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Types and Soft-Close Options
Start by checking how your cabinet door sits when it is closed. Then choose a hinge that supports the door and lets it open far enough for you to use the cupboard.
Published: 25th September 2026
A hinge that works on an ordinary cupboard may leave the door in the way of a drawer hidden behind it. Thicker doors and corner cupboards need a closer look too.
Choose the hinges before finalising your door sizes and drilling positions. The door, hinge and cabinet need to work together if you want even gaps and smooth movement.
Explore Cworkshop’s furniture fittings range to find Blum hinges and matching components for your project.
Concealed hinges sit inside the cabinet, so you cannot see them when the door is closed. Cworkshop’s range centres on Blum CLIP top and CLIP top BLUMOTION hinges for cupboards, wardrobes and fitted furniture.
The hinge has a round section, called the cup, which fits into the back of the door. Its arm connects to a mounting plate fixed to the cabinet.
These parts must suit each other and the way the door fits. This guide mainly covers cabinets without a separate timber frame around the front. If your cabinet has that frame, check the hinge and mounting arrangement for that construction.
The door’s position determines whether you need an overlay, half-overlay or inset hinge.
A full-overlay door covers most of the front edge of the cabinet side when closed. This is a common arrangement for kitchen cupboards and fitted wardrobes.
Leave the gaps required between neighbouring doors and panels. “Full overlay” does not mean the door should touch everything around it.
Half-overlay hinges are used where doors hang from opposite sides of one shared divider. Each door covers part of the divider’s front edge, leaving a gap between them.
A cupboard with two doors does not automatically need half-overlay hinges. If the doors hang from separate outer sides, full-overlay hinges may be the correct choice.
An inset door sits inside the cabinet opening, leaving the cabinet’s front edges visible around it. The hinge and plate must suit this position.
Check the opening and the gaps around the door before setting its finished size. An inset door cut too large can catch the cabinet even when the hinge is correctly fitted.
The opening angle tells you how far the door can swing. A 110° hinge opens beyond a right angle, while a 155° hinge allows a much wider opening.
Cworkshop lists the following main types:
| Hinge type | Where it is useful | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 110° standard hinge | Everyday cupboards and wardrobes. | Door thickness, overlay and space beside the cabinet. |
| 155° wide-opening hinge | Cabinets with internal drawers or pull-out shelves. | Whether the chosen hinge and door position keep the opening clear. |
| 95° thick-door hinge | Thicker doors or doors with shaped edges. | The door's thickness, edge shape and required gaps. |
| 95° blind-corner hinge | Corner layouts where the hinge fixes to a panel across the cabinet front. | The exact corner arrangement and mounting plate. |
An internal drawer needs to pass the open door. A standard hinge can leave part of the door across the opening, stopping the drawer from sliding out.
Blum’s 155° hinges offer “zero protrusion” in the specified overlay arrangement. This means the open door clears the cabinet opening so an internal drawer or shelf can pass.
Check the planning drawing for the exact hinge and door position. Do not assume every 155° version provides the same clearance with an inset or half-overlay door.
Compare the wide-opening options in Cworkshop’s Blum fittings catalogue when planning storage behind hinged doors.
A blind-corner cupboard extends into a corner that you cannot reach directly through its opening. Its door may need a hinge that fixes to a panel running across the front of the cabinet.
Cworkshop lists dedicated blind-corner hinges for these arrangements. Match the hinge to the drawing of your cabinet; a hinge joining two folding doors performs a different job.
Also check nearby walls and handles. A wide-opening hinge provides little benefit if the handle hits a wall before the door can open fully.
The hinge must suit the door where it is fitted, as well as the door’s overall size and weight. Choosing a thicker panel can change both the drilling needed and the load on the hinges.
Cworkshop’s standard 110° hinges are listed for doors up to 24 mm thick, depending on the arrangement. The 95° thick-door range covers doors up to 32 mm, provided the door shape and gaps suit the hinge.
These limits do not mean every door below that thickness will work. Check the minimum thickness, drilling depth and gap shown for the exact hinge.
For Shaker-style doors, check the thickness and width of the outer frame where the cup will sit. The cup and its fixings need enough material around them and must not break through into the thinner centre panel.
Choose the number of hinges using the door’s height, finished weight and the guidance for the hinge model. Include added weight from handles, mirrors or other attached parts.
Blum’s hinge planning guidance relates hinge numbers to door height and weight. Its illustrated guidance is based on doors 600 mm wide, so wider doors need a further check.
Do not assume two hinges will support every door. A tall wardrobe front needs a different assessment from a small wall-cupboard door.
Plan hinge positions around shelves, drawers and cabinet joints. The hinges need a secure fixing position without blocking the storage inside.
A sprung hinge helps pull the door closed. A soft-close hinge also slows the final part of the movement, reducing slamming.
Cworkshop offers sprung CLIP top hinges and CLIP top BLUMOTION versions with soft closing built into the hinge cup. BLUMOTION is useful where cupboards are opened often or you want quieter closing.
Soft closing does not correct a door that rubs against its neighbour. The hinge type, drilling and adjustment still need to be right.
On supported BLUMOTION models, the soft-close action can be switched off at individual hinges to suit a small or light door. Follow the instructions for your hinge rather than removing a hinge the door needs for support.
Push-to-open and soft-close describe different functions. A handleless door needs a suitable opening device and a compatible hinge arrangement.
The TIP-ON BLUMOTION sets listed for MOVENTO and LEGRABOX runners are drawer components. Do not order them as a push-to-open system for a hinged cupboard door.
Confirm the required door fittings before choosing the hinges. A spring that pulls a door shut and a device that pushes it open must be designed to work together.
“Screw-on” and “INSERTA” describe how the hinge cup is secured to the door. “CLIP” describes how the hinge arm attaches to its mounting plate.
With a screw-on hinge, screws secure the cup to the door. This can suit a project where you can drill the required cup hole and pilot holes accurately.
INSERTA uses an expanding fixing mechanism in prepared holes. Once those holes are correctly drilled, the hinge can be secured to the door without tools.
Cworkshop lists 110° BLUMOTION hinges in both screw-on and INSERTA versions. Choose the fixing method before arranging the drilling, as the smaller fixing holes differ.
A screw-on CLIP top hinge can still clip onto its mounting plate without tools. The screws secure it to the door; the clip connects it to the cabinet.
Choose the mounting plate alongside the hinge. The plate’s spacing affects where the door sits, so a plate that clips onto the hinge is not necessarily right for your layout.
Cworkshop lists straight plates and cross-shaped plates, often called cruciform plates. Options include cam adjustment, where turning a screw moves the door up or down.
Check three details before ordering:
Plate spacing: match it to the hinge’s overlay or inset planning drawing.
Fixing method: choose the version intended for your screws, prepared holes and cabinet material.
Adjustment: check how the plate allows you to raise or lower the door.
EXPANDO plates use expanding dowels, while Euro-screw plates use special screws. Both need holes of the specified size and depth. Do not assume their fixing holes match those for ordinary wood screws.
Use the hinge’s adjustment to set the door side to side and forwards or backwards, and the plate to adjust its height as specified. These adjustments help align correctly sized doors; they cannot make up for the wrong hinge or badly placed holes.
Use the drilling drawing for the exact hinge you have chosen. Many concealed hinges use a 35 mm cup hole, but the diameter alone does not tell you where or how deep to drill.
Blum’s 110° hinge planning drawing shows the hole positions and door gaps for that range.
Record:
The cup-hole diameter and depth.
The distance from the finished door edge to the cup hole.
Each hinge’s position from the top or bottom of the door.
The size and position of the smaller fixing holes.
Check whether the drawing measures to the edge or centre of the cup hole. Confusing these gives a different drilling position, even when the same number is used.
For edged panels, allow for the finished edge when setting out the holes. Confirm how panel edgebanding affects the finished door size and the measurements you supply.
If you drill the holes yourself, use a suitable jig and depth stop, and test the setup on a spare piece first. Drilling too deep can damage the visible face.
Cworkshop’s CNC cutting service includes hinge-hole drilling. Supply the hinge details and agreed hole positions before machining begins.
Cworkshop lists nickel-coloured hinges and selected onyx black options. Black fittings can blend into a dark cabinet interior; choose the hinge type and fit before deciding on the colour.
Matching cover caps conceal screws on the hinge arm or around the cup. They tidy the appearance when the door is open but do not change the hinge’s function.
Check the cover’s product code against the hinge. Different arm shapes can need different caps.
The new hinge may need a different cup depth or fixing pattern. Confirm the hinge and plate before drilling, particularly when ordering several identical doors.
A soft-close hinge in the wrong shape can leave the door badly positioned. Decide how the door fits first, then choose the closing feature.
A hinge needs a compatible plate to connect it to the cabinet. Check whether plates and fixing screws are included or need ordering separately.
The door may remain across the opening and block the drawer. Check the open-door clearance before setting the drawer width or ordering the hinges.
A replacement hinge may look similar but need different drilling or plate positions. Compare product codes and drawings, and check that the existing fixing holes are still sound.
Choose the hinges and work out the door gaps before finalising your cutting list. Include each panel’s material, thickness, length, width and quantity.
Mark the hinge side, visible face and grain direction where relevant. For a row of doors, consistent labels help keep the drilling and appearance the right way round.
Rectangular cutting and hinge drilling are separate parts of preparation. Specify both where needed, and leave time for hanging the doors, adjusting the gaps and checking movement after the cabinet is fitted.
Use Cworkshop’s boards cut-to-size service to prepare the doors and cabinet panels for your project.
Cworkshop supplies Blum hinges, mounting plates and cover caps alongside cut-to-size boards. Its CNC service can prepare hinge holes to the positions you specify.
This lets you plan the fittings and panel preparation together. Provide the exact hinge model and drilling details so the machining follows the hardware you intend to use.
Choose cabinet hinges around the door’s position, thickness and weight, then check how far it needs to open. Match the mounting plate and drilling pattern before committing to finished door sizes.
Planning these parts together helps you avoid doors that rub, drawers that cannot open and holes that need reworking. Once the cabinet is fitted, use the hinge adjustments to set even gaps and check the movement.
Browse Cworkshop’s cabinet hinges and fittings to choose the components for your project.
