What is Concealed Hinge?

A concealed hinge – also called a European hinge, cup hinge, or 35mm hinge – is a cabinet hinge that mounts inside the cabinet and is completely hidden from view when the door is closed. It consists of a cup that drops into a round hole drilled in the back of the door, an arm that connects to a baseplate mounted on the cabinet side, and an adjustment mechanism that lets you fine-tune the door position after installation.

In modern cabinetry, the concealed hinge has almost entirely replaced the traditional butt hinge. It enables overlay door styles, hides hardware for a clean appearance, allows post-install adjustment, and integrates soft-close mechanisms that make doors close quietly. Nearly every modern RTA, semi-custom, and custom cabinet line uses concealed hinges.

Key features of concealed hinge

• Hidden when closed: Invisible from outside the cabinet.
• 35mm cup: Drops into a round hole drilled in the door back.
• 6-way adjustable: Door position can be tuned up, down, left, right, in, and out.
• Soft-close option: Built-in damper closes the door quietly.
• Standardized: Most concealed hinges follow European dimensions and are interchangeable across brands.

BuyWholesaleCabinets uses 6-way adjustable concealed soft-close hinges on every cabinet door across the catalog – hidden when closed, adjustable after installation, and quiet on every close.

FAQ

What is the difference between a concealed hinge and a European hinge?

They are the same thing. “European hinge” is the older name, reflecting the fact that this hinge style was developed in Europe and became standard there before the U.S. The terms “concealed hinge,” “cup hinge,” and “35mm hinge” all refer to the same type of hardware.

What does 6-way adjustable mean?

It means the hinge has three adjustment screws, each of which moves the door in two directions. You can move the door up or down, left or right, and in or out (closer to or farther from the cabinet face). This lets you align doors perfectly after installation, even if the cabinet boxes are not perfectly flush.

What is a soft-close hinge?

A soft-close concealed hinge has a small hydraulic damper built into the arm. When the door swings toward the cabinet, the damper engages in the last few inches and slows the closing motion to a quiet, controlled stop – so the door does not slam.

Can I add concealed hinges to existing cabinets?

Only if the doors have or can accept the 35mm cup-hole. If your existing cabinets use butt hinges or other surface-mount hardware, switching to concealed hinges requires drilling new cup-holes in the doors, which is hard to do well without specialized equipment. For most retrofits, the cleaner path is replacing the doors and hinges together.