How to Turn a Louvered Window Shutter Into a Cabinet Door

Measure the cabinet you want to cover, and find shutters that fit the height and width. Narrow cabinets may need only one door, while wider cabinets may need two.

Scrape off peeling paint with a putty knife, being careful not to scar or gouge the shutters.

Put each shutter on a saw horse or work table, and remove the rabbits with a jigsaw. Rabbits are the edges that extend slightly past the edge of the shutter to help block out light between the two shutters when closed. Cut the strip of wood off, or it may prevent your shutter doors from closing properly.

Fill the old hinge mortises with an epoxy filler and putty knife if they do not line up with where you want the new hinges. Let the epoxy dry. Sand down the epoxy and the cut edge with medium-grit sandpaper. Sand the shutters smooth with a fine-grit paper.

Prime and paint your shutter doors, front and back. Use a paintbrush to brush on the primer, or paint in the direction of the wood grain. The top and bottom part of the door frame should have horizontal grain lines, while the left and right sides should have vertical grain lines. The louver grain lines should be horizontal. Let them dry thoroughly.

Hold the shutters against the open cabinet in place like a door, with the louvers sloping on a downward angle. Determine what level you want to attach the hinges, and then mark the cabinet.

Mark the height of the top hinge 2 to 3 inches below the top edge of the shutter door. Mark the height at the bottom hinge 2 to 3 inches above the bottom edge of the shutter door. If the shutter door will be more than 4 feet tall, make a mark for a third center hinge in the center of the shutter door for extra stability. Make pencil marks on the door where you want to put hinges, a handle or knob.

Hold one wraparound hinge on the side of the cabinet edge. Position the hinge correctly at the level you previously marked. Check that the hinge swings outward in the direction the door will open. Make marks in the open holes to mark where the screws will go. Do this for all the hinges.

Drill pilot holes for the screws into the cabinet. The size of the drill bit used for the pilot holes depends upon how hard the wood you're drilling into is and the size of your screws. A rule of thumb is to use a bit the same diameter as the shank of the screw, which is the solid part on the inside of the threads.

Attach the hinges to the cabinet edges. Hold the shutters up to the hinges, the louvers on the front sloping downward, and mark where the screw holes will go.

Drill pilot holes in the shutters for the screws and the handle or knob. Attach the handle or knob to the door, then attach the door to the cabinet hinges with screws.