How-to Add Soft Close to Any Cabinet

Tired of slamming cabinet doors and want a quick inexpensive fix? How-to make any cabinet soft close in under 5 Minutes!

Soft close hinges are the best invention ever! No more booms and bangs in the kitchen when you close cabinet doors.

What if your home doesn’t have soft close hinges, but you’ve always wanted them?

Did you know there is a simple little adapter that is under $5 dollars and can be installed in minutes?

Cabinet Hinge Soft Close Damper

What is soft close? Well, it’s simple little damper that reduces the force at which your cabinet door closes.

That means it slows down the speed of the door closing, so it NEVER bangs shut.

Sounds nice right?

If you live in an older home, you likely didn’t know that soft close cabinets are an option.

The good news? 

YOU DON’T HAVE TO REPLACE THE HINGES TO GET A SOFT CLOSE DOOR!

Yes! There is a simple little damper that can be attached to ANY type of cabinet.

It costs less than $5 and can be installed easily and quickly!

Plus they come in a full soft close conversion kit with screws, damper and spacer together in various quantities.

If this looks intimidating it’s not.

Especially after you see my video tutorial.

You’ll be amazed at how fast I created soft close cabinets.

My son and I are having a hard time getting used to the lack of noise and keep checking back to make sure the cabinets are closed LOL!

Pin It for Later!

What Type of Cabinets Do You Have?

So the type of hinge you have doesn’t come into play with installing the soft close adapter.

What does is what type of cabinet door do you have: inset or overlay.

Inset Cabinet Example

Image Courtesy of Amerock Cabinet Hardware

If you have an inset style cabinet, then it’s likely you won’t need to use the spacer attachment provided.

Let’s say you have an overlay cabinet like at my house.

Overlay Cabinet Example

Then it’s likely you will need to spacer to shift the adapter out to avoid the door hitting it.

Simple formula right? Just butt the adapter to the upper corner and see if you can open and close the door without hitting it.

If it hits, you need a spacer. OK, ready to get installing? 

It took me one hour to install 25 soft close adapters.

You can do this!

Shop Cabinet Hardware

Want to know more about how to choose the right cabinet hardware?

You will love this post!

The Right Length Cabinet Pulls for Doors and Drawers

Yield: Soft Close Cabinets

How-To Install Soft Close Hinge Adapters

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How-to install soft close hinge adapters on any type of cabinet. Easy under $5 dollar fix that can be added in under 5 minutes.

Prep Time 2 minutes

Active Time 2 minutes

Total Time 4 minutes

Materials

• Soft Close Hinge Adapters
• 1 3/4 Inch Wood Screws (if they don't come with the kit)

Tools

• Power Drill / 20V Preferred
• Philips Head Drill Attachment
• Philips Head Screw Driver

Instructions

1. Determine if you need to use a spacer. Overlay cabinets will typically require them. Attach spacer, by clipping to adapter.
2. This is for the right side
3. This is for the left side
4. Start wood screw through the adapter before placing. Place soft close hinge damper adapter butted up in the top corner of the cabinet against the side wall and top of cabinet.
5. Screw in with power drill and a Philips head attachment. You may need to back out the screw a bit, so it lays correctly
6. Close the door to see if it closes completely and in the time you desire. This can be adjusted on the bottom of the soft close adapter by turning the screw to make the damper pull in or stick out more.
7. This is how the soft close adapter should look, once installed.

Notes

• The soft close adapters to can sit in line with the cabinet frame or on top of the frame. It depends on how your door closes.
• Some may need adjusting to get the close exactly how you like it.
• The adapters were pulling down as the screw was threaded completely, so I backed out the screw to make them sit more flush.

Recommended Products

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  Soft Close Hinge Adapters

While you have your cabinets cleared out, I have another great project for you!

Organize Cabinets with Pull-Out Drawers

This has been one of my most favorite projects, along with updating to LED Under Cabinet Lights in the kitchen.

Have fun making your kitchen more efficient, organized and well lit.