Kitchen cabinet drawers are a really easy way to organize your kitchenware as they slide in and out effortlessly. However, if you are making them yourself, or installing a new front on an existing drawer, you must be meticulous with the measurements or it can affect the movement. Let’s first start with everything you may need to create kitchen cabinet drawer fronts by yourself.
Kitchen cabinet drawer hardware
Kitchen cabinet drawer hardware includes the following: Cabinet drawer slides, cabinet knobs, cabinet handles or cabinet pulls and bolts. Depending on the slides you want, you can choose from undermount slides, ball bearing slides, roller bearing slides, file drawer slides, pencil drawer slides etc. For example, if you have a large drawer for stacking dishes etc., then you should go for file drawer slides. It’s easy to choose the right slides for your drawer with a little guidance from your local hardware store.
Knobs can be fancy or simple bar pulls depending on the style of your kitchen. Drilling machine, table saw, chop saw, radial arm saw, orbital sander, router, clamps, nuts and bolts etc. are the necessary hardware items you need for such a job, so keep them handy.
It works on your kitchen cabinet drawers
Now you can start working on your kitchen cabinet drawers. In order to get a new kitchen cabinet drawer front, you can follow the steps below:
1. The drawer front size needs to be measured. Once you have the exact measurements, cut the length of the wood using a radial arm saw and the width using a table saw.
2. Once you have cut each end with a router, use a sander to smooth the imperfect finish.
3. Varnish it.
4. Paint according to your style.
5. Now attach the drawer front to your four-sided box drawer. You will have to drill pilot holes from the inside of the drawers and hold the back of the new front attached. Be careful not to dig all the way out. Attach the drawer fronts now using wood screws.
6. To attach the drawer pull, drill holes in the center of the drawer front to the inside of the drawer. Securely attach the drawer pull to the center of the drawer front.
Replacement of kitchen cabinet drawers
In case you just want a replacement of the kitchen cabinet drawers, you can consider two options. If the drawer is still in good condition, you may consider replacing just the drawer front instead of the whole thing. It will not only save you extra effort and time, but also money spent on hardware etc. All you have to do is:
1. Pull out the drawers. Check the screws holding the front to the drawer.
2. Carefully loosen and remove the screws taking care not to damage the inside of the drawer.
3. Slowly and gently pull the front out of the drawer when the screws are loose enough.
4. Measure the new drawer front against the old one to match the dimensions. Now place the new drawer front and screw it firmly onto the drawer.
If your drawer needs a complete replacement, you need:
1. Pull the existing drawers out of their position. The new drawers should be measured against the old ones to get the dimensions right.
2. Once sure, attach the slides on the outside and check if they move easily against the existing rails.
3. If the drawer does not fit properly, remove the rails and reposition them to get the right sliding of the slides on the drawers.
In case you don’t have the time or skill to make new drawers or fronts, replacement kitchen cabinet drawers are available to easily replace your old drawers and avoid the hassle of dismantling any unit of the existing kitchen. Check with your local hardware store or just browse online.
Kitchen cabinet drawer organizers
Once your drawers are in place, you may want to quickly throw away the stuff that has been lying around the kitchen for a long time. But think before you do it, because it will only add to the clutter. So, organize your drawers first with kitchen cabinet drawer organizers.
There is drawer dividers, cubes, knife sleeves, drawer pegs and dish organizers available to keep your kitchen stuff neatly laid out. Dish organizers are great for your silverware and other cutlery. You can choose to have few or many compartments. The knife sleeves are good for safety and can be modular to accommodate more than one knife. Utensil dividers and plate holders are an excellent way to keep utensils stacked in one drawer.
