DIY: How to Transform Old Cabinet Doors into Shaker Doors

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Looking to update your builder-grade cabinets? Then you’ve come to the right place! All of my cabinets are the original oak builder-grade cabinets, and throughout the years I’ve tried my best to update them with paint and hardware. But that doesn’t compare to updating them with new more modern cabinets, unfortunately that’s out of my budget.

So, I’m doing the next best option, I’m updating what I have with new trim, paint, and hardware to get the shaker cabinet look I love.

How to Transform Old Cabinet Doors into Shaker Doors

The nice thing with most builder-grade cabinets it that the back/interior side is flat. So instead of building brand new doors, or having them custom made, just flip the existing door over and add trim to create the shaker look. Sounds pretty simple right?

Here’s how to build shaker cabinets with trim and paint.

Build Materials:

• (3) 1/4″ thick, 2.25″ x 8′ wood moulding strips, this will depend on cabinet door size and amount of doors, but 2 .25″ wide is about a standard size for the shaker trim.
• Wood Glue
• Power Drill
• Nail Gun
• 1″ and 2″ finish nails
• Caulking, Wood filler, fine sanding block

Paint Materials:

• Wagner Flexio 3000 Sprayer
• Primer, I used Dunn-Edwards Ultra Grip Primer
• Interior Semi-Gloss Paint, Dunn-Edwards Cool December (DEW383)
• Kraft Paper or Plastic
• Painters Tape

Build & Paint Steps:

1. Remove the existing doors, front panel, and all hardware. Flip the doors over and measure and cut the 2.25″ wood strips to size. You’ll need to be as accurate as possible here to make them look good.

For the front panel I ended up making an entire new piece. Unfortunately, when I was removing it from my cabinet base it broke. But, if you’re able to remove it cleanly you can also use the original front.

2. Next, apply wood glue and 1″ finishing nails to the doors & front.

3. Then fill the holes and any blemishes with wood filler, as well as use painters caulk to fill the joints. Do this on both the doors and cabinet base. Once it dries, lightly sand everything till smooth.

4. Next, to give the cabinet base a more custom built-in look I decided to add additional moulding to the toe kick. The original had nothing and looked pretty boring. For this I used 1″ thick 4″x6′ wood moulding.

5. Start prepping for paint by taping everything off with Kraft paper. Even though I’ll be using my Wagner Flexio 3000 Sprayer with the Detail Finish Nozzle, you want to prepare for possible over-spray.

6. I then used my Wagner Flexio 3000 Sprayer with the Detail Finish Nozzle for both the primer and paint. I share much more on how to use the Wagner Flexio 3000 Sprayer over on Wagner’s Blog here.

7. I sprayed my doors first followed by my cabinet base. Each got 1 coat of primer and 2-3 coats of the semi-gloss paint.

8. Once everything was dried I started to assemble my cabinet back together. For the doors I used the original hinges and just painted them in the same cabinet color. But for my new front panel I attached it to my base with 2″ nails from inside.

This part was a little tricky and you might need extra hands to help.

9. Finally, I added new cabinet black knobs to match my existing finishes.

Here’s the after of my updated bathroom vanity!

I’m beyond ecstatic how it turned out! Nothing worse than attempting a DIY project that turns out horribly, but this bathroom vanity makeover was a success in my books! So much so, I plan to update both my other bathrooms in the same way.

A weekend worth of work, and I have a much needed bathroom makeover complete. What’s even better is how professional the paint looks. The Detail Finish Nozzle on the Wagner Flexio 3000 Sprayer was an absolute must for this project, and the final outcome proves it.

Shop Supplies Here:

Head on over to Wagner’s Blog here to learn more on how to use the Wagner Flexio 3000 Sprayer. Plus, make sure to check back for more home updates. Enjoy!