Cabinetry Construction
Built in Canada. We install across Canada and the United States.
Before the door style and finish, there's the construction — how the doors meet the cabinet box. It's the single biggest driver of a kitchen's character, from crisp modern to furniture-grade heritage.
100% Custom Construction
Frameless, inset face frame, or a hybrid across a single kitchen — every Hempston box, door and drawer is built to order. Tell us what you're planning and we'll spec the construction to suit.
01 — Construction Types
01 — No face frame at all
Doors mount directly to the cabinet box with no face frame, for full-access interiors and a clean, uninterrupted European look.
Best for Modern, storage-driven kitchens
02 — Doors flush inside the frame
Doors and drawer fronts are set flush within the face frame, fitted to exacting tolerances. The hallmark of fine furniture-grade cabinetry.
Best for Heritage homes and high-end builds
02 — Inset Face Frame
Our most exacting construction — doors fitted flush within a hand-built face frame for furniture-grade shadow lines. Here are inset doors across shaker, recessed-panel, beaded and slab profiles, finished in a range of paint colours.
Noto
Inset Raised Panel — Setting Plaster
Tracadie
Inset Raised Panel — School House White
Torquay
Inset Raised Panel — Hague Blue
La Gomera
Inset Raised Panel — Charleston Green
Frameless vs Inset
It comes down to the presence of a face frame. With frameless (European) cabinetry, doors mount directly to the cabinet box. There is no frame between doors, which maximises interior volume and creates a clean, contemporary face.
Inset face frame construction is the most labour-intensive and exacting — the gaps around every door must be perfect — which is why it carries a premium and a distinctly high-end, furniture-like character. It's the classic choice for heritage homes and bespoke builds.
Both are built to order in our shop. Whether you need the full-access efficiency of frameless construction or the tailored shadow lines of inset cabinetry, we fabricate every box, door and drawer front to suit the project.
Inset takes more shop time. The difference is in the quote for your kitchen, not a flat percentage. Painted Shaker and modern slab are the styles that move fastest. See the rush program.
| Frameless | Inset face frame | |
|---|---|---|
| Look | Seamless modern face | Even reveal, furniture-like |
| Cost | Lower shop time | More shop time, quoted per project |
| Storage | Full box access | Slightly reduced opening |
| Tolerance | Overlay hides small gaps | Reveals must stay even |
| Best for | Contemporary kitchens | Heritage and tailored rooms |
Inset cabinet doors sit flush inside a face frame with a small even reveal around each door. Frameless (European) cabinets have no face frame — doors mount directly to the box for full interior access and a seamless modern face.
Inset takes more shop time because every reveal has to be even. The difference shows up in the quote for that kitchen, not as a flat percentage. Painted Shaker and modern slab move fastest. A rush timeline is a separate program.
Yes. Frameless construction maximises interior storage and pairs beautifully with modern slab doors. We build in both frameless and face-frame construction.
Yes — it's common to run frameless perimeter cabinetry with an inset face-frame island, or vice versa. Everything is custom, so the construction style can be tuned to each piece.
Choose your construction
Tell us the construction style you're drawn to and we'll walk you through the trade-offs, pricing, and lead times — and hand-finish a sample door in the profile and colour of your choice.
Prefer to keep exploring? Browse the full product range.