Small kitchen with white brick walls, dark blue handleless base units and a grey stone-effect splashback and worktop

You don’t have to be a kitchen expert to notice that handleless kitchens are having a moment. While Shaker-style designs will always be popular, more people are opting for handleless designs as an alternative to traditional styles.

The reason for this? Handle-free doors have a sleek and streamlined look that suits both contemporary and period properties. Moreover, they offer a range of practical benefits that makes them ideal for modern life and busy families.

So is a handleless kitchen right for your home? Whether you’re looking for a pared-back minimalist design or exciting opportunities to mix and match colours and finishes, this handy guide to the practical and aesthetic benefits of handleless kitchens will help you decide.

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

1. Create a two-tone look

While handleless kitchens lend themselves exceptionally well to a neutral scheme, their clean lines and smooth facades offer the perfect chance to get creative with colours and materials. Want to create a striking two-tone look? Team bold base units with paler wall cupboards to make an eye-catching contrast. Alternatively, take your kitchen to the next level by introducing different materials such as a wood or stone-effect finish.

Photo: Masterclass Kitchens

2. Add the personal touch

Whether you prefer a bold or a pared-back hub, handle rails are a clever way to infuse interest into your room while personalising your handleless kitchen. If you’ve opted for units in one shade, a handle rail in a contrasting colour will add depth to your scheme while emphasising the beautiful clean lines. Try teaming a dark grey rail as a fresh foil for all-white units, or add a shimmering warm metallic to downplay the drama of a dark-green scheme.

Photo: Masterclass Kitchens

3. Smarter storage

Clutter-free surfaces are key to the calm and sleek look that handleless kitchens are renowned for. Luckily, it’s easy to stay tidy and organised thanks to the wide range of innovative storage solutions. At the planning stage of your kitchen ensure you include handleless units with extra-wide and deep drawers to conceal the everyday essentials such as crockery and utensils while ensuring everything is easy to find.

Photo: Masterclass Kitchens

4. Create continuity between areas

With homes becoming increasingly multi-functional to keep pace with modern life, many homeowners are craving stylish open-plan spaces. Whether you’re extending or upgrading your kitchen, handleless furniture is a great way to create seamless continuity between areas. For example, for a harmonious look throughout you could extend a run of units from the kitchen through to the living room. Handleless designs make for slick storage and help zones flow effortlessly.

Photo: Masterclass Kitchens

5. Boost a bijou kitchen

When it comes to choosing units for a compact kitchen, handleless designs are the ultimate space-saving solution. With their smooth slab doors and sharp lines they create the illusion of space with no fussy details to interrupt the work area. Want to open up a cramped room even further? Opt for a light-reflecting gloss finish. In addition, handleless cupboards allow for a smooth, safe walkway eliminating the risk of hazardous handles, especially important in families with small children.

To find out about the variety of handleless kitchens available, visit the Masterclass Kitchens website