The German Kitchen Center’s Guide to Handleless Kitchens
Most homeowners who are interested in a modern style European kitchen purchase a handleless kitchen.
While that may seem like a simple idea, there are a
surprising number of different ways to build and use cabinets without handles.
Below is our quick guide to understand your handleless
kitchen options.
First things first:
What are Handleless Kitchens?
For a European kitchen designer, including German brands
like Leicht and Nobilia, handleless isn’t simply the absence of a handle, but
an entire quality of engineering. In a European-style handleless kitchen,
cabinets are designed as smaller parts of a larger whole, built out from a
long, continuous aluminum grip. That means that in a true European handleless
kitchen, a grouping of two, five and even ten cabinets look of-a-piece with
smooth, unbroken surfaces.
These sleek, fluid surfaces can easily include panels that seamlessly integrate appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers into your kitchen’s design. This consistency of design makes it possible for perfect color and style matches, leaving a clean and uniform appearance through every part of your kitchen.
These sleek, fluid surfaces can easily include panels that seamlessly integrate appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers into your kitchen’s design. This consistency of design makes it possible for perfect color and style matches, leaving a clean and uniform appearance through every part of your kitchen.
Most European manufacturers build their handleless kitchens
with a J-channel aluminum grip rail. As mentioned above, the entire set of
cabinets is built simultaneously along this rail allowing for total consistency
in form and style. To open a basic the door or drawer, all one needs to do is reach
their fingertips into the channel and pull the door open.
Varieties
Leicht, Nobilia and other modern European kitchen manufacturers
offer a wide variety of handleless kitchens that differ not only in how they
open but in their appearance. Cabinetry is available in different designs,
materials and colors with literally thousands of color, function and layout
variations available. European Kitchens are famous for their clean lines and
handleless kitchens do nothing but accentuate that strength.
Leicht Avance
The Avance and Avance Pro series feature what is called a
C-Channel grip. Unlike the J-Channel grips, the C-Channel has a symmetrical
shape that many find appealing. Finally, C-Channel design includes a lacquered
aluminum grip rail that can be matched flawlessly with the colors of the
cabinets themselves. They can even be fitted with non-intrusive LED strip
lighting.
Leicht Contino
The Contino series is deliberately minimalist and includes
sleek matt or high-gloss finished with handleless fronts. Grips in Contino series
are virtually invisible, with cabinets that have flat, unblemished surfaces.
Nobilia Line N
Nobilia’s Line N is a popular recent line of handleless
kitchens available in a wide range of prices, colors and finishes. These ultra-smooth cabinets feature a
seamless design that runs continuously across the kitchen. The J-channel grips
in this series can run horizontally or vertically making for easy use for any
layout and makes for seamless built-in appliance integration. Line-N kitchens
feature strongly articulated, laser-cut corners and edges, giving the kitchen a
laser-sharp level of precision in both form and function. These sleek-yet-sharp
designs also help to keep Line-N kitchens hygienic and easy to keep clean.
Lacquer Ergonomic
Grip Handle Kitchens
Leicht’s Pur series and Nobilia’s similarly named Pura series
both feature a creative variation on the handleless theme with molded lacquered
cabinet fronts that include recessed ergonomic grip handles that are literally
sculpted into the drawer and cabinet faces. Kitchens in this style benefit from
having an articulated, handle-like design without the negatives associated with
protruding handles like the risk of getting caught on clothing, obstructing
passage, or causing scrapes and bruises.
Handleless Opening Systems
Some kitchens feature cabinetry without any kind of grip
whatsoever and use innovative, cleverly engineered mechanisms to open drawers
and cabinets.
Touch Latch - Kitchens with touch latches, operate with
springs and magnets. A simple press opens the door or drawer, with spring
pressure causing the drawer to pop open. When closed, the drawer is sealed by
magnets, staying in place until pressed open again. This system is particularly
common in overheard and swinging cabinet doors. Both purely mechanical and
electric versions are available.
SensoMatic – Featured
in models from both Leicht and Nobilia, SenoMatic cabinets open electronically with
a gentle push. One of the nicest benefits of this technology is that it makes
it easy to open draws without the use of your hands.
Seeing is Believing
While we could describe the choices all day, the best way to
truly understand what a handleless kitchen is all about is to see it in
person. We invite you to take a tour of one of the German Kitchen Center’s many
showrooms to experience the ease and style of handleless kitchens in nyc for
yourself and to speak with an expert kitchen designer to determine what is
right for you.
For more information about handleless kitchens in nyc, or to
schedule a free kitchen design consultation call the German Kitchen Center at (888)209-5240.
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