Face Frame Cabinetry

Face Frame Cabinets in Kitchen

Cabinetry with mix of glass and solid doors

Face Frame Cabinets with exposed hinges

Face frame cabinets around refrigerator

Cabinet boxes before face framing

Face frames added to boxes

Face frame and beaded board applied to inside 

Rob adding the hinges to the doors

Several months ago we decided to construct the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry using a traditional method of cabinet design called face framing.  This method has been used in North America for a long time and it is often seen in older homes.  By contrast, European style (or frameless cabinetry) became popular after WWII in Europe during post war reconstruction.   In frameless cabinetry construction, the hinges are concealed and the door or drawer covers most of the interior frame.  At the time, it was considered an advance in cabinet design because hardware had improved and materials had greatly advanced, allowing for the doors and drawers to be supported by the cabinet box, not the hardwood frame attached to the front.   While frameless cabinetry is streamlined and elegant, face framed cabinetry seemed more appropriate for our turn of the century home. 

The construction of our cabinetry was a multi-step process and more labor intensive than the frameless option.  First, we ordered standard size cabinet boxes from a manufacturer in Grand Junction, CO.   Then, Joel's carpenters constructed the face frames for each box and also lined many of the upper boxes with traditional beaded board.  Some boxes were divided into drawers, while others were designated as cabinets with doors.  This was the point in the design process where we truly got to customize our space and get the storage that we needed for our lifestyle.  The next step was to carefully measure all of the openings to allow for the flush inset drawer or cabinet door.  This was critical step because there is a small gap around every opening that gives it a uniform appearance and allows for very little error.  Next, the doors and drawer fronts were ordered locally, along with the interior drawers and drawer hardware.  Custom shelves were made on site for the upper cabinets.  All the doors and drawers were then sprayed with Benjamin Moore's Lancaster White paint and sealed with a clear coat of lacquer.   Next, the doors were mounted with exposed hinges, glass was inserted in some doors and the door and the drawer knobs (small round knobs in oil rubbed bronze and a few traditional latches for the upper cabinets) were attached.   Joel added magnets to all of the doors so that they would have a solid connection with the face frame.    Now that the cabinets are finished, it seems like the right choice for our 110-year-old home.  

Our Rocky Mountain Summer

Grant summiting Imogene Pass (13,100ft!)

Carson at Red Feather Lakes

Swimming at Red Feather

The Stupa at the Shambhala Center, Red Feather Lakes

Dads after Steamboat Trail Run

9 of the 18 kids in Steamboat

Quinn at Cutthroat

Camping at Cutthroat Bay

Santa Fe

Quinn milking a goat

Grant and boys in Santa Fe with their Poppy

Cole's post-camp arms covered in girls' phone numbers

Although I felt like my mind was a captive of our house remodel all summer, we did get to enjoy some fun times around Boulder and some new spots in Colorado.    In June, the boys went to a two week YMCA summer camp (Camp Santa Maria) in the mountains of Bailey, Colorado, where they got their first taste of being away from home.  Cole came home with his arms covered in girls' phone numbers, a solid sign that a request to return to Santa Maria might be in store next summer.  In August, we weekended with 6 other families (18 children, one house!) in Steamboat Springs, where Grant and 4 other dads ran a 15 mile trail race;  friends Kita and Toby organized a mutli-family camping get-away at Cutthroat Bay near Granby just before school started on August 15th;  Grant visited his dad in Santa Fe over a long weekend with Cole and Quinn; friends Eric and Faire invited us to spend Labor Day weekend in Red Feather Lakes; and just last weekend Grant ran the famous Imogene Pass Race, a  17.1 mile point-to-point mountain race, which connects the towns of Ouray (7810 ft.) and Telluride (8750 ft.) by way of 13,114 foot Imogene Pass.    

Door Hardware

Front door hardware

Exterior lock set at family room

Door hardware at Denver salvage

Existing glass knobs with new back plates

2nd floor egg-shaped hardware

Knob set at Denver Architectural Salvage

New knob set on master bath 

I made several trips to Denver's Architectural Salvage warehouse last week to find compatible pieces of door hardware for a few new doors.    The existing hardware at 1109 Pine is quite impressive (23 doors have their original hardware), but I needed to find something old to blend in with the existing doors.  The hardware on our main floor is quite intricate, and fortunately I wasn't trying to match that hardware.  Out of curiosity I have looked at many architectural salvage online sites across the country, but I have yet to see the same door hardware as ours in their collections.  The immediate challenge was to find something for our master bathroom that would be compatible to the aged brass egg-shaped sets that are throughout the upstairs.  The best I could do was to find a beaded brass set that was not identical, but had the same overall shape and finish.  I also picked up some pretty bronze back plates for the two glass knob sets that I already had, which will serve the basement and pantry doors.  The hunt for hardware was quite fun but it could have been very daunting had I needed to find exact matches.  

Floors

Quinn's bedroom

walnut floors before refinishing

refinishing the walnut floors

newly refinished walnut floors

douglas fir floors in dining room

stairs 

Stairs

entry

We had the existing floors and our new walnut floors refinished last week.  Upon inspecting our existing floors, our floor guy Jim told us that he suspected that the 110-year-old douglas fir floors had never been refinished.  We loved the way they looked with their minor scratches and dings, so we opted to have them screened and sealed instead of having them fully sanded.  Screening takes a small layer off the top and removes all the dirt and some of the scratches from the floor.  It also retains the color, which in our case is a rich amber color that has taken decades to develop.  The stairs are especially full of wear and character and we are happy to have them look their age.   In contrast, our new walnut floors in the kitchen and family room got the full treatment:  a full sanding and several coats of a chestnut stain.   The walnut and the douglas fir are quite different both in size and color, but the wood in both these spaces works as a unifying element so they are remarkably compatible.   

Happy 12th Birthday Cole!