At first glance, it’s just another kitchen cabinet. Full length, yes. But seamlessly integrated with the rest of the units.
There’s no handle. But with push-to-open latches, that’s nothing unusual these days. The difference here is that you give this particular door a gentle push and, instead of swinging gently outwards, it opens inwards to reveal a hidden walk-in space – a pantry, prep area or utility room.
The use of inward opening doors to partition off adjacent spaces is a growing trend in kitchen design, part of the contemporary aesthetic that favours clean, uninterrupted lines and consistent finishes.
In the past, if you wanted to ‘hide’ a full length entrance way amidst cabinets and panelling, you would need a sliding door system like the Sugatsune MFU1200. But even with this minimalist rail system, you need space for doors to slide into when they open.
By having a swing door opening inwards, you avoid this requirement. You also don’t need any specialised hardware – standard concealed hinges work fine.
The Right Hinge for the Job
Most fitters use standard 35mm cup concealed hinges for inward opening partition doors. You need an inset hinge so the door sits flush with the adjacent cabinet wall, allowing it to open inwards unimpeded.
There is a drawback with this, however. 35mm cup hinges are built for cabinet doors up to 600mm in width. That’s narrow for an access point between two spaces. The UK standard width for interior doors is 762mm.
You can use 35mm hinges with wider doors. But because of the extra weight and torque, you need to use more of them – five or six for a full-length door, rather than the usual three or four. That makes installation trickier. Aligning five or six hinges is difficult. And even then, you’re still using hinges that weren’t designed for the job. With the extra load on them, there’s an increased risk that they will deteriorate and the door will sag.
The solution is to use a heavier duty concealed hinge. At Sugatsune, we take great pride in offering a broad range of different components that are tailor-made to suit specific jobs. We developed the J95 concealed hinge exactly for scenarios like this.
With a 40mm cup and a maximum load capacity of 40kg, the J95 is built for heavier-than-average cabinet doors. But that’s not all. It is also designed for wider doors up to 900mm. Perfect for access points to kitchen annexes.
Using standard 35mm concealed hinges for an inward-opening kitchen partition door means compromising durability and performance for the aesthetic effect you want to achieve. With the J95, there is no such compromise. Purpose built for wider, heavier cabinet doors, it’s the right tool for the job. You get an inward-opening door wide enough to cover an entrance way. A flush, seamless finish. Simple installation. And guaranteeing long-term performance.
