4 Ways to Cover Glass Cabinet Doors - Mirror Film Hack
Some people love clear glass cabinet doors and some do not. Most often my cabinet is jammed full of craft supplies and not very organized so clear glass is the bane of my existence. I have 3 tried and true ways to hide what is in your cabinets and one new-to-me way. If you have a way to cover glass display doors, I love to hear it. Drop it in the comments and feel free to post a picture.
Best decorative film!
1. Fabric behind the glass
I did this 20 years ago, while I was pregnant with my daughter and it definitely needs an updated fabric.
2. Scrapbook Paper Behind the glass
Scrapbook Paper is a super affordable and easy look. These 12 by 12‘S didn’t even need to be cut, just overlapped a bit.
3. Wallpaper behind the glass
I have a tutorial on this one.
Wallpaper behind the glass is a really easy update.
4. Daylight Mirror Window Film
Here’s my new way! Years ago, I used this on my garage https://www.hometalk.com/diy/windows-doors/windows/mirror-mirror-on-the-window-window-mirror-film-tutorial-39003072
I had leftover film and decided to use it on this display cabinet so that I could hide, I mean, store craft supplies in it.
Before
Here is a before picture.
It’s a little delicate so be careful not to crease it or squeeze it too hard.
First clean the glass
First, clean the glass really well. You don’t want anything on the glass because you will see it and/or it will cause a bubble under the film. I like to run a microfiber cloth over it just to make sure, nothing is left behind.
Next, fill a spray bottle with water and add 6 to 8 drops of dish soap. Shake the bottle to mix it up.
You will use two pieces of tape to remove the clear plastic backing from the film.
You put them on a corner (sticky sides facing each other and offset slightly) and pull in opposite directions.
While I was holding the film in one hand, I sprayed the glass with the soap and water solution.
Then spray the film with the same solution and lay it down on your glass peeling back the backing and spraying solution as you go. This is a little hard to do if you are working alone.
I did 4 doors. The directions said to do it like above but after the first door, I removed all the backing and sprayed the whole thing and placed it down.
Whoops! Forgot a step. Before spraying the solution cut your film slightly larger than the glass. About an inch bigger on all sides. You will use a razor blade or exacto knife to trim it later.
Mine suctioned down in the middle and then I used a squeegee to push out to the edges.
You want to get right up tight to the edge.
Trim off the excess with an exacto knife or a razor blade.
Sometimes when laying it down, I found it helpful to make a masking tape “hinge”. It will give you more control and make it less flimsy.
There are some suds that you can see between the glass and film. I think they will probably dry out and go away on their own and if they don’t, I’m not even mad. It kind of looks like mercury glass, like this. What I can tell you is that I tried to hurry that along with a heat gun and ruined the film. I had to remove the whole piece and start over.
I’m happy with it! Where would you use this film in your house?
Here’s another photo of the squeegee process. I would start in the middle and push to the outside edges in each direction. In this picture the right side is done and I am working on the left side.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?