If you are making new doors for you cabinets, consider using european hinges. They are nearly invisible and will give you a seamless look.

http://www.rockler.com/search_results.cfm?srch=usr&filter=european+hinges&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

Good Luck!

On one episode of Color Splash on HGTV, David put plexiglass panels on cabinet doors. Maybe you could try something like that? And paint the back of them so they would be opaque, if you preferred. Or maybe you could use a sheet of veneer!

I read somewhere recently (perhaps on here?) that someone with this exact problem simply flipped around the doors. They took off the doors, sanded and repainted them and then re-hung them with the raised panel part on the inside. Provided the inside of your doors are flat as most are, you should be able to do this.

Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) makes good cabinet doors, especially if you plan to paint. I'm about to order them for my kitchen, from a place in my area called Router Works. They're about 16.50 per door. You can get 1/2" overlay doors with concealed hinges that come very close to the look you want.

Also, one of the typical peeves with builder grade cabinets is the center stile between cabinet doors. In many cases, the stile can be removed and the doors made to meet in the center. Makes a big difference in the look as well as the usability of the space.

As the first person stated, purchase or make new doors that go to the edge of the frames and then get European hinges. They are expensive. You could probably get them at Ikea for a great price, but only if they sell them separately. This isn't super simple, you have to router the 'hinge wholes' into the existing frame, etc. But it can be done, good luck!

Oh, I have this same problem, and everyone is HORRIFIED that I want to paint/reface the cabinets. If they didn't have that stupid routed ring, it'd be so much easier to improve. If you've squared-off insets, I'd remove the center and put in glass. Flipping would be great, but if they're like mine, they already have European hinges, so you can't flip'em. It sounds like removing some doors completely, and remaking the rest is really the best option. Best of luck!

I would contact a local cabinet refacing company to do this work - depending on your specific cabinets this may or may not be possible, and replacement doors aren't exactly off-the-shelf items.

That's sort of funny - people pay big money for face frame cabinets. They require a lot more skill to make.

Or... wait. I just re-read your question, and other people's answers, and I'm a little confused. If you just want a shaker style door, follow the advice already given, since everyone's talking about the doors. But... if I read correctly, you're really just looking for a type of hinge that you can install on the outside of your cabinet frames. Because that would be the only way to cover the frame, which I think you listed as your actual question....

I would be sneaky and talk to a professional and see what they think. If your solution is simply a certain kind of hinge, you might be able to do this yourself. And if its way more complicated than that you'll know what has to be done, based on what the pro thinks.

I'd glue some sort of very thin, rigid plastic or cardboard on to cover the entire door front then paint over it. You may have to caulk the edges to make it look more seamless.

Some six years ago in my laundry room, I glued artist canvas onto my cabinet doors and then painted the canvas. The canvas is holding up well.

I recall seeing on one of those house flipping shows, where they filled in the grooves of a knotty pine cabinet door with some sort of epoxy or other fill material. After whatever fill material cured, the cabinets were sanded and painted. It did update the kitchen and make it look more modern. But I was sad to see what they did to vintage 1960's original cabinet doors. True, knotty pine isn't for everyone but for the age of the cabinets, they were in pretty good shape.

There are two issues here:

1. face-frame versus frameless
2. overlay or inset doors

You can do either type of door with either type of frame. It's just a little more hassle to do inset doors on a face-frame, because you'll need to build up the interior of the cabinet (by about 1/2" to 3/4") to bring the european hinges out so they'll mesh with the edge of the door. (Don't bother going to Ikea; you can pick up Blum or similar european hinges from your local hardware store, and often in a pack, which really does make them cheaper by the dozen.)

If you want inset doors on frameless cabinets, then the only way to do it is to literally remove the face-frames. Not impossible, but a boatload of work, and you'll need to do some careful assessment. Are the cabinets cheap? Those face-frames are keeping things steady; in older cabinets, they're partly for show, but in newer (read: cheaper) cabinets, the face-frame is providing support. Are the countertops of heavy material? Additional reason for cheap cabinets to have all the support they can get.

If your cabinets are 3/4" plywood (not pressboard or MDF), you might be safe. Anything less, I wouldn't risk it. They won't come crashing down, but the stresses will eventually take a toll. Plus, heavy-duty hinges in el-cheapo material, not so good, since MDF and particle board don't do well at holding screws (and european hinges are strong little puppies).

My recommendation, with caveat that I'm guessing you want full overlay on face-frames (to mimic frameless): put inset blocks inside the cabinet sides, to make a platform for the hinges that's flush with the door edge. Cutting the plywood for the doors will require precision, but not nearly as much as is needed for inset (with any type of cabinet). Little more forgiving to do full overlay, I mean. Make sure you get a template & a forster bit (less tear-out on the wood when drilling for the hinge-cups) and you can whip the doors out in no time.

Good luck!

I have had the same issue - I really hated the cabinets of my kitchen and I had lots of plans of what I could do with them, but everybody kept telling me that it is almost impossible to get a good result if you paint them.

In the end, we just changed the doors to new one from IKEA (even though the kitchen was not IKEA to start with). They were cheap and stylish and will last until we get bored of them.

It took me a long time to come to the conclusion that the IKEA-option was really the cheapest one, because making the doors or painting the old ones would have been just as expensive.

Then again, from the comments I understand that there might be an issue of hinges. We never had that problem, it just fitted right in.

Good luck!

(preface: i design for a custom cabinetry shop...)

option 1: if you want the look of frameless cabinets, most likely you're talking about a full-overlay door look. Blum makes hinges that achieve maximum overlay for face-frame cabinets. (Blum Compact 39C, and so on.) obviously increasing the overlay means you'll need larger cabinet doors.

I also wouldn't recommend losing the center support on the face frame cabinets, because they may be needed for support. however, you could easily cover them with your doors as well, leaving approximately 1/8" space between doors at center.

this option takes a certain amount of skill if you plan to calculate door sizes, fabricate doors, and bore/drill for hinges, etc.

option #2: the other option would be if you want to keep your existing doors. you could still change the hinges to concealed hinges (Blum or otherwise) and just paint/stain the doors and face frames. you could cut out the raised center panels of the doors and replace it with a 1/4" thick plywood flat panel (stained/painted to match) for a shaker-style look that would lend itself well to a more modern/contemporary look with the right finishes and hardware.

hope this helps, and best of luck to you!

To accomplish what you want to achieve, you need to make new doors (sized to overlap the frames - don't forget to leave spacing of 1/8" between adjoining doors).

For hardware, you will need to buy the 'euro' hinges that have been previously mentioned. A place like www.evereadyhardware.com sells what you need online. Put in a call first, and discuss the project, because there are many styles of hinges AND plates needed, and you want to make sure you have the right tools. You will also need a 35mm forstener drill bit for boring holes in your doors.

Before you get started, ask around and talk to someone who has done this before and can give you a tutorial. A handy person should be able to perform this task, but there are many ways to go wrong and it's best to try and avoid that if possible.

Good luck.

Yes, you can definitely do this. I haven't yet completed my project (mainly because Ikea dropped the door line I wanted and I haven't found a suitable replacement) but there are pictures of my test door here.

https://jasephoto.backpackit.com/pub/99401-kitchen-remodel

I bought the hinges from Rockler. The only caveat was that I needed to buy a different set that allowed you to adjust the gap a bit. Apparently either that test door or, more likely, the face frame wasn't completely true.

I'm in a similar situation; i want to take down the cabinets and put up open shelving, but my husband objects. We removed all the cabinet doors so now it's sort of halfway in between and neither of us really likes it.
good luck!

I'm afraid there is no way to a "frameless" look without investing in new doors. The doors just have to be bigger to cover the frame and then you will need new Euro hinges. If you are willing to do the finishing/painting yourself you should be able to get a plain slab style doors for a reasonable price.