You're probably not going to want to hear this, but my mullions and shelves not lining up drove me so crazy that I ended up replacing the mullioned glass doors with clear ones. The shelves will actually never line up with the mullions, because if you get them to line up, say, viewing them straight on, when you view them from an angle, they then won't line up from that viewpoint. I think it's a matter of people's personalities, because this issue would not bother some people, and does bother others.

The good news is that I had FOUR mullioned glass doors that I replaced with clear ones, and it wasn't actually much of a big deal. The big expense in cabinetry is the boxes, not the doors. What I did was order 4 new doors without glass from my cabinet company, which surprisingly wasn't too expensive. Then I brought the glass-less doors to a local neighborhood glass/mirror shop where they measured them for the glass. I did end up choosing to bevel the clear glass edges. The bevelling adds a high-end luxury look - it ought to since it almost doubled the cost of the glass. But after having seen the bevelled clear glass, I know I wouldn't have been happy with the plain clear glass. When the glass was ready, about 10 days later, the glass store installed the glass onto the doors for me, and I brought them home and hung them myself. It was really easy, and I am not at all handy.

I know it sounds like a lot of trouble, but that's how much the not-lining-up issue bugged me. And now, every day I can look at my clear glass cabinets with their lovely bevelled edges, and the shelves going cleanly horizontally, and enjoy the view.

Sorry if this message is a downer for you, but thought I'd relay my experience.

Because of this issue, many people with mullion doors put in glass shelves to eliminate the misaligned look.

Thank you both for your posts. I really thought I had a manufacturing flaw. I think I'll try the glass shelves first, but the beveled clear glass sounds beautiful.

Having replacement glass put in can be quick - we replaced the plain glass in ours with Silvit patterened glass and it was done the same day for less than $200. Speed will depend on the glass you choose and how it is held in place, our cabinet manufacturer (Fabritec) uses a rubber gasket that peels out and the glass retailer just re-used it with the new glass - if they had to caulk the glass in it would have taken longer and cost more.

For the record what usually costs money in relation to cabinetry is the doors not the boxes.

Oh dear! This thread is very timely for me. Thank you!

I have one corner cabinet ordered with mullions and a seeded glass door -- it will go above my sink.

Maybe I better talk to my KD now, because the not-lining-up THANG would likely drive me absolutely bonkers!!!

"The shelves will actually never line up with the mullions, because if you get them to line up, say, viewing them straight on, when you view them from an angle, they then won't line up from that viewpoint. I think it's a matter of people's personalities, because this issue would not bother some people, and does bother others."

There might be some cabinet manufacturers for which this is true, but ours line up. They are fixed and were placed to line up. I can see the bottom of the shelves because I'm short, but there is no angle from which I can see the edge of the shelves.

Of course they should line up, that's the whole point of glass front cabinets. Make them do it right. It may just be a matter of drilling new holes for the shelf supports.

Mine line up. While my shelves are fixed, they sit on the same shelf brackets that are in my other cabinets, which can be adjusted.

kitchen cabinets

Hutch

Good luck.

I have corner cupboards in the dining room with beautiful mullioned doors and shelves. They were built by the previous owner, a talented, but still amateur, carpenter, DIY. They line up perfectly, whatever the angle. It can be done if someone takes the trouble to do it right.

Well, it must depend then on the cabinet manufacturer. I know this subject has come up several times on the Kitchens Forum, and there are always a number of people who chime in with the problem of the shelves not lining up with the mullions. I know that with my cabinets, I and my GC tried hard to get them to line up. Drilled new holes and everything. But as soon as the shelves seemed lined up, if you stepped farther away or stepped closer or changed your viewing angle, they no longer lined up. Maybe it depends on the thickness of the mullions and/or shelves, I don't know. So I guess my advice to the OP is to call back the GC or whoever installed the cabinets and give it a try to line them up. If it doesn't work, then the alternatives of glass shelves or non-mullioned doors are good ones.

Lmarletto...ask someone who is 6' if they line up.

Shelves lining up are indeed a matter of perspective...not a "fixed" point.

We haven't done it yet, but when we get the glass for our doors we will also order glass shelves for two reasons...(1) the "lining up" issue, which they won't totally solve but will definitely make it less obvious, and (2) we have lights inside our cabinets (on the top) and right now the wood shelves block the light from going past the top shelf, the glass will allow the light to flow down to the bottom (if you plan to pack your shelf, the light may be a non-issue!)