Pro Handyman Blog

Here is a way to really make your cabinets stand out. By installing a piece of glass in place of the solid door panel, you can make an area for display of certain items of your choosing. Maybe you want to display the heirloom serving bowl, a wine selection, or maybe showcase your collection of cookbooks.

Choose a cabinet or two that is in a conspicuous area and remove the door. I wouldn’t do more than 2 cabinet doors as it will diminish the overall effect. You will need a router for this job with a straight cutting bit to remove the panel. The panel typically floats in a mortised groove. You want to remove the back lip only of this groove so that the panel can lift out of the back of the door.

Set the door face down on a soft surface to avoid scratches and make sure you have the depth set correctly on the router. The last thing you want to do is plow through the front of the cabinet, so test the depth on a piece of scrap wood. Clamp the door frame to your work space and look for any signs of metal staples or brads. These will damage your bit and maybe injure you in the process like flying shrapnel.

Start the router and slowly cut through the back lip. Keep an eye out for how wide you need to go to free up the panel. Once you have cut around the perimeter of the panel, the panel may lift out, or you may need to clean up the corners as the router bit will cut a corner as a semi-circle, and the panel is square. You can chisel out the corner if necessary. I generally don’t worry about how the back of the door will appear as the door will remain in a closed position.

With the panel removed, take the frame to a glass shop and select the style of glass you like. There are many choices here: clear glass, wavy, birdseed (little air bubbles), tinted, etc.

With the glass cut, lay down a bead of clear silicone around the perimeter of your groove and push the glass into it. If you like, you can additionally install some plastic clips to hold the glass down, but the silicone works very well. Wait 24 hours and reinstall the door.