If you’re starting a remodel soon, chances are you have heard of “soft-close”. You might be wondering what it is, why everyone is obsessed with it and how it can benefit your kitchen remodel. This feature is a major cabinet upgrade that's incredibly beneficial to the longevity of your cabinets and overall experience working in the kitchen. Let’s dive into what soft-close cabinets are, the many benefits, how you can convert your cabinets to slow-close cabinet hinges and much more.
What Are Soft-Close Cabinets?
Soft-close cabinets are usually defined by two pieces of hardware; soft-close kitchen cabinet hinges and soft-close drawer glides. Each of these components play a large role in how your cabinets function.
Soft-Close Kitchen Cabinet Hinges
Door hinges with soft-close capability are typically 6-way adjustable. There are usually 3 screws that can be used to adjust the door up and down, left and right and towards and away from the cabinet face frame. Having this kind of adjustability means you can perfectly align all your doors while making sure they are level.
Looking further into this hinge, you will often see a small button. The button or small swiveling circle can be used to turn your soft-close hinges on and off or adjust the rate of speed at which they close. Just having this level of customizability is enough to convince anyone of the benefits.
Soft-Close Drawer Glides
Drawer glides with a soft-closing feature are a must-have. They are usually mounted on the sides or underneath solid wood drawer boxes for added strength. Most brands offer full-extension, removeable steel glides with a weight capacity of 70 – 75 pounds. This is great for holding heavier items like large amounts of silverware and dishes. Here is a brief overview of what each CliqStudios cabinet line offers.
What CliqStudios Offers
Every CliqStudios cabinet line uses DTC brand hinges and glides except Craftsman. Our most customizable Craftsman lines, Gold and Platinum, come with Blum branded hardware.
RTA Cabinets
DTC 6-way adjustable European-style hinge with soft-close feature and undermount full-extension soft-close drawer glides.
Mercury Cabinets
DTC Soft-closing 6-way adjustable hinges and soft-closing undermount full-extension drawer glides.
Signature Plus Cabinets
DTC Smart Stop™ fully concealed cup hinge with self-closing feature and fully concealed, undermount, ball bearing, self-aligning, full-extension guide with Smart Stop™ and a 75 lb. capacity per drawer.
Craftsman Cabinets
Silverline
Quiet-close fully concealed cup hinge with self-closing feature and fully concealed, undermount, ball bearing, self-aligning, full-extension guide with Quiet Close and a 75 lb. capacity per drawer.
Gold & Platinum
Blum® Compact Blumotion integrated 6-way adjustable soft-close hinges, and Blum® full-access, undermount, soft-close drawer glides.
Benefits of Soft-Closing Hardware
As you can already start to see, soft-close hardware is very beneficial. Using upgraded hardware or buying new cabinets with soft-close cabinet hinges will help preserve your investment. Are you wondering how? When cabinets use this type of hardware, it will prevent lots of wear and tear. By closing doors and drawers at a slower pace with the help of bumpers, the wood and finish will remain intact for many more years.
If that’s not convincing enough, now you can enjoy cooking in a quieter kitchen. No more doors slamming or drawer contents rattling around every time you grab a few spices. Everything you place in your drawers will stay more organized because it’s no longer bumping against the cabinet frame.
And lastly, you can increase the weight capacity of your drawers. Using heavy-duty hardware will allow you to stock up your silverware drawer or store more pots and pans. This improves organization and helps your kitchen go further with less cabinets. Overall, this cabinet feature is a win-win no matter the project size.
Can You Convert Cabinets to Soft-Close?
Existing cabinets can be converted from older hardware styles to soft-close. If you have older cabinets with exposed hinges on the face frame, the steps to convert can be more complex. Swapping out hardware may involve filling holes and potentially changing your cabinet finish, so make sure you are aware of all necessary changes before starting your project. Here are the steps to convert to soft-close kitchen cabinet hinges and glides.
- Remove all doors, drawers and drawer boxes from your kitchen.
- Remove all the pre-existing hardware.
- Fill holes and indentations from previous hardware.
- Once the wood filler is dry, sand down the surface evenly.
- If you are changing your cabinet finish, now is the time to prep the surface. Sand your cabinets, doors and drawers down, and apply paint or stain as needed.
- Bore out the holes needed for your new soft-close door hinges on all cabinet doors and install them.
- Use a drilling template to install all cabinet doors at the same height on your cabinet face frames with the supplied hinge screws.
- Install your new drawer glides on all drawer boxes and level them within the cabinet.
- Test all soft-close door hinges and drawer glides to make sure they are working properly once installed.
- Use the 3 screws inside the hinges to adjust all your cabinet doors to make sure they are level.
Enjoy your new quieter, slow-close cabinets!
These are instructions for just one of the many types of older hinges that can be replaced. However, most of the steps should be similar. If you are lucky enough to have similar hinges bored into your doors, all you need to do is replace them for a completely transformed kitchen.
Regardless of whether you are swapping your existing hardware or buying new cabinets, the investment is well worth it. Slow-close cabinet hinges and glides are used on virtually every new cabinet, and for a good reason. The overall strength, durability and protection they provide to cabinets is incredible.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you make soft-close cabinets?
Almost any cabinet can be made into a soft-close cabinet. There are a few ways to update your kitchen whether it’s in need of new hinges and glides, or all new cabinets. If you’re planning a kitchen remodel, you’re in luck. Virtually every cabinet company offers soft-close cabinets now. This may be an optional upgrade so it’s best to check with the representative you’re working with to be sure.
For homeowners looking for a less expensive upgrade, soft-close hinges and drawer glides can be purchased online. Each brand has unique specifications and offers its own instructions on how to install them. Older cabinets may need to be retrofitted to handle new hinges. This might include using wood filler to fill in any previous hinge holes or cutouts, sanding and potentially refinishing your cabinets for a seamless look. Regardless of your decision, make sure you follow the cabinet hardware brand’s instructions for a headache-free installation.
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Are soft-close cabinets worth it?
Yes, soft-close cabinets are definitely worth it. Whether you are updating your entire kitchen or just installing new hardware, you will not regret this upgrade. By using soft-close hinges on cabinet doors, you will prevent wear and tear on your cabinet finish and increase the lifespan of the box itself.
Cabinets that come with this type of hardware typically include silicone bumpers. The closing doors end up resting gently against these bumpers which also lessens the noise level in the kitchen. Soft-close drawer glides have the same benefits while also keeping drawer contents more organized. Overall, this is considered a major upgrade to any kitchen.
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When did soft-close cabinets come out?
The exact date is not really known, but it’s likely that the soft-close mechanism came out in the early 2000’s by Blum, a popular hardware manufacturer. Blum originally launched its first hinge in 1964 and drawer glides in 1966. Over time they have evolved their products with technology and developed the soft-close hardware we all know and love.
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