Yes, You Can Replace Ikea Kitchen Cabinet Doors — Here's How

Every piece of Ikea furniture seemingly falls under one rule: Follow the assembly instructions to a tee, no tweaks allowed. However, some cabinets from the famed furniture store are more flexible than you might assume. In an exclusive interview with House Digest, Sofia Clarke, a Media Relations Partner with Inter IKEA Group, revealed that it's surprisingly easy to replace the doors of the popular Sektion cabinets.

In the ultimate guide to buying kitchen cabinets at Ikea, the Sektion line stands out due to its high-quality materials and huge range of styles. Best of all, you can change the exteriors whenever you like instead of buying a whole new set of storage. "We have made it easy to change the fronts so customers can, at any time, change them to give their kitchen a new feeling and look without having to change the cabinets," Clarke said.

Sektion cabinets can be modified with Ikea-made parts or fronts from third-party companies, and the installation process is pretty much the same all around. To get started, refer to the official Sektion buying guide to find the right dimensions for doors, drawer fronts, and any other parts you want to swap out. Once you have your parts, fasten the drawer slides inside the cabinet frame if needed, then assemble the doors and drawers themselves. Install the door hinges, insert any drawers, screw on the door, and you're done with your custom cabinetry. This easy tip should join the ranks of Ikea hacks to know before remodeling your kitchen.

When shopping for Sektion cabinet fronts, Sofia Clarke recommended that you consider functional additions like extra drawers as well as the color and style. Ikea itself offers a lot of standalone drawer and cabinet parts in several colors. This includes plain white doors like the Enköping to suit white kitchen designs for a timeless space, as well as options that copy HGTV stars' go-to kitchen cabinet colors, like the gray-green Axstad and blue Lerhyttan.

Are you more into bright shades, patterned finishes, or materials besides wood and stainless steel? Ordering fronts from other companies is the way to go. Tons of brands create door replacements meant just for the Sektion line, with some even offering custom colors so you can experiment with unexpected cabinet hues that give your kitchen personality.

While it may be possible to find premade parts that technically fit the dimensions of your cabinets, remember that Ikea assembly is all about following the rules. It's more reliable to commission fronts that you know will fit your cabinetry, especially because the company will add drill holes for installing drawers or hardware like handles. It can be difficult to match the unique layout of holes on Ikea products, so getting a pro to drill them instead of trying it yourself is a big boon.

Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and House Digest.