Creating your own cabinet doors for premade storage cabinet base is a great way to save money. Both premade and custom built door fronts can be the most expensive part of a cabinet makeover. Cabinets give you the advantage of using your walls to increase storage space without cluttering the floor, but comes at a cost. However, you can save money while still being able to create the storage space you need by making your own cabinet door fronts using some plywood and wainscoting.
When you compare the prices of each of the components of wall storage, you will notice that the most expensive part happens to be the cabinet fronts or doors. But the good news is, you do not necessarily have to purchase these premade doors cabinet doors. You can buy the base storage separately from the doors themselves.
In This Post
Overview of DIY Cabinet Door Fronts
While stores like Home Depot and Lowes offer sections of wall cabinetry, they are generally a plain design that automiatcally comes with a door. You can choose to buy these and replace the doors with your own design.
However, we recommend using the Sektion line from IKEA, which provides affordable, flexible, and configurable components for your space. With IKEA, you also get the benefit of buying each part of the cabinet separately and won't have any extra doors if you don't want to.
We chose to not fully paint because I was in a rush. However, the front looks great and no one is the wiser.
Affordable Cabinet Bases
Here is a collection of some inexpensive cabinet bases that you can buy without the doors to help you cut the costs and also customize your doors. These are chosen from experience. We created our craft room storage using the IKEA Sektion kitchen cabinet line.
Here's what the cabinet bases look like before the doors are added on.
Sektion Wall Cabinet Frames
These are pretty, rectangular wall cabinet frames that come separately without doors and are white. They are super spacious and come at just $49 each depending on the size that you get.
Sektion Corner Wall Cabinet Frames
This cabinet is great for using the corners of your room more efficiently. Sektion Corner Wall Cabinet Frames are especially useful in kitchens for storing utensils. You can use them for an L-shaped or U-shaped corner. They come at just $58 each. I like this one, but it is deep. Depending on where you position it, you may need to have a stool for those that need to reach back really far.
Sektion High Cabinet Frame
This cabinet frame is long and sleek in design, perfect for storing bottles, jars, plates, kitchen appliances, cleaning gear, etc. The dimensions for this cabinet are 18x24x90 inches. Each of these cabinet frames costs $98.
While we didn't completely finish the doors, that's okay. Here's what it looks like up close.
Accessories for Custom DIY Cabinet Doors
Utrusta Hinges With Damper
With IKEA hinges, you will be sure that your DIY cabinet doors fit right into the cabinet frames. The clean design will look good and it is also highly functional. You pay $24 per 2 pack.
Cabinet Door Front Material Considerations
When building your cabinet door, you can choose plywood or wainscoting depending on the room the cabinet doors are being placed in.
Kitchen
If you are placing them in the kitchen, I would recommend solid wood and making sure that you have a good paint, stain, and/or coat to protect the wood. Since the kitchen is one of the public spaces of your home, you want this space to look great.
Bathroom
Similar to the bathroom, if this is a public space, make sure you have some protectant on it. Further, for a bathroom, you want to make sure that you have solid wood or plywood for this space to account for moisture that comes with the bathroom. Wainscoting your door fronts is also an option because it can protect the doors from moisture.
Office or Craft Room
Since the office or craft room is not seen by anyone other the homeowner, you could potentially use other material like wainscoting to make your custom fronts. This allowed us to get the look of shiplap without having to go through the hassle of cutting the wood pieces and putting them all together. These boards are much cheaper than wood and also come with benefits such as water resistance.
Design Considerations
Finger Grooves
Determine how you'll want to open the cabinet doors. If you want to avoid the additional costs of hardware, you can use a router bit to create finger grooves. Just a word to the wise: If you plan on using a matte finish, I would highly consider how frequent this cabinet door will open. The oils on fingers tend to appear much more apparent on matte finishes versus semi-gloss or gloss coating.
Dampers and Hinges
The IKEA dampers and hinges are amazingly effective. I absolutely LOVED using these. They were high quality and allowed the doors to not slam shut when they were closed.
Overall, the hardware is great and easy to install, especially with the predrilled holes on the bases!
Shelving
Shelving from IKEA are pre-drilled, which allows you to save time. While the shelves are a bit on the expensive side (as compared to buying your own wood pieces and painting them), I find that buying the cabinet bases pre-drilled with precut wood makes it worth the price.
How To Build Custom Cabinet Doors
Installing your DIY cabinet doors is going to be super easy and highly cost-effective! In this tutorial, you will find out all the considerations on making your own cabinet doors.
Here are the few things you'll need that I would highly recommend having before you start.
DIY Cabinet Doors
Learn how to make your own custom cabinet doors that are affordable and saves money. You can use plywood or wainscoting to make these doors.
Materials
- Paintable Caulk
- Wood Glue
- MDF Wainscoting Panel
- 2" x 3/4" Dimensional Pine Wood
- Paint
- Sealer
- Spray Gun
- Cabinet hardware (optional)
Tools
- Router Bits (Tongue and Groove)
- Clamps
- Saw Horses
- Screwdriver (optional)
Instructions
- You have to start with measuring your furniture. Measure the cabinet frames and keep a track of the number of doors that you will require. Measure the outside dimensions for the door and design the overlap for the grooves. In the case of shaker doors, you need to keep track of two perpendicular trim positions with the standard top to bottom form.
- To measure the beaded board, you have to subtract the measurement of the trim from that of the cabinet door. Next, you need to add the measurements of the tongue and groove to that of the beaded board. Once your measurements are ready, you need to cut the trim accordingly. Fix the table on a surface with planks, find a straight edge, and use a skill saw to cut the beaded board.
- You need to use the router and the tongue and groove bit to work on the side of the trim that you just cut. Similarly, work on the other side. Ensure that your cut beaded board fits perfectly into the groove that you created.
- If your doors are not going to have handles, you need to cut in the finger grooves. Determine the position of the finger groove handles. Opt for the center of the door’s edge. Now cut out a groove in the door panel using a router, and your finger groove is ready! This is what the groove should look like.
- Use wood glue to stick the panels together and clamp your doors overnight using wood clamps. Caulk the edges where the wood and the panel meet to fill.
- Paint your doors using a spray gun by setting them on saw horses. Complete two coats and add a sealant as needed.
- Add your hardware onto the pre-drilled holes on your base cabinet frames. Now fix the door onto the frame to determine where the screws will fit and mark these areas. Take the help of a screwdriver to create the required holes on the doors.
- All you have to do next is to paint your doors and allow them to dry. Once that is done, you can fix your doors in place and your DIY cabinet doors are done!
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Painting Tips for DIY Cabinet Door Fronts
After you build your cabinet doors, you have got to paint them. There isn’t much to be said in this regard, but here are a couple of guidelines to consider when you begin the painting job.
- You need to prime the surface of the door on both sides before you can proceed with the paint.
- After priming is done, you need to allow the surface to dry completely.
- Paint the door one side at a time.
- Use semi-gloss paint for painting and remember to apply a second coat of the paint after one coat has dried. Repeat the same for the other side.
- You must give the paint time to dry and cure for at least two days on each side before you proceed with fixing them onto the cabinets.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are some of the most asked questions I get about the cabinet doors that we custom made for our spaces.
Making your cabinet doors is quite an easy process when you stick to the instructions. You will need some skill when it comes to using a router and miter saw, but that is pretty much it.
Making your cabinet doors will cut your total costs and also allow you to decide the look of the cabinet fronts. You can take on this DIY project by yourself along with help from family members, and you will not need to hire a professional.
You can surely use your custom hardware to screw in your DIY cabinet doors into your IKEA cabinet box. However, one thing you need to mind is that the holes made on the hardware for holding the screws match positions with the pre-drilled holes on your IKEA cabinet. If your hardware is compatible with IKEA cabinets then you can surely go with it!
The material of DIY cabinet doors will depend on the utility of the cabinets and also on the spot where they will end up. For example, if your cabinets are for your kitchen, they will require to be water-resistant because the cabinets will be in contact with water. The wood is likely to soak up all the water and moisture and that can result in your doors caving inwards or outwards.
For kitchen or bathrooms, you should opt for pre-treated or water-resistant wood or other materials that won’t soak up moisture. For any other living space, you can opt for whichever material suits you best.
Wrapping Up Tips for Custom Door Fronts
Making your own cabinet doors might seem like a huge side project to take on. However, if you take on the process step-by-step, you will find that it is not all that difficult. If you can use a router and a miter saw well, you will be all set!
The greatest joy of customizing and rebuilding your furniture is that you get to decide how it looks. Added to this is the knowledge that you are going to save a lot of money when you opt for DIY cabinet doors, even though IKEA furniture itself is generally pretty affordable.
More IKEA Home Decor Inspiration
- IKEA Sektion Door Hack
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- IKEA Alex Desk Riser (Raise Height)
- Craftroom Ideas with IKEA Furniture
- DIY Shelving with 2x4
- IKEA Desk Cable Management
- Add Legs to IKEA Furniture
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- How to Drill Hole in Ikea Linnmon Craft Table
- Add Legs to IKEA Furniture
- Vinyl Sheet Storage for Cost Savings
- DIY Cabinet Doors with IKEA Storage Base
Vance
They look good .. i made my own kitchen and bath doors and built an extra small broom closet on the side of the cabinet painted it all white with black handles and black wrap around hinges