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In my previous article, I discussed how to build the frameless euro cabinet. Now, lets talk about the companion to the frameless, the face frame. The cabinet with a frame around the doors is referred to in the trade as a face frame cabinet, since the frame is on the front face of the cabinet. The construction of the cabinets is the same in both designs, so I'll concentrate this article only on the face frame, door hinges and consequences of this design for drawer attachment.
Some cabinet designers prefer the wider look of the frame of the cabinet showing with the doors, sharing some of the beauty with the cabinet as opposed to the doors stealing all the glory in a frameless design. I tend to agree. That is the "old school" coming out in me. I do prefer the euro hinges, though, to the old style Amerock hinges (shown on the left) which added to the decor of the piece. Today we can enjoy the look of the old cabinets, but benefit from modern technology with the European style of hinges. Once you build cabinets with the euro hinges, you will have a tough time going back to Amerock style, due to the ease in adjusting these hinges in the three different directions: up, down and out.
The face frame is basically a wide edging on the gable fronts, top and bottom. It usually is from 1 1/2" to 2 1/2" wide and 3/4" thick, made from plywood or solid material, whichever is preferred. The horizontal pieces are called rails and the vertical pieces are called stiles. Together they comprise the face frame. The hinges are attached to the edge of the stiles about 3" up from the bottom and down from the top of the doors. The hinges are hidden from view from the face of the cabinet. Order face frame euro hinges with the appropriate overlap of the stile to fit your design. 
Notice in the picture, the rails do not cover the face of the shelves. The upper rail is ripped wider to allow for a crown molding at the top, if desired. The doors usually are flush with the bottom of the cabinet. An optional light rail set back from the face a bit on the bottom of the cabinet may be installed to cover any puck or thin fluorescent lights.
The consequences I mentioned at the start of this article refer to extra packing required for bottom mount drawer slides. Mounting these slides is definitely easier without a frame to contend with. I feel it is worth it in the long run though. All that is required to mount the drawer slides is pack out material until the gable is flush with the edge of the stile. Then mount the slides on this packing. Rip to required thickness and size as shown in the picture to the left.
As you can see, part of the beauty of a set of face frame cabinets is shared with the design of the frame as well as that of the doors and drawer fronts.
The next article will explain how to make your own cabinet doors.
