You are right that frameless cabs will give you more space, particularly in the base cabinets and particularly for drawers and rollout shelves. This is the very reason that we went with frameless cabinets. I think 3/4" sides are pretty standard on frameless cabinets, although I could be wrong. And the width of the frame on framed cabinets is usually 1.5" on each side, but this varies some. So, with frameless you lose 1.5" and you lose 3" for framed. You gain 1.5" on each and every drawer.

We also noticed that you lose a lot of drawer height on the framed cabinets because there is a horizontal frame piece between each of the drawers. We are looking forward to the sandwich bag box and tall ladle not getting smashed by the frame. We took measurements at a showroom that had both framed and frameless cabinets, and although the cabinet brands were different, we figured that you get the equivalent of a whole shallow drawer gained with the frameless.

The link below has some pictures and an explanation. There is a link that gives a list of frameless manufacturers, but it is a little dated. HTH.

Here is a link that might be useful: Some info and pics framed vs frameless

Thanks pudgybaby!

Not only thanks for confirming that my thinking was on the right track--also thanks for that link, and for that point about losing drawer height. I hadn't thought that far ahead. :-)

I have to remember to always keep a tape measure in the car. While I have one in my fanny pack constantly, I need to make sure DH has one when he's somewhere without me.

Thanks again!

LowSpark has a brief write-up of framed vs framelss in the Kitchens Forum FAQ

Here is a link that might be useful: Framed and Frameless Cabinets in the Kitchens Forum FAQ

The difference can really add up with drawers, especially if you go with the GW plethora of drawerage.

After a contractor tried to tell me that the difference between framed and frameless wasn't noticable, I went to Lowes and measured the interior width of the drawers compared to the size of the cabinet. For both Kraftmaid and Diamond it was about 2 1/2 inches lost on each side. To me that was a huge amount of wasted space.

Thank you all. This helps a lot. I am thinking of having as many drawer bases as I can--and at least the roll-out shelves where it isn't feasible to have a drawer base. I can't justify losing space to the framed cabinets.

We're off to Lowe's tomorrow night with the tape measure to see what it works out to.

In general, is it true that frameless drawer bases will have more interior space than framed drawer bases?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Take a measuring tape and measure the inside of the drawers of any/all brands you are considering. Different brands have different amounts of usable space. Measure your current drawers for a good frame of reference.

And ya, that's my list linked above. I compiled it in 2004 when I was shopping for cabinets. I compiled it for my own use - I wanted to see every possible frameless cabinet available in my area - and I figured others might like it as well.

The extra space you get from frameless won't necessarily always be usable. For instance, in drawers that you plan on storing large items like mixing bowls and cookware, an extra 1-2" might not let you fit in another bowl or pan.

I have a very small kitchen but went with framed cabinets primarily because that was the line my KD carried and for us, a good KD was imperative to our remodeling success.

The only drawers I notice having smaller space is the drawers that hold small stuff like my towels. I store my food in a wide, shallow pantry cabinet (no rollouts) and super susan so I would have gained very little from frameless in those two cabinets. Ditto on my garbage and sink cabinets.

Is hardware mount a consideration for space? The cabs we looked at in Lowes all seemed to be side mount -- even the framed cabs. The KD tells me that "quality" cabs will have under-mount. So I guess I'm wondering if...

frameless "side mount" = framed "under mount"?

My head's spinning.

I have Brookhaven frameless. The hardware is under the drawers, not on the side.

Again, the very best way to determine usable space is to measure.