Kitchen Cabinets--Glass or no Glass?

By Jim Mallery
RefacingCabinet.com Columnist

If you are upgrading your kitchen cabinets--at least the doors--a little glass can add pizzazz to the plan. Here are six tips to consider when you add glass to your kitchen cabinet doors.

1. Too much? Maybe you have visited friends who proudly display the bank of glass in their kitchen cabinets. Unfortunately, they're also display what's behind them--Cheerios, Wheaties, baking soda, prescription drugs, maybe non-prescription drugs. You need to leave a good amount of cabinet space behind solid doors so that sundry items and unmentionables stay out of sight. Even if the glass is frosted, you can still see the cereal boxes behind the door. Glass is for your display cabinets.
2. Placement. Balance is good--a couple glass panels on one side of the kitchen and a couple on the other side. Corner cabinets always look good with glass doors. Seldom does glass look good in the base cabinets.
3. Styles. You can find more styles of glass than sand at the beach, from clear to opaque, fluted, frosted, etched, and sketched. The choices can drive you crazy. If you want to show off outstanding items behind the doors, stick with clear or mostly clear glass, maybe with a beveled edge. Don't fog the items with frosted glass or distort them with ripples.
4. Door style. Something to mull over--do you want mullions, the narrow strips of wood that you can use to crosshatch the door. Or do you want a simple, full frame of glass.
5. Extras. Many custom cabinetmakers do not supply the glass. They just give you the doorframe, with the backside rabbetted for the glass inset. You have to purchase the glass separately and install it. Installing the glass is simple, though a little tedious--just lay a thin bead of clear silicone sealer around the rabbet, set the glass in and let it cure. You can clean smudges of silicone on the glass with mineral spirits when it is wet, or with a razor after it has cured. Manufacturers of pre-made kitchen cabinets usually supply the glass for their doors. Remember to check whether or not the glass is included in the cabinet price.
6. Lights. If feasible, install lighting inside the cabinets to enhance the display. If you are replacing cabinets, or if the construction is new, it should be easy to run power inside the cabinet.

It's clear, a little glass in your doors can add oodles to your cabinet makeover. But be reflective, be selective.

About The Author

Jim Mallery, a semi-retired journalist and onetime registered contractor, has extensive experience remodeling, repairing and rebuilding homes.