Designers and homeowners alike are excited by the potential of sleek, handle-less kitchen designs that utilise a wide range of materials including metal, stone, composites and nano-tech laminates. With benchtops, cupboards and pull-outs all visually integrated and monolithic, the results can be dramatic.

Many of these new-age materials offer the appealing combination of strength and lightness. Bulky, clunky materials are on the way out. A new-age surface such as Prime Laminate Soft-Matt is outstandingly durable while resisting fingerprints, even in black. Lightweight, durable, handle-less kitchen designs with dark modernistic profiles become a real possibility.

However this trend has been undercut by a lack of fastening systems capable of mounting ultra-thin surfaces. Instead, surfaces have had to be packed out with MDF or another substrate to a depth of at least 16mm.

The good news is that this issue has now been resolved with the new EXPANDO T system from Blum.

EXPANDO T is Blum's first fixing technology for thin-fronted wall cabinets, drawers and pull-outs. Its steel teeth bite into the material of hard fronts while nylon components ensure firm anchorage in soft materials.

The European design world has already recognised this groundbreaking solution by bestowing a number of plaudits, including a Red Dot Award and the prestigious IF Gold Award from Germany. Now it’s New Zealand’s turn to ‘think thin.’