Cabinet Doors for IKEA Cabinets

This is my third kitchen renovation I’ve done in the past few years. For all three kitchens, I’ve used IKEA boxes. But this time, instead of using IKEA fronts, I thought I’d try getting the cabinet doors for IKEA cabinets from another company- Nieu Cabinet Doors. I figured it’d be fun to show you the process, pricing, and pros and cons of going this route.

cabinet doors for ikea cabinets

I love IKEA cabinets because you can customize SO much! Especially with the lower cabinets- I go for mostly drawers and am amazed at how much more I can fit in the same space because it’s so efficient. I love IKEA cabinets so much, I wrote this blog post all about the quality and customization and amazing price.

With the kitchen at Fairview Cottage, my cabinets were in ok shape, but I was craving more function for the lowers and taller uppers (without glass doors) so we decided to get new cabinets.

Why not just gut the kitchen when I only have 8 weeks to redo it?! Lol! The deadline with the One Room Challenge is tricky, but we want our dream kitchen so we’re going for it.

We ordered the IKEA cabinet boxes when we were still living in Florida for the winter since supplies were limited (everyone is renovating kitchens this year!) . We even stopped at a few IKEAs on our way across the country to get everything we needed. I just couldn’t risk not having all my kitchen cabinets for the renovation- you know?

Let me explain how it works to get the cabinets from one place and the custom door fronts from another.

how does it work?

With IKEA, you buy everything separately so it can be pretty customized for your space and needs. The cabinet boxes are one item to be purchased while the doors are another (hinges, drawers, and even shelves are separate purchases too).

So using just the boxes with IKEA isn’t an issue at all. You just don’t buy the doors from them. You can even use the “change all at once” feature in the IKEA Kitchen Planner to remove these easily.

For my cabinet doors, I decided to get them from Nieu Cabinet Doors (pronounced “new”). They are a company that cater to DIY lovers who like the look of a high end, custom kitchen at a fraction of the cost.

When the cabinet doors arrive, you attach them just like you would with IKEA doors. Hinges are bought from IKEA and then they screw right into the Nieu doors (they’re pre-drilled so this is a simple task). You don’t have to paint the frame of the box because the doors and drawers cover it up.

After installation, you add the hardware of your choice by drilling it in. I suggest investing in a hardware template for this project because it makes it simple to get the holes right.

The cool thing about Nieu Cabinet Doors is that they also work for remodels! So if you have a kitchen with cabinet fronts you don’t like, you can keep the frames and just change out the doors. For a project like this, you’d paint the cabinet frame to match the doors. The team at Nieu told me this option typically saves their customers 50-60% of the cost of a new kitchen!

what color do they come in?

The cabinet doors come in some standard colors that are really beautiful, and all have a direct match to a Sherwin Williams paint color. I went with winter white (the top left option).

But, if you want a color not on the standard list, you can select any Sherwin Williams color and have your doors custom painted in that perfectly smooth finish for just a small extra fee! So now the custom doors feel even more custom!

I’m thinking about painting my DIY hood I’ll be building the same color as the cabinets. For this, I’ll go to Sherwin Williams, use the paint code above, and get the Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel in the satin finish.

In my last kitchen, I spent hours painting my cabinet doors pink. I love how it came out, but I can’t help but wishing I’d found Nieu then and could just order the doors in my dream color! Why? The finish is a factory finish- it’s smooth with zero brush marks and looks perfect. That’s what I want in my kitchen! I am so excited for these doors!

door styles

At the time of writing this blog post, Nieu Cabinet Doors has 16 different door styles. There’s traditional, contemporary, shaker, and transitional options. Pretty much, there should be a door style anyone would like. Each one has a different price point as well.

I ended up going with the Angela Rose Slim Shaker Detail. I love that they are simple with that one piece of interesting detail on the edge. They feel fresh and sophisticated, but still traditional enough to go with the design of the room.

Here’s a close up of the drawers installed in my kitchen. Aren’t they gorgeous?! I love them!

If selecting a cabinet door with all those choices is tricky, they offer two options to help find the perfect fit. The first option is free- a fun design quiz. The second option is $100 to virtually meet with a consultant who will give you options with a rendering of your space.

extras

Nieu Cabinet Doors also offers toe kicks, trim, and panels for the front of appliances. Our dishwasher is panel ready so that’ll look amazing to have it blend in with the rest of the kitchen.

quality

Let’s talk about the quality! When I was choosing my cabinet fronts, I really liked Nieu Cabinet Doors because they are backed by over 20 years of experience making products for custom kitchens! The cabinets you buy for your IKEA project or refacing are the same quality of doors as the ones in a $60,000 custom kitchen. Because it’s just the fronts, they aren’t nearly as expensive.

The doors are made from Canadian softwood fiber to create a MDF. These are great for kitchens since they don’t warp or swell with humidity. The MDF is water resistant which is a good option for a kitchen (or bathroom cabinets too). MDF paints well, is smooth, and allows for the cabinets to have beautiful detail.

When I opened mine, I was so impressed by the quality! They feel heavier and fancier than the IKEA ones. The finish is smooth and the doors come pre-drilled and ready for installation.

Another thing I love is that because the finish is so good, they are easy to clean. I was wiping off fingerprints from the installation and was really excited because they’re so cleanable and look amazing once they’re wiped down!

how long do they take?

Right now, Nieu cabinets is out 4-5 weeks after an order is confirmed. This may seem slow, but remember that each item is being made just for your space! So it’s custom work which takes time.

They are currently shipping to addresses in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Here’s what I suggest with this wait time (and exactly what I did). Get your kitchen designed in the IKEA kitchen planner and then order your cabinet doors. Do this before construction starts as one of the first steps. Then, begin working on the space.

If you’re getting totally new cabinets, tearing out the old stuff and putting in the new boxes takes longer than 4-5 weeks so you’re really not waiting on anything.

what’s the pricing like

If you’ve read here long, you know I like to talk about pricing. For me, style and budget are usually the two biggest concerns when buying anything for my house. So I like to share what things actually cost.

Prices on these cabinet doors start at $10.63 per square foot and go up to $32.96 per square foot. The door I selected is $24.08 per square foot for the raw door or $43.11 per square foot painted. Ordering them painted gets you that flawless finish, and saves you lots of time in your project if you’ve got a lot of moving parts like me!

For my cabinet doors, fridge and end cap panels, toe kicks, dishwasher panels, and light valance the cost was around $3000 total.

To get the same items in the most basic design, the price to buy them at IKEA is around $2000.

So for custom color options, higher quality, and better design options it costs about $1000 more to upgrade the door style. If you went with one of the fancier IKEA cabinet doors, the price could be comparable depending on the size of the kitchen and the parts needed.

what are the pros and cons?

Pros of ordering from Nieu Cabinet Doors-

Color Options
High end look
Amazing quality
The feel of a custom kitchen
Great prices

Cons of ordering from Nieu Cabinet Doors-

If there’s issues or damage, it’ll take a little time to get a replacement since you can’t just drive to a store and exchange it
There is a wait time (but if you plan on this, it’s not a big deal)

I really had to rack my brain for cons! I really am impressed by the variety of styles and colors, ease of installation and quality. We are building so much of the kitchen ourselves, it has been really nice to un-box everything, install them, and have them look perfect.

sneak peek of the cabinet doors and new countertops

I thought I’d show how the cabinet doors look with the new countertops installed! The quartz got installed yesterday and looks amazing! Then we tiled and I added in rainbow wallpaper.

There’s still lots of work to do like add the toe kick for the dishwasher, get filler pieces in on the sides, grout the tile, build a shelf, wire in the outlets. But can you see how cute it will be?!

Here’s a view of the fridge panel. We’ll have a bigger fridge delivered soon that will be all pink and perfectly fit in the corner.

The finish work needs completing, a new light will go in over the sink, and the faucet will get installed. We’re getting so close!

And crown molding needs to go up over here. But hopefully you can see how gorgeous the cabinet fronts look. This is going to be such a special kitchen!

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. Thank you to Nieu Cabinet Doors for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.