There is really no fundamental difference in strength between framed and framless cabinets. Poorly-built frameless cabinets will be less sturdy than well-built face-framed cabinets, and well-built frameless cabinets will be more sturdy than poorly built face-framed cabinets. Regarding your statement: I see that the small frame in the kitchen reduces very slightly the useable space in terms of installing drawers or pullout shelves, but it's not a significant difference. Some GW poster put together a comparison between frameless and face-framed and the differrence is alot more than than you would think at first. (Anyone got the link ?) For illustration purposes they compared a 12" wide base cabinet in the two styles, and assumed 3/4" thick box construction, 1/2" thick drawer boxes, 1/2" wide side mounted slides, and 2 inch face frames. With frameless the drawers ended up with an usable internel width of 12 - 2 x (3/4 + 1/2 + 1/2) = 8 1/2" vs for face-framed the drawers ended up with an usable internel width of 12 - 2 x (2 + 1/2 + 1/2) = 6" So if you want the full-overlay look, my opinion is you should go with frameless cabinets. Also regarding your daughter slamming the doors, I have seen posts about something called "blumotion for doors" which attach to the hinges (which I believe must be blum brand) which eases the door closed.

Can? Sure. You can use anything you want. You can use anything that will make it work. Just decide how you like it and go with what pleases your eye. If you're looking for permission in some way? or right or wrong? There is no such thing. IMHO, as long as its symmetrical, it can work. To me when something isn't even, or doesn't mirror, or is "almost" the same? No go. If you're using the same doors, and your floor plan is as symmetrical as you've drawn? They'd go just fine for my anal eye. The connecting factor would be the same doors.

Adding to the above, a frameless cabinet is a box, 5 sides of the cube, with a door attached to it. A framed cabinet is a cube with a hole cut out of the 6th side -- creating a frame around the opening on that last side. In either case, the cabinet door covers the 6th side. In the case of a frameless, the door covers the entire opening and the sides of the box material. A framed cabinet has the option of covering all of that frame (full overlay) or just part of it (partial overlay). Maybe that will help you picture the difference. If a frameless cabinet is well built, it should be just as strong as a well made framed cabinet. You may also hear them called European cabinets because they have been the standard in Europe. The IKEA cabinets that seem to be a gold standard for budget cabinetry are frameless cabinets. I have maple painted Brookhaven and WoodMode cabinets as well as knotty cherry WoodMode. All of them are frameless and we love them. We got a lot more drawer space we have much better storage and usable space even though we were limited to the same footprint and took out a corner pantry.

Sorry, Patricia, the crank pasta machines stay. The penninsula stays, also. There is not enough room for an island or wall ovens. The sink is at the only outside wall and it will say at the window with a view of a creek. An unfinished attic is above the stove. We are both in the kitchen prepping, cooking, and cleaning up at the same time - not one prepping then one cooking. We need more space at the stove and primary sink. This design gives us each a contained workspace without crossing each other's path constantly. . . and takes us out of the walkway. Walking through the living room provides access to the rest of the house for anyone who wants to avoid the kitchen. We view the refrigerator as the appliance that we spend the least amount of time in front of. It's close enough to the stove and the penninsula, and acts as a landing spot for both prep and cleanup. Changing the doorway also brings the kitchen closer to the deck. The only real inconvenience I see is at the doorway when the dishwasher is open. Cabinet style was a secondary consideration. Our experience with a number of purely kitchen designers is that they design great features but won't be using the kitchen with another cook once their work is done. We want and need to be able to function in our kitchen. My question involved how well inset cabinets at the penninsula would blend with full overlay slab cabinet doors. So, here are photos of the current space and preliminary measurements for the redesign. There doorway at the left will be 30" and the fridge will be about 6" to the right.