Modern, Handleless Kitchen Design in Sheffield.

• News, Recent Projects
• March 30, 2018

Once considered a niche design feature, handleless kitchens have soared in popularity over the past 10 years, fuelled by an increasing demand for contemporary styles, minimalist looks and the need to maximise space.

Versatile, accommodating and timeless, they make a beautiful addition to any home. However, with many different handleless options now available, where do you start? Here’s what you need to know about this style in order to make the best choice for you and your home.

The handleless kitchen look

While contemporary in appearance, the handleless look is simple yet functional, with designs characterised by a lack of decorative facades or ornamentation.

In the same way, cupboard and drawer handles today are a choice rather than a necessity. Opting for a handleless design creates a streamlined flow of kitchen units – beautiful as well as efficient. The resulting look is chic, clean and clutter-free.

The true handleless system

As its name implies, this style lacks handles on all drawer and cupboard doors. Various options exist, but a ‘true handleless’ style is created through recessing a solid stainless steel channel into the top line of the cabinet, as seen in the example below of a recently completed handleless kitchen in Sheffield, commissioned by Concept Interiors. This creates a gap for your fingers between the top of the door (or drawer) and the underside of the worktop. Your fingers curl around the surface edge and onto the back of the door or drawer, pulling it forwards to open.

The benefit of grabbing the back of the door is you don’t need to touch the front, so there shouldn’t be any fingermarks.

On a run of base units containing sets of drawers one above the other (as pictured), a recessed channel is inserted into the mid-line of the carcass to allow full access to the bottom drawer. In all cases, the stainless steel channel is only inserted after the kitchen is fitted, ensuring it’s continuous throughout the entirety of a run of units and/or an island. This is best for a sleek and impressive kitchen look.

Wall cabinets and tall cabinets

Handleless wall units are similar to the base units just described, with an integrated groove in the cabinet’s bottom shelf to allow space for your fingers to open the door. With tall units, as seen here, a recessed C channel of stainless steel creates a gap (called a shadow gap channel). This is inserted between neighbouring tall units to allow room for your fingers. The gap between the doors and tall unit sections is typically 25mm. Some tall units can also have a horizontal channel fitted across them. Standard colour choices for the channel are stainless steel, white and lava grey.

Main benefits of handleless kitchens

The handleless style can help to create a clutter-free look, making it the best choice for small kitchens where space is at a premium, as seen in the kitchen example here. This is not just a visual effect, it’s also a physical one, since the lack of handles frees up more of the kitchen compared with a handled design. While we’re not talking huge amounts of extra space, it’s enough for a more comfortable and efficient working environment, with maximum room for manoeuvre.

Colours and finishes

If you’re concerned that handleless kitchens only come in a limited range of styles, don’t be: at Concept Interiors, we have a plethora of colours and finishes available. Not only do our handleless designs come in a large range of colours, but available door and drawer finishes include gloss, glass, matt, curved and real wood options.

As mentioned earlier, with a true handleless option, your fingers won’t touch the front of a door as you open it. However, if you’re still worried about fingermarks – especially if you have small children in the house – it’s worth noting that they will show less on lighter, matt or textured finishes as compared to glossy dark tones.

For more information about our true handleless kitchen ranges, please contact us at Concept Interiors on 0114 285 2762 or email us at [email protected].