They use a magnetic catch. It's mounted to the bottom (and top, if a tall cabinet) of the box. The catch also serves as the stop.
Casey

hi Tina,
I don't have a picture but will try to explain...

I have crown point inset cabinets and have butt doors in a couple of situations. the way it works is there is a magnet on the doors and then magnets attached to the top and bottom of the inside of the cabinets so the doors are stopping/closing against the magnets.

hopefully someone (or perhaps me if I can find the time) can post a pic of this because it is rather simple but very solid and effective.

HTH

Tina I don't have Crown Point, but I do have inset doors. Here are a couple of pictures showing how mine latch. They only have a magnet at the top on both the door and inside the cabinet. They work great and are easy to open, just a small tug, and they don't wobble at the bottom even though they only latch at the top.

The magnets aren't visible when the doors are closed

Kat :)

In our kit and bath we used a magnetic catch. In the din room we used a trigger catch that you have to release. I wouldn't recommend this where you use the cabs a lot.

Thank you all. lesmis, I know I have seen your kitchen and loved it but can you remind me of it again with a link to pics? Your pic is very helpful and I will show it to my cab guy. What I am thinking is that you have exposed hinges whereas he is proposed Blum which I think could proved the spring and closing action to keep the door closed and so perhaps I would not need magnets. But I still think I would need something to act as a stop. Your pic is also very useful because I want butt doors with no center stile (I will chip the paint on it getting stuff in and out) and this looks good. BTW, do you have a good source for the exposed hinges? I wanted mortise but cab guy says no, royal pain, need to get a no mortise hinge.

Many thanks!

Tina

Tina, I think if you search my name lesmis you'll find other pictures of my kitchen. I am working on putting together an album on Photobucket of the "before" and "after" but have been too busy finishing up the rest of the house remodel to get to it. You can send me an email at swlesmis@hotmail.com if you need other pics, I can send them to you if you need something in particular. I think people are afraid to email someone directly...not sure why, but I won't send out ANY chain mail, not funny, sad/guilt provoking, political or any other chain mail...I personally HATE it, so I promise all I'll send is what you ask for! :) I do have exposed hinges and they are non-mortised, my cabinet guy insisted on those too because they are much easier to install I think. I hunted high and low for simple hinges and either couldn't find them or they were outrageously expensive. I ended up using Amerock ones that my cabinetmaker suggested, they are actually their antique finish and not the ORB because the ORB didn't match my darker ORB knobs as well. I think you are right, the Blum or hidden hinges don't require any sort of magnet. My cabinetmaker made sure that I would like the little tug you need to open the exposed hinge doors with the magnets, and it's fine, even with glass in the cabinets it's no big deal, but it might be to some people I guess.

Let me know if you need any other pics.

Kat :)

lesmis: Thank you so much. You have explained a lot. I am still thinking the Blum will need a stop of some sort, unless it is soft close or something. I like the look of your gorgeous cabs and hinges though. I will look up your kitchen pics here.

Tina

No problem Tina, also try and look in the finished kitchens blog and do a search for inset doors on here. I know several people have hidden hinges and inset doors and can speak to whether or not they have a stop, which like you said, you will probably need.

Good luck and post pictures as you progress with your kitchen!

Kat :)

Buffalotina, take a look at one of the threads you started before -- Full Overlay or Inset? -- and scroll down. There's a photograph of a magnet at the bottom of a door, instead of the top.

That's my cabinet in the photo, and there are magnets at both the top and the bottom. The door has small metal plates on the inside top and bottom to catch the magnets.

The Amerock ones seem perfect; I wonder why some cabinet makers basically seem to say exposed=mortise. The Amerock ones are adjustable too, so that can't be the problem.

Fern4, honestly I think some cabinetmakers are just set in their ways. They have a way of doing things that they are comfortable with and if you go outside of their comfort zone they act all funny. Maybe he's never seen the Amerock ones? I did find some things that my plumber, cabinetmaker, and tile guy had never seen before. I would have thought they would have seen it all, but thanks to GW I was sometimes more educated on the latest and great stuff then they were. When I went to pick out my tile the guy at the tile store said "Wow you are the first person to ever come in here and know exactly what you wanted!" Apparently us GW types who know what we want and would have even more if we only had the spare cash are a rare breed! If you want me to ask where my cabinet guy gets his hinges from I can ask, just let me know.

Kat :)

buffalotina, my inset cabs are not Crown Point but the 'floors' of my upper cabs are raised about 1/4" & the edge provides a stop. Originally, we didn't plan on adding catches but the cabinet maker thought it might be a good idea until the 60" tall doors developed a 'memory'.