Did you know you can take an IKEA drawer from the PAX system and retrofit it into your non IKEA kitchen? I was blown away too! If you’re dreaming of a custom kitchen cupboard, follow this tutorial. It’s much easier than it looks with no advanced tools.
I don’t have a single drawer in my kitchen. Building drawers is so intimidating. But I’ve found a way to hack it! In this post, I will show you how to add affordable IKEA drawers to your existing kitchen base cabinets!
My kitchen cupboard was not functional. I had a single shelf. I wanted to have drawers. But if converted this to drawers, I would have to get new drawer fronts made which are very expensive. I wanted to figure out a way to use my existing doors, but add drawers inside the cabinet
So, I made this pull out drawer to customize my kitchen cupboards. Cabinet drawers can be really hard to build. They require very precise measurements. This, on the other hand, is a simple and inexpensive way to add a ton of function and organization to your kitchen.
Here’s everything I used from IKEA for this project
Which drawers to use in your kitchen cupboard
Before we dive into building this, we need to plan out the kitchen cupboard. The drawers you use will depend on the size of your existing cupboard. Measure the depth, cabinet opening and height of the inside of the cabinet.
Depending on the depth, you can use either the KOMPLEMENT drawers, or the MAXIMERA drawers.
- If your cupboards are 23” deep or less, use KOMPLEMENT drawers. The KOMPLEMENT drawers are 22 ⅜” deep.
- If your cupboards are deeper than 23.5” use SEKTION drawers. The SEKTION drawers fit in a 24” deep cabinet
Because my base cupboards are the same depth as the IKEA kitchen cupboards, I used the MAXIMERA drawers. One other advantage is that both drawers are soft closing!
Then you need to decide how many drawers you want, and how tall they should be. I left about a 1.5″ gap between the drawer fronts, but tried to use the deepest drawers so they could hold all the kitchen stuff!
Create a support wall for the IKEA Drawers
I used a piece of MDF as a second wall in my cupboard. This is because I wanted 2 rows of drawers. In this design, each door has a set of drawers, so you don’t have to open both doors to open a single drawer. You can skip this step if you’re installing long drawers to the cabinet frame.
I measured the piece of wood so it would fit snugly. I cut it to size with my circular saw and kreg jig rip guide. The rip guide makes it SO easy to make long straight cuts. You can also get the hardware store to cut this down to size. Make sure to get a good precise cut. It has to fit tightly inside your cupboard. I tested mine to ensure it fit.
Add pocket holes to the board
To secure your board into the cupboard, use pocket holes. Pocket holes are strong and will ensure your cupboard wall doesn’t fall off, especially with the weight of the drawers. I installed pocket holes on the top, bottoms and back of the board.
I also added the edgebanding so it looked seamless with the cupboards. It’s a small touch that makes the cabinet look like your builder installed it
Install the support wall
Use your pocket screws to secure the secondary well. Ensure it’s plumb before securing it. Also, ensure that each section is large enough to hold the drawers and drawer slides before you attach it. Since I have a granite counter, I attached the divider to the top and the bottom of the cabinet. There’s a lot of pocket holes, so it feels very secure!
Turn the doors into a pull out drawer
I wanted my door to be like a drawer as well (imagine it to be like a pull out trash), with inset drawers. So, I started by Removing the doors from the cabinet, and then I removed the hinges too. Use the IKEA door pull out kit to turn the door into a sliding drawer. I followed the instructions, but the first time it didn’t fit. This is because my cabinet is slightly bigger than a standard IKEA cabinet. I had to adjust the placement of the door attachment to account for this.
It’s not hard, but you have to a little bit of simply math to help the fit. Then, I attached the drawer slides! It looks like a trash pull out drawer (which is the original use for this door pull out attachment)
To install the drawers, I actually removed the door. It will give you more space to work with. Simply angle the drawer upward and give it a slight pull outwards.
How to install drawer slides to the base cabinet
IKEA MAXIMERA drawers are so easy to assemble. I followed the instructions to assemble the drawers.
Next attach the drawer slides to the cabinet and centre wall you created. If the drawers are too small, you may need to add a spacer. I had to use a spacer on 1 set of drawers to make sure they slide out smoothly.
I used a level to draw line, then attach the drawer slides. I always drill a pilot hole to make driving screws easier.
Also make sure the cupboard door can open and close without hitting the drawer. If you have extra depth, don’t sit the drawer too far back otherwise you won’t be able to access the contents at the back of your drawer. I made sure to sit mine back 2 inches from the front of the cabinet as I wanted to add a handle as well.
I started installing the drawers from the bottom up, given that I had the pull out drawer at the bottom.
Install the remaining drawers
Mount the drawer slide for the bottom drawer on the support wall. Follow the IKEA instructions to make the rail secure to the drawer. Make sure it slides in and out properly and the cupboard doors close without hitting the drawer. How cool is this kitchen storage space now!?
Continue installing the remainder of the drawers.
Install drawer handles
I really wanted to install drawer handles to make it easier to pull out these drawers. Since I swapped out my entire kitchen handles, I re-used those handles. They aren’t gorgeous, but they are free and will work.
I always use a cabinet handle jig to make holes for drawers. It is easy and you make the perfect holes on the first try.
Reveal: A huge upgrade to my kitchen cabinets
I am SO happy with these cabinet drawers. It’s so much more functional than kitchen shelves and it’s easier to access the contents in the back of the cabinet. It’s a great beginner DIY project. I know drawers seem intimidating but I only used a drill and saw for this. I can access all the contents of my drawers without the food containers falling over the floor. It’s so much more organized and convenient!
I love the IKEA MAXIMERA drawer slides. They are a soft hinge that does not slam. The roller slides are smooth. They drawers feel sturdy and well built for daily use
If you love storage projects, grab everything to make it in your own home
If you love this project, pin it!
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