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Cabinet Door Makeover

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Instructions
outside and inside of cabinet doors

From the outside of the doors, you'd never know this was a simple DIY project.

Photo © Wayne Shielly
  1. Remove your cabinet doors from the cabinet. On most hinges, you'll need a screwdriver.

  2. Drill a pilot hole for the jigsaw on the edge of the panel, as close to the frame as you can get without damaging it.

  3. Place your cabinet door outside up, so you can follow the shape of the panel.

  4. Using the pilot hole to start, cut out your panel with the jigsaw, following the lines of the panel. If you don't have a lot of jigsaw experience, try some practice cutting on a scrap before you put the saw to your cabinet door.

  5. Using the cut out panel as a pattern, cut your chicken wire. Make it about 1.5 inches larger than the opening, or as large as the frame will allow if that's too big.

  6. Use a staple gun to attach the chicken wire panel to the cabinet door frame. Don't skimp on staples. Your panels need to be firmly attached to the frame.

  7. Add string lights or a light strip. Wayne chose inexpensive hardware store plug-in light strips to the cabinets, to really highlight his new exposed cabinet interiors. Follow the installation instructions on your light kit, but be prepared to drill a small hole through each shelf for the wire. It needn't be a large hole if you choose a light kit with a plug that attaches to the wire after installation.

  8. Reattach the cabinet doors to the cabinets.

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