Kitchens are one of our favorite places to congregate, to spend time, and to enjoy friends and family. Considering how much time we spend in the kitchen, it’s only predictable that a lot of time (and money) is also spent thinking about renovations to the area, with kitchen cabinet ideas and inspiration being arguably the hottest topic on the table. We all think about changing colors, adding kitchen gizmos, and showcasing modern trends, but there’s one big problem — buying all-new cabinets is expensive, and many homeowners are scared that replacing the doors on their own might not work.
Well, what if it’s not as hard as it looks? As a master woodworker, I’m here to tell you that yes, it’s very possible that your cabinets are built in such a way that you can simply replace the cabinet doors and drawer fronts without doing a total upgrade … as long as you have frameless “Euro” cabinets.
On frameless cabinets there is no face frame, and the doors are mounted to the interior walls of the cabinet. Because of that, you see very little of the cabinet boxes, and the doors are the hero of the look. Most of the time they have a ½” overlay on the box, leaving a ¼- or 1/8″ reveal between the doors. That makes replacing the doors fairly easy, and the same is true of the drawer fronts as well. In addition, the frameless hinges (Euro style) also make this upgrade situation more manageable. That said, if your cabinets are older — in which case, they may use 3/8″ lip doors or even full inset doors – I would not recommend a DIYer take this task on. Once you’ve confirmed you have Euro cabinets, though, let’s make this happen.
Before you take off the old cabinets, consider which ones you’re putting on to replace them
Now that you have confirmed that your cabinet doors can be replaced, you need to take the next step and decide what kind of doors you want. What species, for example? Maple, oak, or hickory? What style doors are you interested in? Shaker style kitchen cabinets, for example, are never out of style. Or perhaps traditional raised panels with cathedral panel shapes? Prefinished or raw wood? It’s up to you.
The drawer fronts you will be using to replace the existing fronts should match the style of door you are selecting. Are you thinking of painting the wood cabinets or using a clear finish to show off the wood grain? Another question you may have is about replacing the Euro hinges on the cabinets. There are some new self-closing or soft-closing options which improve the user experience. Thankfully, because of the nearly uniform style of Euro hinges, you can usually trade them out for the newer options.
There are scores of cabinet door companies out there, but I recommend deciding on which company you will be using before you measure the doors being replaced. They may have some specific way that they want the measurements listed. Another detail to consider: Do you want the doors pre-drilled for the hinges? It will cost you a bit more, but it will certainly save you time and effort, if you’re not a woodworker like me. If not, there are several drilling jigs for sale that will locate the hinge mortises for you and save you a dollar or two. In the same way, there are jigs that help you properly drill mounting holes for the hinge plate on the inside of the cabinet.
Now, let’s mount the doors onto the kitchen cabinet
Mounting the doors is the most technical aspect of this DIY task, and for that reason I recommend that you get a friend to help you. Unless you’re an octopus, you simply don’t have enough hands to hold the door, mark the mounting plate positions, and then drill the holes. If you were working on cabinets that had not been installed yet, you can get this done by yourself, but with replacing the doors on existing cabinets, you are fighting gravity.
After mounting the doors, pop them off the cabinet and put a finish on them. Yes, I like to finish them after mounting. Why? In case I scratch them or cause a blemish. Mounting the drawer fronts is not difficult, but I like to put a finish on them before I screw them in place.
You may be wondering about the expense of replacing your doors and drawer fronts compared to purchasing all new cabinets and having them installed. The answer is … it depends. If you would be happy purchasing some very inexpensive low-quality cabinets, you might be surprised that the two costs are close to one another. If you want good quality cabinets, then replacing the doors and drawer fronts will be much less expensive than a whole new set. With that said, the cost per door can vary significantly. You can find nice doors starting as low as $15 a door, all the way up to over $100 bucks per door. That can add up quickly. The more work you do yourself (drilling, painting, etc.) the lower the cost of each door will be. Overall, that means the door cost is up to you, and how much work you want to put into it.
