DIY: Kitchen Cabinets With Tinted Plexiglass

Kitchen cabinets serve as the basis for many redecorating possibilities. One creative idea involves opening the center of the cabinet door to install tinted plexiglass panes. The result adds light and color into your kitchen at the same time, with the safety of plexiglass. The acrylic sheets are less expensive than glass. But they do scratch more easily, so be careful as you install them. Plexiglass or glass panels look best on the top cabinets, or at least a few of the top cabinets if you don’t want to change every door.

Screwdriver
Putty knife
Jigsaw
Electric drill
120-grit sandpaper
Silicone caulk
Mirror-mounting clips
Masking tape

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the cabinet doors from their hinges using a screwdriver. Take them outside to an work area where you can install the plexiglass.
- 2
  Inspect the panels on the front of the cabinet doors. Some are glued in place. With a bit of careful prying with a putty knife, you can remove the panel without any cutting. Others are cut to look like a raised or inset panel, and these must be cut with a jigsaw.
- 3
  Drill a hole into the bottom edge of the panel, making sure not to drill into the outer frame of the cabinet door. Slide a jigsaw blade through the hole and slowly cut out the panel, keeping straight lines along the edges. Remove the inside panel.
- 4
  Sand the inside of the opening with 120-grit sandpaper to clean up any rough edges. Turn the cabinet face down on a flat work surface.
- 5
  Cut a piece of plexiglass to cover the opening. Run a bead of silicone caulk around the edge and press the acrylic pane in place.
- 6
  Hold the pane in place using mirror-mounting clips. Mark their placement with a pencil and drill pilot holes into the cabinet to keep from cracking the wood. Mark the depth of the screws on your drill bit with a piece of masking tape. Screw the clips in place and tighten gently.
- 7
  Attach the cabinet doors to the base hinges.

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