How to Create Shaped Cabinet Fronts in Mozaik

To create shaped cabinet fronts in Mozaik, double-click the cabinet, open the Shape tab, choose the Front sub-tab, click Edit Front Shape, then drag the shape node (or type its Y value) so the cabinet's front follows your angled wall or opening. You shape the front by moving points in the part editor, the same way you shape a wall.

This guide walks through the full workflow Mozaik demonstrates in its official "Shaped Front Face" training video: shaping a wall to mimic an under-stair opening, then angling the fronts of frameless cabinets to match it.

This guide follows Mozaik's official walkthrough. Watch the original on Mozaik's channel:

What "shaping a front" actually does

Shaping lets you cut a cabinet (or a wall) on an angle instead of leaving it square. In Mozaik you can shape from one of three directions only — top, front, or side — and you can use just one of those at a time. When you activate one, any shaping you'd done from another direction is discarded, so decide up front which face needs the angle.

A quick visual cue inside the Shape tab: an active shaping direction shows in an orange/brown color, while inactive directions are grayed out.

Step 1: Shape the wall first

If your cabinets are tucking into an angled space (like the slope under a staircase with a landing), shape the wall before you place any cabinets so you have something to measure against.

1. In the floor plan, right-click the wall and choose Shape Wall.
2. Set the shape type dropdown to Shaped.
3. Click the Edit Shape tab — this opens the part editor showing the front face of the wall laid flat.

In the part editor:

• Select a line segment, then use Add Points (on the right) to drop a new point on it.
• Drag points to set the profile. The horizontal direction is the X value; the vertical direction is the Y value.
• Turn on the snapping utility so points snap cleanly at 90-degree marks — handy for landing platforms and square steps.

A practical tip from the video: hover your cursor directly over a point until it turns red, then hold the left mouse button to move just that point. If you grab the line itself instead, you'll skew the whole wall — use Undo if that happens.

The exact X/Y numbers depend entirely on your room (the video uses values like 12", 90", and several fractional heights as examples). Because you're shaping rather than stretching, you don't need to anchor anything. Click OK to apply, then check the 3D viewer to confirm the opening looks right.

Step 2: Place the cabinet and measure the angled opening

With the wall shaped, switch to the elevation view for that wall and place your cabinet.

1. Use the snapping magnet so cabinets snap into position. (When the magnet shows an X, snapping is off and cabinets pass through everything; turn it on to snap.)
2. Set the cabinet's overall width, height, and its position/clearance from the wall using the dimensioning tool.
3. Measure the opening at the point where the angle will hit the cabinet — measure to the top of the toe kick, not the very bottom of the cabinet. That measurement is the value you'll feed into the shape node.

Important measuring rule: when you shape a cabinet, the shape does not include the toe kick. So the number you measure to the top of the toe is the shape node's Y value. But if you're typing in the cabinet's full height (height of the cabinet object), you do add the toe kick height on top of the shaped measurement.

Step 3: Activate and edit the front shape

Now apply the angle to the cabinet front.

1. Double-click the cabinet and go to the Shape tab.
2. Select the Front sub-tab.
3. Click Edit Front Shape. Mozaik warns that any side or front shaping info will be lost — this is the "one direction at a time" rule. Confirm to continue.
4. In the part editor, select the node you want to move (for example, the upper node) and either drag it or type its Y value, then press Enter.
5. Click OK.

That's the core move: set the shape node to the measurement you took at the top of the toe kick, and the cabinet front now follows the angle of the wall.

Step 4: Know that shaped fronts become slab doors

This is the trade-off to plan for: the moment you shape a cabinet from the front, Mozaik automatically converts its doors to slab doors, even if your settings used a profiled door style (the video's cabinets started as a five-piece Shaker). You cannot switch a shaped cabinet's doors back to the profiled style — the shaping option forces slab.

After shaping, rebuild the face the way you want it:

• Go to the Face tab and clear the cabinet, then add your doors (for example, a full-height pair of doors).
• Use the Interior tab to add shelves — fixed and/or adjustable — at whatever openings you need.
• Set the cabinet depth as required.

Step 5: Inset the cabinet with a negative outset

To recess a cabinet back into the shaped wall opening, give it a negative outset. A negative value pushes the cabinet into the wall so only a few inches sit exposed in front. Apply the same outset to each cabinet in the run so they line up consistently, then check the 3D viewer.

Step 6: Repeat for each cabinet in the run

For each additional cabinet along the angled wall:

1. Measure the next section of the opening (remember: the shape measurement is taken to the top of the toe kick).
2. Place the cabinet, set its width and depth, and type its height as the shaped measurement plus the toe kick height.
3. Double-click it, clear the Face, then in Shape > Front > Edit Front Shape set the node's Y value to your measured shape height and click OK.
4. Rebuild the face and interior, and match the negative outset to the rest of the run.

Working cabinet by cabinet, each front follows the slope so the whole row tracks the angled wall.

Step 7: Align the door pulls across the angled run

Because each cabinet is a different shaped height, the pulls won't line up automatically. Fix them with measurements:

1. Use the dimensioning tool to measure from the top of one door to the top of its pull, then measure the neighboring cabinet's pull the same way.
2. The difference between the two is how far you need to move one pull.
3. Double-click the cabinet, go to the Face tab, select the pair of doors, click Adjust, and enter a vertical adjustment (a negative number moves the pull down). This shifts the pull for both doors together.

Repeat between each pair of cabinets until the pulls run in a clean, consistent line.

Step 8: Trim the long top and side edges

When you look at a shaped cabinet in perspective view, you may notice the top and side panels bypassing (overlapping) each other. Mozaik does this on purpose — it leaves extra material so you can trim those panels to a clean joint on your table saw.

The recommended approach is to let them run long and trim at the bench. If you'd rather adjust them in the model, go to Shape, select the top of the cabinet, click Adjust, and use the edge adjustment (for example, a left-edge adjustment with a negative value pulls that edge in). Just don't pull an edge in so far that there's no longer enough material to cut.

Step 9: Clean up your dimensions

All the manual measuring leaves dimension lines cluttering the drawing. To clear them, click the X on dimensions and choose Clear All Dimensions — every manual user dimension is removed, leaving a clean plan you can present to the customer.

Get it done-for-you

You can set this up yourself using the steps above. If you'd rather skip the setup, PAC's Mozaik training and done-for-you services can help — phillanton.com.

Full disclosure: this guide is published by Phill Anton Consulting.

FAQ

Why did my Shaker doors turn into slab doors after shaping?

That's expected behavior. As soon as you shape a cabinet from the front, Mozaik automatically converts the doors to slab and won't let you switch them back to a profiled door style. Plan for slab fronts on any shaped cabinet.

Do I include the toe kick when I measure for the front shape?

No. The front shape does not include the toe kick, so the shape node's value is the measurement taken to the top of the toe kick. You only add the toe kick height when you're typing in the cabinet's full object height.

Why are the top and side panels of my shaped cabinet overlapping?

Mozaik intentionally leaves the top and side panels long on shaped cabinets so you have extra material to trim to a clean joint on your table saw. You can also pull the edges in with the edge adjustment under the Shape tab, but the safer choice is to let them run long and trim at the bench.

Can I shape a cabinet from more than one direction at once?

No. You can shape from the top, front, or side — but only one of those at a time. Activating one direction discards any shaping you'd already done from another, which is why Mozaik shows a warning before you edit a new shape direction.