Adding Glass to Kitchen Cabinet Doors

Here’s a simple fix to spice-up the look of your kitchen cabinets. By adding glass to selected cabinet doors you can correct that look-alike uniformity of most kitchens. Solid wood doors on cabinets regardless of how beautiful they are can give a monotonous feel to the room. Glass doors on the other hand offer depth and can keep cabinets from closing the space. With clear glass you can showcase collectibles or fine china.

Skill Level One hammer: Novice
Five hammers: Experienced

Glass falls into three general categories: clear, obscure, and opaque. Obscure glass such as ribbed or pebbled can diffuse the contents of the cabinet. Opaque glass such as sandblasted or frosted hide the interior contents. With opaque glass you can add color similar to a stained glass window, a metal grill, or tin tooled in floral pattern. Let your imagination run wild with this application. Because glass doors are visibly different from solid wood doors, they tend to automatically attract attention. Use them sparingly to create a focal point-upper cabinets that flank a sink or range are attractive options. The upper section of a full wall of cabinets breaks the solidity. Collect examples from magazines and brochures. Visit kitchen showrooms to get more ideas.

For the purpose of this pictorial we used a small stained door, in most cases your doors will be larger (figure 1). Start out by removing all hardware. Choose a drill bit a little larger than the jigsaw blade and drill two holes in opposite corners. Place the blade in the hole and saw one side of the inner panel. Clamp a ruler or a piece of wood as a straightedge to follow giving a clean cut. Using both holes you can saw in both directions cutting to the end of each side (figure 2).

Sand smooth the inner edges. To hide the rebate and leftover panel use real wood trim found at most hardware stores, 13/16″ wide works the best. Use wood glue and clamp to secure it to the door (figure 3). If your door is laminate use this material in place of the wood trim.

If you plan to stain your door, sand to bare wood. If you plan to paint, sand enough to hold the paint. After you’ve treated the door it’s time to install the glass. When buying glass (1/8″ thick) add 5/8″ to all sides of the opening to hide the mounting clamps. Mount the glass with 1/8″ mirror hangers. Center the glass to the opening and mark where the hangers will go. Pre-drill and screw the hangers in place (figure 4).

Now admire your handiwork (figure 5). Re-install all the hardware to your doors and re-mount. This is a good time to update the doorknobs. The styles of door hardware these days range from vintage, to plants, people, fruit-shop around for the look you want. Your kitchen now should have a completely different look.

Throw a party to show-off your new kitchen.

Tools & Materials: Drill, bits, jigsaw and blade, clamps, scissors, wood glue, screw driver, wood trim, 1/8″ mirror hangers, wood screws.