Cupboard Stays – What is a Cupboard Stay?

A cupboard stay would be generally be used for holding, or soft closing cupboard door or lid – a good example of which can be found in a lot of modern kitchens which have overhead cupboards that you lift the door up and then the door locks in the position while you get what you need before you then gently push or pull the door back to soft close it. Stays work alongside hinges to offer this locking position when you open, and can be used individually on lighter doors, or as pairs for heavier wood doors. Stays can also be found on things like children’s toy boxes or glass display cabinets. 

There are three main types of stay used:

Soft Close Stays

Often classed as the top of the range option, this soft close stay is very similar to the locking stay but after it has locked at the top and you apply some pressure to push it back down, you can simply let go, as the stay will then slowly release the door in a smooth motion until it’s fully closed. These are often used on children's toy boxes and the soft close feature aims to protect fingers from being trapped.

Friction Stay

A friction stay requires manual closing –it has a built in brake function which means once you stop pushing it open it will then hold its position until pressure is applied to push the door back the other way.  Once the door is opened you can then simply push it back down to close.

Locking Stay

The locking stay is a simple stay that would only hold the door when it is fully open, which means it has to get all the way to the top before it locks into position, then once its locked it can be closed again by manually pushing the door back down.