My old boss in Denver swore by 1/8 inch gaps for drawer fronts, but I think it looks sloppy

Three years ago, I was working for a high-end shop where the owner insisted on a full 1/8 inch reveal around every drawer front. He said it was 'for expansion' and wouldn't budge. Last month, I finished a kitchen where I used a 1/16 inch gap, and the client said it looked like one solid piece of furniture, which was the whole point. That old rule just makes things look cheap and disconnected to me now. What's the smallest gap you guys feel comfortable with for a painted maple front?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam18625d ago

Guess your old boss never got the memo that drawers can look good and still move. A 1/16 gap is totally fine for painted maple, it just needs a quality finish. Did he also leave big gaps in his logic?

samreed25d ago

What finish did he think was good enough?

casey26825d agoProlific Poster

Had a boss like that once, samreed. He wanted everything jammed tight, no room for paint. It always stuck. I started using a 1/8 spacer block on every drawer during dry fits. After a good sanding and three coats of Benjamin Moore Advance, they slide perfect and look seamless. The gap is there, you just don't see it. He never even noticed the change.