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Latch Hardware on Non-Inset Cabinets?

15 years ago

Can latch hardware (like the following links) go on non-inset full overlay cabinets? Or can latches only go on inset cabinets?

Restoration Hardware Latch

Rejuvenation Latch

I am interested in using this kind of hardware in a potential wet bar area in my home. I have a very intelligent dog who knows how to open cabinet doors and tends to get into anything in lower cabinets. I believe this kind of hardware would prevent her from opening the cabinets and getting into trouble. Due to cost and style of the home, I am leaning towards full overlay (hopefully frameless) cabinets rather than a more traditional inset cabinet (though they are beautiful). I have never seen latches on non-inset cabinets, so I am hoping someone has done this or knows if it is possible.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Comments (9)

  • 15 years ago

    You can put them on non-inset cabinets as long as every door has a mate---if you have a single door, there won't be anywhere to attach the other half of the latch and you'll need to use a knob.

    I also recently noticed that Van Dyke's Restorers now sells a cabinet latch that can be permanently set not to latch---so if you wanted to, you could set it not to latch and just open and close the door as you would with a knob while looking like a latch. There could be some creative ways to use this to mimic the look on those doors that don't have mates while allowing them to function properly, too.

  • 15 years ago

    Thanks, artemis78. That makes a lot of sense. I think every door will have a mate, though I haven't thoroughly planned a layout yet.

    Is this the Van Dyke's Restorers cabinet latch you were referring to? What a great idea! The price is even better than the other two latches I had found.

    When you have the latch knob on one side and the loop (not sure of the technical term) on the other side, do you use the loop to grab to open the door on the side without the latch knob?

  • 15 years ago

    Yep, that's it! Seemed like a creative idea, especially since you can switch it back and forth. (As a caveat, though, I've had mixed experiences with Van Dyke's products---some are great and some are junk. Quality does seem to matter a lot for latches, and I don't know where theirs fall on the spectrum.) And yes, I think you'd open it with the loop or by pulling the door itself open---we've never actually had a second door so it will be a first for me. (Right now our latches are all on single doors where the non-knob side is attached to a stile.) I'm planning to put our more frequently used items on the knob sides to minimize how often we open the second doors.

  • 15 years ago

    Could you use childproofing latches instead - they go on the inside of the door and would be invisible from outside.

  • 15 years ago

    I actually purchased some basic childproofing latches for use in our kitchen, but I hate that they are plastic and unattractive and must drill into the cabinets, so I never installed them. I am also concerned that my dog could likely force the cabinet open (once she's able to get her nose in there a little bit) or break the plastic latch. She is smart enough to unzip a completely closed duffel bag, open a closed metal tin, etc. And she's fairly large (just under 90lbs) and strong. When we are able to remodel our kitchen, we will likely switch from doors to drawers on most of the lower cabinetry, both for functionality and because I suspect the dog will have a harder time opening drawers. But the usages I imagine for the wet bar would likely be better suited to cabinets with shelving.

  • 15 years ago

    Wow---your dog is never allowed to come play with my 85-pounder and give him any tips...oy! :)

    On a side note, we are currently thanking our lucky stars that we decided not to do a 32" high baking counter---it sounded like a terrific idea to have a slightly lower surface for baking, but since we won't be in this house forever and I really wanted cutting boards in that cabinet, we just went with 36" standard height.

    Then we set up the temporary kitchen. Turns out 32" is just a practically perfect height for our dog's chin... (He'd never bothered anything on a counter in his life before, so it hadn't crossed my mind to worry about it---but as soon as we had the table set up as the temporary counter, it was apparently all fair game!) Good thing all those new counters are going to be 36" again! There should seriously be a book on kitchen planning for dogs. ;)

  • 15 years ago

    I was actually thinking of starting a thread asking about what dog-proofing measures people have included in their kitchen remodels. Right now we actually have to block her completely out of the kitchen when we leave the house because we have been frequently surprised by the things she's gotten into. 36" high countertops or cabinet doors are no match for her! As we slowly remodel our house, we try to take her into consideration as we design areas to make them completely dog proof. On a positive note, it has definitely encouraged me to keep the house much tidier than ever before. Every time I leave the house I have to go through a routine of checking every single area she has access to and picking everything up because she can and will chew up and actually eat (swallow) unexpected items (food and non-food). She will get into and onto just about anything.

  • 3 years ago

    Are there boosters for an overlay cabinet other side of latch?

  • last year

    I’m having the same issue! I’m having a new kitchen island put in, and was considering making the cabinets in the island flush, so we can use proper latches. We’d put the trash/recycling there. But I’m concerned that it’ll look funny because the island won’t match the other cabinet fronts. These are the perimeter cabinet fronts.