How to Add Metal Cabinet Door Inserts

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Have you wondered if you can add metal cabinet door inserts yourself? You can easily remove the existing glass from your cabinet doors and replace it with something else like these perforated metal sheets. I used this style door in my home office builtins and for a custom air return cover.

Metal cabinet door inserts, white kitchen cabinets, Piatto pendant light, wall sconce

Why add metal cabinet door inserts?

  • Visual interest and texture – if you have a room with a lot of solid door cabinets, adding a different door insert will break up the monotony of the same material all around.
  • Conceal the interior – unlike a plain glass door that reveals the contents of the cabinet, a metal insert keeps a less than perfect interior out of sight. It also looks better than glass if your cabinets are empty behind the door (see stacked cabinets in the photo above).
  • Updates old glass – maybe you have a glass insert that has a decorative detail like etching or leaded elements you no longer like and would like to update.
  • Easy DIY – replacing the glass insert with a metal insert is an easy and inexpensive DIY that requires minimal tools and materials.

Tools and materials you need

Check out my comprehensive list of essential DIY tools I use for all my projects!

Step by step tutorial

The existing glass inserts had chicken coup style wire detail which I picked myself and still love. Unfortunately, the glass had a blue color to it which I didn’t love. It gave a cool undertone to my all white kitchen. I had recently updated all the hardware and lighting to brass tones and the blue glass seemed out of place.

Simple Materials Guide

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These are the steps I took to replace the glass inserts in my kitchen cabinets with metal cabinet door inserts.

  1. Remove old glass from door
  2. Trace is on the metal sheet with a pencil
  3. Cut out the tracing with metal cutting scissors
  4. Install the metal insert back in the door opening
    • You may need to make up the difference in thickness by cutting little tabs out of scrap wood
    • Or if your original glass is plain, simply place it behind the metal sheet

Let me know in the comments if you like this style of cabinets. Are you willing to try replacing the glass in your cabinets with metal cabinet door inserts like these? Either way, this is a great place to add some accent lighting!

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