How to Make Cabinets Deeper

Number the doors and rear boards of all the cabinets to make it easy to remember their locations. Remove the doors of all the cabinets to be made deeper by unscrewing the entire hinge from the side board of the cabinet. Set the doors with hinges still attached aside to be reinstalled later.

Disconnect the side, top and bottom boards from the wall if possible without removing the cabinet rear. Remove the entire cabinet if necessary, and unscrew the cabinet side, top and bottom boards from the rear board. Set the rear boards aside, marking the wall behind them with their number if they are removed.

Measure the height and width of each board to be adjusted, and add the depth that you wish to add to the width measurement for each board. Mark these new dimensions on a new board of the same thickness as the old board. Cut each board out using a saw.

Sand the cut edges of the boards if desired, and then place them back on the rear board and attach them in the same method that the old boards were attached with, using the old mounting brackets as a guide and drilling out all the holes with pilot holes before installing the boards together using the original screws. Repeat to rebuild all of the cabinet frames and attach them on the wall with their original attachment method.

Reposition the cabinet door hinges over the new side boards and mark the location of the hinge holes on the new side boards. Drill out each of the marked holes on the side board and fasten the hinges to the side board by setting the original screws in the holes and tightening them completely with wood screws.