Can we talk about European hinges vs American cup hinges? I visited a shop in Portland last week and it got me thinking.

I was at a custom cabinet shop in Portland last Thursday helping a friend pick out hardware. The owner there only uses European hinges, says American cup hinges are outdated and harder to adjust. But I've been using American cup hinges for 15 years and never had a complaint from customers. He argued European hinges are faster to install and give a cleaner look. I see his point but I worry about durability and replacement parts down the road. What do you all think? Which side are you on?

2 comments

2 Comments

gonzalez.vera27d ago

Funny you mention Portland, I was there last summer and stopped by this odd little hardware store that sold nothing but antique pulls and hinges from old Victorian houses (they had bins of them sorted by decade). The guy running it swore by European hinges for modern cabinets but said the American ones have a certain charm if you're going for a rustic look. I guess it really depends on what kind of cabinets you're building and how much you care about swapping parts in ten years.

adam_thomas27d ago

I mean... are we really overthinking hinges this much?