When we decided to add secondhand cabinets to our kitchen, we knew finding matching doors would be a challenge. Although only five doors were missing, matching them to the rest of the kitchen was important for a seamless, cohesive look. Here are the five doorless cabinets we needed to address:
We considered several approaches to achieve a fully matched set of doors. Listed here from most to least expensive:
- Replace all doors and drawer fronts across the entire kitchen.
- Order custom-made matching doors for only the cabinets that need them.
- Repurpose and cut down extra doors we already had from the cabinets we’d taken down.
Option one—replacing every door—was tempting because we love a classic shaker style (like the doors we used in our previous kitchen):
After pricing doors from retailers and online cabinet manufacturers, option one looked like it could cost $2,000–$3,000, which pushed us to explore other routes.
Option two—ordering a few custom doors—was significantly less expensive, but our cabinets present a unique challenge. They’re solid, custom oak framed cabinets with partial inset doors. That means each door partially sits inside the cabinet frame and partially over it, creating a snug, puzzle-like fit. Because they’re custom, finding replacement doors that match the size, depth, and inset detailing is extremely difficult.
We checked standard suppliers, and none offered the partial inset style with the same edge detailing. We then contacted the original cabinet maker, Quaker Made, who referred us to a local repair craftsman. He quoted about $800 to make the new doors—reasonable, but more than we hoped to spend when we had extra doors on hand that might be adapted.
So we decided to try option three: modifying spare doors. If that didn’t work, we could still order custom doors. We prefer to reuse what we have when it makes sense, so we broke out the power tools.
All of the spare doors were too large for their new positions. Because the doors have raised borders, inner panels, and an inset perimeter edge, I couldn’t simply trim the exterior. I needed to remove material from the middle of the door to preserve those features.
To make straight, clean cuts I used a table saw (we use an affordable Skil table saw that handles this kind of work well). Two cuts removed an interior section, leaving two halves that, when joined, produced the correct door height.
To join the halves, I made pocket holes with a Kreg jig, clamped the pieces, applied wood glue, and used heavy-duty screws designed for pocket joinery. Wiping away glue squeeze-out as I went kept the seams clean.
For the doors above the fridge I had to cut and rejoin in both directions because the spare doors were both too tall and too wide. Once reassembled and rehung with hinges, the fit was far better than I expected. I was relieved—this approach had a real chance of saving us several hundred dollars.
Visually, the joins didn’t look perfect at first, but wood putty, careful sanding, and a self-leveling primer before painting can make seams and hairline cracks disappear. We’ll also reposition the knobs to a better location and fill screw holes on the back with putty so the finished doors look professional.
The process wasn’t fast. The first two doors and a test door took a full morning, and other doors required trims and recuts to accommodate the inset edge so they fit snugly but not too tight.
The microwave cabinet door was simpler because I repurposed the door that originally belonged to a taller cabinet and only needed to remove a few interior inches.
That one only took about an hour. I measured carefully and cut conservatively—better to remove less and tweak than to cut too much and have to rebuild.
The corner cabinet was the trickiest. It came with bifold doors and hidden hinges that wouldn’t match our inset style. We briefly considered installing a pie-cut lazy susan but decided against it to preserve the wide open storage. First, I repaired hinge notches in the frame by jigsawing replacement pieces and screwing them in place, knowing wood putty will help hide imperfections when painted.
The simplest solution we arrived at for that corner was to create two smaller doors hinged on opposite sides. It took additional time to get the fit right, but the result preserves full access to the wide shelves and keeps the look consistent with the rest of the kitchen.
Overall, the process took longer than expected because of careful measuring, trimming, and fitting, but the doors now close smoothly and feel solid. Using pocket screws and wood glue created strong, permanent joints with no flex—important for joining solid oak pieces so they stand up to long-term use.
Next steps are filling seams and screw holes with wood putty, thorough sanding, priming with a self-leveling primer, and painting. If the repaired doors don’t meet our expectations after finishing, we still have the option to order custom replacements for about $800—but for now, the DIY route should deliver a much more affordable, durable result.
We’re excited to see how the painted doors blend in. There’s still trim work to finish—toe-kick, window sill, and other details—but once painting is complete the kitchen should look cohesive and refreshed. Realistically, with puttying, sanding, and drying times, we probably won’t have the painted update finished before the holidays, but we’re making steady progress.
