MORE PRACTICAL OPENING SYSTEMS FOR KITCHEN DOORS AND WALL UNITS

We will now take a closer look at the different types of opening system for the various storage units of the kitchen.

Side-hinged doors
This is the most common opening system and allows to door to open to the left or right – or both in the case of units with a width exceeding 60 cm fitted with double doors – by means of two or more hinges secured to the frame of the unit.
It is used mainly on base and tall units, but is still fairly common for wall units.
Easy to install and repair in the event of failure, it has the disadvantage that the open door constitutes an encumbrance that can restrict movements on the ground and visibility when used for tall and wall units. In this latter case, a door left open can pose a hazard for the user of the kitchen, who might accidentally bang their head on it.

Sliding doors
Usually used on large pieces of furniture such as sideboards or kitchen dressers, but also for under-sink base units, where two or more doors slide on horizontal runners. This solution completely does away with external encumbrances, but has the disadvantage of only making it possible to access part of the unit. It is, nevertheless, a simple and practical solution and ideal when space is extremely limited. It is important to clean the runners regularly, as they are prone to the accumulation of dust and dirt.

Lift-up doors
Used on wall units, lift-up opening systems use a special oscillating mechanism that makes it possible to open the door upwards and hold it open.
This solution optimises space by avoiding the encumbrance of open doors over the work top, and makes it possible to create seamless, even very large, front panels, giving the kitchen a more homogeneous and linear design.

Drop-down doors
Doors that open from the top-down. This type of opening system is mainly used for electrical appliances, such as dishwashers and ovens, and in any case for low or medium-height elements.

Vertically or diagonally sliding doors
The door slides vertically or diagonally until it is fully open. Used primarily for wall units, in the Gentili Cucine range, this type of opening system is also offered for concealed compact ovens.

Folding or accordion opening systems
With folding opening systems, the door consists of two panels that fold back against one another towards one side of the unit. It is an alternative to a double side-hinged door and is often used in corner compositions. The accordion variant has a similar mechanism but on multiple panels, which gives its characteristic ‘accordion’ effect.

Opening systems with retracting doors
This type of opening system, which is used on large tall units, allows the doors to slide into dedicated recesses so that they retract almost completely inside the frame of the unit.
It is a particularly effective option for reducing encumbrances and maintaining good visibility inside the kitchen.

Pull-out doors
Pull-out door systems are used above all for pantries or auxiliary elements like broom cupboards, but sometimes also for base and tall units.
The door slides outwards to expose and make accessible the contents of the unit, which is usually placed in baskets arranged at different heights.