NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1983, No. 43, $3.50 Making ... - Wood Tools

Bookmatched doors hinged on concealed hardware make for dean, uninterrupted kitchen cabinets.
European-Style Cabinets
Frameless carcases, hidden hinges and continuous veneers
by Bill Pfeiffer
A bout four years ago, I happened upon a dazzling maple
.fl... kitchen in a New York loft that changed the way I look
at kitchen cabinets. The kitchen's sleek, seamless doors and
drawer fronts and clever concealed hardware gave it an uncluttered
appeal that I'd never seen. When I looked closer, I
discovered yet more refinement beneath the pretty shell-the
cabinets were of a remarkably simple, direct construction that
squeezed the most out of materials and space, both in short
supply in the small rooms that become today's kitchens.
The cabinets were built in what has come to be called the
European style, a no-nonsense construction that's gaining favor
on this side of the Atlantic. Euro cabinets evolved in POStwar
Germany as tradesmen, strapped by materials shortages,
struggled to restore bombed-out housing. To save wood, they
turned to man-made materials, often attractively veneered
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plywood and particleboard trimmed with thin strips of solid
wood instead of a bulky face frame. And by joining panels
with knockdown fasteners, cabinetmakers catered to the European
custom of bringing the kitchen along when moving
the rest of the furniture from one home to another.
In the United States, we don't take our kitchens with us
when we move. Nonetheless, I fmd European-style cabinets
appealing because of the sophisticated result I get without
having to resort to long-winded joinety. You need only master
a simple corner joint to build cabinets elegant enough to
be adapted as built-in furniture for the living room, or even
freestanding pieces for other rooms in the house.
Bill Pfe iffer makes cabinets and architectural millwork in
New York City.