Is your cabinet door opening too far? Whether it is hitting the wall, another cabinet, or even the microwave or the fridge, this is an annoying problem! Here’s the easy and quick way to fix it!

The kitchen in our new house has a nice wide open lay out with lots of cabinet storage.

However, there are a few things about it that have me scratching my head, wondering “what were they thinking?!”

One of those big things is that several cabinets open right into each other or into a wall.

Yes, the new knobs we just installed (and the knobs the previous owner had) bang right into another cabinet in one spot and into the wall in the other. The doors don’t stop themselves soon enough.

This is causing damage to the knobs and damage to the cabinets themselves. When the knobs hit the drywall, they cause dents and damage and when they hit the other knobs, they dent.

It’s tiny dings, but it bothers me and little dings aren’t easy to fix. And so I decided to investigate how to fix this problem!

Here’s our tutorial (& video!) on how to make any cabinet or drawer slow close!

I quickly discovered that cabinet doors opening too far and banging into each other is a super simple problem to solve.

There are a couple of options on how you can fix this problem, but if you’re going for speed and ease, this is the way.

All you need is a drill and a cabinet door restraint kit and you can have this fixed in 5 minutes flat!

How to keep a cabinet door from opening too far

If your cabinet doors open wider than 90 degrees, they might be hitting the side of the cabinets next to them. This can cause damage to the knob, wall or cabinet door.

Doors should be able to stop at a perfect 90 degree angle and if they don’t you can fix it yourself.

Here’s how to prevent a cabinet door from hitting the wall by adding a simple wire.

Options for keeping a cabinet door from opening too far

There are 2 options for limiting the swing of cabinet doors:

1. Hinge restrictor clips
2. Cabinet door restraints

Each of these cabinet door limiters has pros and cons.

Hinge restrictor clips attach to your hinges and limit the door opening to 86 degrees. This will keep them from banging into anything, just like you want.

Cabinet door restraints are a simple wire that physically limits the door from opening any wider than you want it to.

We opted to go with the cabinet door restraints because I read that there are some issues with the hinge restrictor clips only being compatible with certain types of hinges.

Hinge restrictor clips attach to the actual hinges of your cabinet door and keep them from opening all the way, but you have to know exactly what type of hinge you have and if it’s compatible with the clips.

We also liked that the cabinet door restraints allow you to select the open angle of the cabinet. Whether you want it to open a little wider or less wide because of the layout of your kitchen, you can make that specific adjustment.

The only negative about the wire is that it is visible when the cabinet is open. But this shouldn’t be a problem for anyone. You really don’t notice it once it’s in place because it’s at the top.

After having these restraints up for almost two years, I can tell you that I absolutely stopped noticing that they are even there at all. And I certainly don’t miss the doors dinging up my walls!

However, hinge restrictor clips are completely invisible once installed and just look like part of the hinge, so if that is important to you, these may be a good option.

Either way, these are very easy and inexpensive solutions to your cabinet door hitting the wall!

We opted for the cabinet restraint wire kit because we felt that would be the easiest way to solve the problem.

Cabinet restraint wires require the least amount of tools and time and can be customized easily.

When using cabinet restraint wires, take time to figure out exactly how wide you want the doors to open. Take a look at what items you store inside the cabinet and know the minimum width to get those items in and out.

Also take a look at where the wall or other doors are and figure out where you want it to stop. If you’re looking to stop your door from hitting the wall, you only need to make sure it stops just off the wall.

Supply list for installing cabinet door restraints

Here’s what you need to complete this project.

• Cabinet door restraints
• Drill with 1/8″ drill bit + phillips head bit
• Pencil
• Tape measure

Steps to keep cabinet doors from swinging too far

1. Measure along the top of your cabinet. Measure 7 inches from the back of the door and 1 inch down. Mark with a pencil.
2. Pre-drill a small hole in that spot. You do not need to go very deep. Be sure not to drill through the cabinet. This is just to get the screw started.
3. Thread the screw onto the restraint and screw into your pre-drilled hole. Make sure not to screw it completely flush into the cabinet. The wire needs a little give to it.
4. Hold the restraint up and decide where to attach it to get your desired open angle. For us, it was on the underside of the upper lip of the cabinet base. Choose how far open you want the door to go and mark that spot with a pencil.
5. Pre-drill your hole, same as on the other end of the wire.
6. String your screw through the other end of the restraint and screw into place. Again, be sure not to tighten it 100 percent of the way.
7. Ensure that you are happy with the new open angle and enjoy!

**Note – ensure that your screw is shorter than the depth of your cabinet. Too long of a screw will poke out the front!

Video tutorial

Still confused? Check out our video showing exactly how we used cabinet door restraints to keep our cabinet doors from hitting each other! This shows all the steps to make it easy for you to copy.

Can you adjust how far cabinets open?

You can limit how far your cabinet opens by using either a hinge restrictor clip or cabinet door restraints. These are both easy to add to existing cabinets and limit how wide the doors can open up.

If you’ve installed cabinet restraint wires, you can change the angle by changing where the restraint is attached to the door or the cabinet. The wire remains the same length, so changing where it attaches will change how much the door can open.

Be sure to check out all of our home improvement projects!

How do I stop my cabinet doors hitting each other?

You can add either a hinge restrictor clip or cabinet door restraints to your cabinet doors to limit how wide they can open and prevent them from banging into each other.

You don’t want your cabinet doors to hit each other because it can damage the door or the knob and will also make a surprisingly loud noise.

What is your cabinet door banging into?

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Morgan

Hello, I’m Morgan, half of the creative force behind CharlestonCrafted.com! With a passion for DIY that dates back to 2012, I’ve transformed three homes and now I’m dedicated to helping others craft their dream spaces. Let’s turn your house into a home together!