Manufacturers are always on the lookout for innovative fixtures and fittings which give customers more options when it comes to the style and functionality of their spaces. Increasingly, those helping design and install customers’ dream kitchens are being called upon to maximise access to, and room within, cabinetry, to make use of all available space.
To assist, Häfele has available the Free family – a range of hinge-less and hinged flap-type fittings which eliminate the need for large, space consuming cover caps. Available in a variety of options to suit kitchens of different sizes, heights and depths, the collection has already won several international awards and is becoming a must-have fitting for kitchens where space is a premium.
Designed using Häfele’s extensive knowledge of the furniture manufacturing market, the Free family places user-friendly functionality at the heart of its design and has undergone extensive testing to ensure high quality and durability. It offers the option to either tilt, lift, fold or swivel cabinet doors into a fixed open position, depending on the available space, ensuring users are able to reach deep into the chassis from all angles.
The fittings are simply clip mounted to cabinets using a single pre-mounted conventional screw connection on the side walls for quick assembly, and each offer different weight and angle capabilities. They are available in standard colours – white, light grey and anthracite, and in black as a special order product – to match most kitchen cabinet designs.
The Free family, made up of the Space, Fold, Flap, Up, Swing, Maxi and Duo are available with either a soft close mechanism or as a touch opening for handle-less panels. Electric options are also available for soft close and push to open versions. Each offers even more space within a kitchen compared to traditional hinges, and presents individual benefits so can be cherry picked to suit a customer’s specific requirements.
Free Flap, for example, is best suited to flap doors at medium or low heights, where there is little space available upwards of the cabinet, and for those with compact dimensions and shallow depths. Free Up is tailored for kitchens where there is little space available to move a cabinet door outwards; instead, it’s suited to chassis with overhead fronts and additional ceiling room height. Free Fold is perfect for cabinets where taller fronts are used to conceal multiple internal shelves, while the Free Swing offers elegant movement, extending the profile backwards by almost 180˚ to make slim spaces above cabinets more functional.
Meanwhile, Free Space has been recognised by world leading award programmes which have highlighted the product for its distinctive but functional properties. It achieved a special award with the globally-renowned Red Dot Award and was presented as a ‘world first’ when it achieved the interzum award for ‘High Product Quality’ in 2019. It has since gone on to win the German Design Award and German Innovation Award, in 2020.
The Free family has already inspired hundreds of thousands of designers and manufacturers to think differently about hinge work. Manufacturers who want to play a part in transforming the way customers use their kitchens in the future are already benefitting from Free, and we’re confident it will continue to lead the way in flap fittings for a long time to come.
