Can Ikea Kitchen Doors Fit Other Cabinets? | Fit Guide

If you’re pairing IKEA door fronts with different cabinet boxes, the match comes down to a few plain facts: door size, hinge type and position, overlay style, and where the mounting holes live. Get those right and you’ll get a clean, even reveal that looks built-to-order. Miss them and you’ll fight misaligned gaps and doors that don’t close cleanly.

Fitting Ikea Doors To Different Cabinets: What Matters

IKEA kitchen systems are frameless. Many other brands are frameless too, while some use face frames. Doors hang on concealed cup hinges, usually with a 35 mm cup bored in the back of the door. That basic hardware is common across the industry. The differences live in drilling patterns, cabinet heights, and how much the door overlaps the box or face frame. The table below shows the big pieces you need to match before you shop or drill.

Aspect	Typical IKEA	Compatibility Notes
Cabinet Type	Frameless (full-access)	Fits frameless boxes easily; face-frame boxes need hinge plates or spacers. KCMA defines frameless vs. framed terms clearly.
Hinge Cup	35 mm concealed cup	Industry standard; matches Blum-style hinges and many others.
System Holes	Rows of 5 mm holes on a 32 mm grid	Common in Euro-style boxes; non-IKEA boxes may vary in setback and start height.
Door Heights	Sized to IKEA box heights (base frame ~30″; wall 30″/40″ options)	Match door height to opening and overlay target; watch rail/toe-kick differences.
Overlay Style	Full overlay on frameless	Face-frame boxes can be partial or full overlay; plan reveals to keep even gaps.

Two points drive most success stories. First, the 35 mm hinge cup is shared by many brands, so the door hardware itself is no blocker. Second, the 32 mm hole series shows up across Euro-style cabinets. If your other boxes follow that grid and use a similar front setback, the door will hang with minimal fuss. If not, you can still make it work by drilling fresh plate positions or adding adapter plates.

Know Your Starting Box

Start by naming what you have. Frameless boxes have no face frame at the front; hinges mount to the cabinet side panel. Face-frame boxes add a frame; hinges can mount on a plate attached to the frame or on the interior panel with a spacer. Frameless aligns well with frameless. Mixing a frameless front with a face-frame box calls for a bit more planning to hit clean reveals and keep doors from clipping the frame.

Heights, Widths, And Reveals

IKEA base frames sit around 30″ high before legs and top. Wall cabinets come in set heights that pair with matching doors. Many non-IKEA boxes follow similar widths (12″, 15″, 18″, 21″, 24″, and so on), but the vertical math can differ due to toe-kick height or rail thickness. That’s why a 30″ door that lands flush on an IKEA wall box might need a trim or a wider reveal to look right on another brand’s frame.

Hinges And Bore Pattern

The concealed cup is a 35 mm bore in the door. That’s standard across many hinge lines, including soft-close variants. The plate on the cabinet side panel is the variable: plate height, setback from the front, and hole spacing. If your box uses 32 mm rows with a common front setback, you’re in good shape. If the setback is deeper or shallower, the door can still sit true by choosing a different plate height or by drilling two fresh pilot holes for the plate.

Quick Test: One Door Before A Full Order

Buy one door in the style you like, plus two hinges and plates. Hang it on one cabinet you can sacrifice to testing. Check gap lines at top, bottom, and between doors. Open and close to confirm the swing clears adjacent parts. Make any tweaks now. Once the test looks right, order the rest with confidence.

Method That Works Across Brands

Here’s a field-tested approach that avoids guesswork and gets clean lines:

1) Measure The Frame Or Carcass

Record opening height and width, box thickness, and front setback to the 32 mm hole line if present. Note if a face frame sticks out past the interior panel.

2) Pick The Overlay

On frameless boxes, aim for full overlay to keep reveals slim. On face-frame boxes, pick partial or full overlay and set consistent reveals across the run. That choice locks in your door width and hinge plate geometry.

3) Confirm Hinge Hardware

Choose concealed hinges with the right crank (straight, half, full) to match your overlay, and soft-close if you want the feel to match modern kitchens. Most soft-close cups tuck into the same 35 mm bore.

4) Mock The Plate Location

Clamp the door to the box where you want it to sit. Mark plate holes through the hinge arm with a transfer punch or a sharp pencil. Remove the door and drill pilot holes. If your cabinet has 32 mm rows, pick the nearest holes and use a plate that brings you to your target reveal.

5) Hang And Adjust

Use the hinge screws to nudge up/down, in/out, and left/right. Set the gap to match neighboring fronts. Once one door is perfect, use it as a template for the rest.

When It’s Easy, When It’s Tricky

Easy Matches

• Frameless box to frameless-style front with 35 mm cups.
• Boxes drilled on a 32 mm grid with a common front setback.
• Runs where all doors share one height and you can set a consistent reveal line.

Trickier Combos

• Face-frame boxes with narrow stiles, where plate screws would land near edges.
• Mixed heights across a run where rail sizes differ from IKEA’s system math.
• Old cabinets without system holes, which means layout and fresh drilling for each plate.

Door Size Matching Made Simple

Match width first, then height. Width drives reveals between doors. Height drives top and bottom lines. If a door is a touch tall, trim the bottom edge and re-seal. If a door is short, bump the reveal at the bottom and carry that line across the run so the look stays intentional.

Face-Frame Boxes: Clean Installs

You can mount concealed hinges on face-frame boxes by using plates or brackets that sit on the frame. Keep the reveal line even across each pair. If the frame is proud of the side panel, add a spacer behind the plate or use a plate designed for frames. The goal is simple: the hinge arm sits square, the door clears the frame on the swing, and the reveal is even.

Standards And References You Can Trust

Cabinet makers often work from a shared language: frameless vs. framed boxes, full overlay vs. partial overlay, and a 35 mm cup for concealed hinges. Industry guides spell those out, and many Euro-style brands drill 5 mm holes on a 32 mm pitch. For broad specs on IKEA box sizes and door pairings, IKEA’s own guides list common frame heights and door options. For the hinge side, look to hardware makers for 35 mm cup details and plate choices.

Helpful references: the KCMA glossary defines frameless and overlay terms in plain language (KCMA glossary), and IKEA’s system brochure shows common frame sizes and work heights (SEKTION sizes). These two links give you the vocabulary and the sizing map you need.

Measurement Workflow (Save And Reuse)

Use this simple sequence when you’re mixing brands. It keeps the math consistent and speeds up layout on a full kitchen:

1. Measure the cabinet opening and the target overlay on all four sides.
2. Check for 32 mm rows and note front setback from the cabinet edge.
3. Pick a hinge crank and plate height that hits the overlay.
4. Bore 35 mm cups in the doors if they’re blank; most IKEA doors arrive pre-bored.
5. Mount plates, hang the door, and adjust until gaps repeat cleanly across the run.

Common Problems And Straightforward Fixes

Door Clips The Box Or Frame

Use a different hinge crank or move the plate out/in by one plate step. If that’s not enough, shim the plate by 1–2 mm.

Uneven Gaps

Adjust up/down and side-to-side on the hinge screws. If the door still wanders, square the box and check the mounting rail. Small shims behind the rail can correct a run.

Soft-Close Feels Weak

Check that the damper switch on the hinge is set for the door weight. Some soft-close cups have a toggle inside the arm.

Door And Box Size Pairings (Cheat Sheet)

These pairings assume full overlay on a frameless box. For face-frame cabinets, size the door a bit wider and taller to cover the frame reveal you want.

Cabinet Opening (W×H)	Door Size To Try	Notes
12″ × 30″	About 12⅝″ × 30⅝″	Targets slim 3 mm side and top/bottom gaps.
15″ × 30″	About 15⅝″ × 30⅝″	Common pantry module; match rail lines across doors.
18″ × 30″	About 18⅝″ × 30⅝″	Use three hinges for heavier fronts.
24″ × 30″ (two doors)	Two at about 12⅝″ × 30⅝″	Set a 2–3 mm center gap; tune both hinges equally.
Wall 30″ high	Match to a 30″ class front	Pairs with common wall box heights in IKEA guides.
Wall 40″ high	Match to a 40″ class front	Check hood and crown clearances first.

Drilling And Hardware Tips

When doors arrive blank, bore a clean 35 mm cup. Set depth to the hinge spec and keep a tight fence on the drill press or jig. On boxes without system holes, lay out plate positions with a story stick, then pre-drill pilot holes to keep screws from wandering. On face-frame boxes, add plates that mount to the frame or use a backer strip to land your screws in solid material.

Mixing Drawer Fronts With Other Boxes

Drawer fronts follow the same rules: size, overlay, and hole pattern. Many drawer slide brands tie into 32 mm rows; when they don’t, a plywood spacer brings slide screws into reach. The visible line to chase is the horizontal reveal across the whole run. Set your first drawer bank perfect, then mirror those heights across the kitchen.

Regional System Differences

North America sees SEKTION sizing; other regions use METOD with metric heights and the same frameless logic. Both hang on rails and use concealed hinges with 35 mm cups. If you’re mixing a metric door with an imperial box, pick your reveal goal first and let that drive the final cut.

When Replacement Won’t Drop Right In

Older IKEA ranges like FAKTUM don’t accept current doors without extra work, and the same idea applies when you try to pair brand-new fronts with very old boxes from other brands. In those cases, plan on fresh plate holes, different plates, or small trims to the door edges to land clean lines.

Proof Points From Industry Docs

Hardware makers widely support 35 mm concealed cups and matching plates, and trade references describe the 32 mm hole series that many Euro-style boxes use. Those two facts explain why this swap works so often. If you want a deeper dive into cup size and drilling gear, Festool’s LR 32 guide mentions the common 35 mm bit used for these cups (LR 32 drilling). For IKEA frame and door sizing, IKEA’s system sheet lists base height and wall options that your doors will follow (SEKTION sizes).

Bottom Line And Buy List

Yes, this swap works. Match overlay, pick hinges with the right crank, and either use the cabinet’s system holes or drill new plate positions. Test one door, then order the full set. Here’s the short buy list to keep the install smooth:

• Fronts sized to your openings and overlay target.
• Concealed hinges with plates that match your box style.
• Rail or brackets if you’re hanging boxes or mounting plates on a face frame.
• A 35 mm bit for cup bores and a sharp brad-point bit for pilot holes.
• Shims, spacers, and a story stick for fast, repeatable layout.

Sources: KCMA’s glossary on frameless and overlay terms provides shared definitions for this guide. IKEA’s system brochure supplies frame and door size families used to plan pairings. Festool’s LR 32 reference confirms the 35 mm cup bit common in concealed hinge work. These sources align with common trade practice for Euro-style cabinetry.