Glass Cabinet Doors – Buying & Installation Guide

Updated on: September 02, 2021

Adding glass to your cabinets can make a big impact on the look of your kitchen. It is an inexpensive way to totally revamp the look of your space without adding too much effort or budget to your kitchen remodel. Here are a few things to consider if you’re thinking about adding glass inserts to your cabinet doors.

What to Check for When Buying Your Glass Door Cabinets

1. Do the cabinets come with the glass from the manufacturer? Or do they come prepared for glass from the manufacturer and then you have to buy your own glass?

2. Make sure that the cabinet interior is finished the same color that the door is finished so that you can see through the glass and it matches the door.

Why Wouldn't Manufacturers Include Glass?

Typically, kitchen cabinet companies do not include the glass. The main reason for this is that there are thousands of different styles of glass now that people are interested in using for their kitchen. Therefore, most kitchen cabinet manufacturers will just prepare the door, which is done by cutting out the center panel and finishing the interior of the cabinet.

Common choices are frosted glass, glass with etched designs, glass with stainless steel inserts, glass with copper inserts, and other combinations of inserts and styles. Clear glass isn't used as frequently as it once was, so many companies do not include the glass with the cabinets.

How to Install Glass into Cabinet Doors

Installing glass into the cabinet door can be accomplished in many ways. Often, the back of the cabinet door will have small carve spots where you can attach tiny clips that screw into the style and rail of the door. The clips pin the back of the glass to the cabinet door. However, this method of installing glass is becoming a little less common. Many installers now just use a clear silicone to bead the outside of edge of the glass on the back of the door.

The advantage of beading with a clear silicone is that it helps keep the glass from rattling. When traditional style clips are used, the glass may rattle when the door shuts because it’s not as tight as it should be. The glass could potentially break as well.

For a more detailed guide and step-by-step instructions on how you can update kitchen cabinets with glass inserts, HGTV provides a great how-to resource.

For ideas on glass cabinet doors and how can use them to make your space look beautiful, check out our photo gallery to see how our customers used glass inserts in their cabinets!