in pricing compared to the German kitchens. Our decision will be made in a few weeks, as we now know what design/layout of our new kitchen will be. We are not wedded to either of those German brands, but more towards working with a German Kitchen designer/supplier that will meet our requiremtns with efficient pricing.

Good luck, set a budget and work within it. Speak to and see many products and that'll help you decide.

Paulrm71

I have just had a Beckermann handless kitchen installed and its great! Even the integrated dishwasher door is easy to open.

CKdesigner

Completely agree with Ryder72.

You really can't beat proper handless channel systems from German manufacturers.

CK

Xeorix

Fully agree with the comments here.

We were going to get a handleless one, and then I tried the J groove style and was instantly put off.
We then found the proper handleless ones, our's is from Crown Imperial.

Essentially, there is an aluminium channel that runs along the top, and the door is shorter. Gives you room to reach in and pull the door from behind.

The only thing you may struggle with is that the dishwashers aren't the easiest thing to open

Some images to explain:

This style is a big no no. Awkward and also known for the door to break as its so thin:


This is the style to look for. Aluminium trim behind it, and the door sits lower with no bezels, letting you reach into the aluminium trim and pull the whole door forward

cookie1957

Hi Xeorix I contacted Crown Imperial and they say the island in your picture is not one of theirs, do you happen to know the manufacturer? the corner detail is really neat, many thanks Michael

ryder72

I am willing to bet money that isnt a British made kitchen. This kind of detail comes from the Europeans, mainly Germans.