How To Build Your Own Simple Shaker Style Cabinet Doors

Tools and Materials

• Pine boards
• Plywood
• Router
• Circular saw
• Table saw
• Biscuit joiner
• Wooden biscuits
• Clamps
• Wood glue
• Paint or stain
• Sandpaper
• Eye protection
• Gloves
• Mask

I started this project by measuring the openings on my desk that I needed to cover. First I ran the pine boards through my table saw to square up the edges. Then I cut those boards into the appropriate sizes to make rectangular shapes large enough to cover the openings on my desk and leave a small overlap. Before I cut my wood, I put on my safety gear.

I took my biscuit joiner out and used it to create slots at each end of the wood pieces, so they could be joined at the corners. Then I put wood glue in the holes, inserted a wooden biscuit into each slot and pushed the pine frame together, creating the rectangle. Then I clamped the boards tightly in place and set them aside to dry for about an hour.

Shaker style cabinets have a recessed panel on the front, but are flat on the back. So, once the frames were dry, I needed to create a pocket that the center panel would fit into this way. To do this, I used a router and I carved a small ledge all the way around the inside perimeter of my pine frame. Always use caution when working with power tools. When I was done with the router I went over the perimeter again with a chisel and a hammer to remove any last bits of wood and to create square, sharp corners.

Next, I cut the wood for the center of each cabinet door. I created these pieces from plywood. I measured the inside of each individual frame and then cut the plywood to the necessary length and width with my table saw. When the cuts were complete, I was ready for glue.

To attach the plywood centers to the pine frames I simply added glue to the routered edges and spread it around with a brush. Then I placed the plywood center board into the frame firmly and let it dry. I continued this process until all of the cabinet doors were complete.

Now it was time to add the finish to the doors. Depending on your individual design, you could either paint or stain them. I chose paint. I sanded each door down a bit, to make sure there weren’t any rough spots or dried glue leftover. Then I primed and painted the front and back of each door. If you’re going to use stain, you’ll want to lightly sand in between each coat and apply a sealer when the stain is dry.

I'm very pleased with the way these shaker style cabinet doors turned out. It was an easy project that can be adapted to fit furniture, bathroom vanities, and kitchen cabinets. By building your own shaker style doors you could actually update your entire kitchen by simply removing the old, dated cabinet doors and replacing them with these. Plus, since they’re relatively inexpensive to make, it would be an easy way to DIY it on a budget. I hope you found this tutorial helpful and that you'll give it a try. 

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