Kitchen cabinet re-do options?

[kellia]

I am so sick of my 30 year old kitchen cabinets! They are so scratched up, dirty and the finish is gone. Unfortunately, we have a lot of them and they are kind of odd shapes- 4 big "lazy Susan" types and a large pantry with 4 doors. Replacing them is not an option, we have way too much negative equity in the house to being with! So, I just want to make them look better.

They were a high quality wood, so I'm thinking we could replace the doors (if we could find the right sizes) or reface or possibly re-finish them if we sanded a lot.

Has anyone done any of the above? Any tips on what to do/not to do or where to shop? We are handy so could do the refinishing or new doors, but the refacing is beyond me! I have no idea where to even look for new doors, either.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[wdwfan16]

What kind of wood are the cabinets? What color is the finish?

 

[kellia]

The finish is a dark stain, walnut. I'm not sure what kind of wood, oak maybe?

 

[Halle]

My friend had her oak cabinets refaced with Cherry, they look beautiful. I have white Rutt cabinets which are made out of maple. We had them repainted by a professional, they look like new I have a lot of cabinets cost $6000. My cabinets are very high end so it was worth the money.

 

[Mouseless2Long]

I just painted my kitchen cabinets last year. They are good solid cabinets and were still in good shape, so I removed the cabinet doors, and painted the boxes myself. Fortunately, my brother is a furniture maker and he was able to take the cabinet doors off and professionally spray paint them. The finish is very durable and I would recommend if you decide to paint the cabinets to have the doors professionally painted. I spray painted the hinges to match new knobs I had purchased and added crown molding to the top of the cabinets. I feel like I have a brand new kitchen for very little money. Do it, you won't regret it.

 

[kellia]

I just painted my kitchen cabinets last year. They are good solid cabinets and were still in good shape, so I removed the cabinet doors, and painted the boxes myself. Fortunately, my brother is a furniture maker and he was able to take the cabinet doors off and professionally spray paint them. The finish is very durable and I would recommend if you decide to paint the cabinets to have the doors professionally painted. I spray painted the hinges to match new knobs I purchsed and added crown molding to the top of the cabinets. I feel like I have a brand new kitchen for very little money. Do it, you won't regret it.

Out of curiosity, what color did you paint them? I've thought of painting, but can't figure out what color I'd paint them, I've got the "brown" stuck in my head! I've got cream tile and matching back splash, so I think white would be too much.

 

[Mouseless2Long]

Out of curiosity, what color did you paint them? I've thought of painting, but can't figure out what color I'd paint them, I've got the "brown" stuck in my head! I've got cream tile and matching back splash, so I think white would be too much.

I'm very lucky. My sister lives in Ohio and Sherwin Williams was running a pilot program where they had an interior decorator in their Ohio stores. On one of my visits, I took up photos of my family room and kitchen along with any fabric samples, a kitchen cabinet drawer, etc. I already knew what color I was going to paint the walls, so I just needed advice on the cabinets. She took a look and recommended Sherwin Williams Casa Blanca. I could not be happier. They are just beautiful! If I could figure out how to post a picture, I would do it.

P.S. I guess I should have clarified the color by stating that Casa Blanca is an ivory color.

 

[Mouseless2Long]

I think I figured it out! Excuse the building material everywhere. This was prior to cleaning up and hanging new drapes. Prior to painting, the cabinets were a white washed pickled finish. The hinges were an antique bronze which I painted (used a hammered bronze finish spray paint) and I added antique bronze knobs. Now if I could only afford new appliances!

 

[kellia]

I think I figured it out! Excuse the building material everywhere. This was prior to cleaning up and hanging new drapes. Prior to painting, the cabinets were a white washed pickled finish. The hinges were an antique bronze which I painted (used a hammered bronze finish spray paint) and I added antique bronze knobs. Now if I could only afford new appliances!

Oh, thanks for posting! Those look great, I would have thought they were brand new!! Seeing it with your walls, maybe the light color would look good in my kitchen. You have the same stove I do, and almost the same microwave, so that really makes it easy for me to picture, lol!

 

[wdwfan16]

The finish is a dark stain, walnut. I'm not sure what kind of wood, oak maybe?

You cannot lighten the cabinets. You can only go darker. Painting maybe your best option.

 

[Mouseless2Long]

Oh, thanks for posting! Those look great, I would have thought they were brand new!! Seeing it with your walls, maybe the light color would look good in my kitchen. You have the same stove I do, and almost the same microwave, so that really makes it easy for me to picture, lol!

If you go to the Sherwin Williams store to check the cabinet color, my walls are also SW paint. The color is Bagel. Might help to see the color swatches side by side so you can get a true picture of the cabinet color. The decorator also recommended SW Irish Cream for the cabinets along with Casa Blanca, but when I looked at the color compared to the walls, Irish Cream was a little too dark.

 

[kellia]

You cannot lighten the cabinets. You can only go darker. Painting maybe your best option.

Yeah, I know I can't go too much lighter. I used something on them to try and get grease off them when we moved in, and that really took a lot of the stain and color off. I was hoping maybe cherry or something dark with a little red in it would look okay if I go stain.

 

[Taja]

If you prep your cabinets properly, you can paint any colour you like!

You probably will need a good primer if you go lighter. And you'll need to sand the wood (there is a product called liquid sand--something like that--or you can do it the traditional way with sandpaper) before applying the primer so it will adhere properly.

I've been looking at my medium oak cabinets lately (32 years old and in excellent condition) and thinking, just maybe...

But I really do not want to paint the cabinets. Every house I have lived in--except this one--has had painted cabinets!

 

[Judyat]

WE had 30 year old dark stained pine cabinets in good condition. We wanted to lighten up our kitchen so we had a friend paint and glaze and give them an antique look. They turned out great and it was very reasonable. Also changed the hardware and that helped to make a big difference too.

 

[portocall]

This thread is very timely as I am trying to figure out what to do with my cabinets. They are not high quality, and been painted over once (not by me) We will eventually upgrade to real wood cabinets, but that isn't on the budget just yet so I am thinking I am going to have to sand down, prime and repaint again... just have to decide on a color (counter tops are cream colored)

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I ahve to redo my cabinets, too. We were going to redo the entire kitchen, but I don't feel comfortable spending the money right now, so I want to spend less and do an update. I have stained cabinets that are good quality, but dark. I'm think we can paint white over the stain (I would have a professional do this). That, and I'm ripping out the &**%%^%$$ blue carpeting that some idiot put on the floor! I do NOT need a carpeted kitchen with 4 kids!

I need new appliances, too, but may go with gently used. I know we'll actually redo the whole kitchen in a few years, so I hate to spend too much now. Then again, with a good floor and new-looking cabinets, maybe I'll be content and not do the big remodel later...

 

[kellia]

Thanks for all the replies!

Any opinions as to what hold up better - painted or stained? I've got 3 kids, so if I put the work into them, I don't want them looking horrible again in a few months from their messes or not-so-gently handling! I'm hoping this will keep me happy for a few more years until we decide we want to spend the money- or move.

 

[sk!mom]

A good cabinet builder should be able to do a refacing for you. We just completed a complete home remodel. We replaced our kitchen cabinets but wanted to keep our built in linen cupboards in the bathrooms. The cabinet maker who built our new kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities made new doors to match the vanities for the linen cupboards. They look great!

Several years ago, we weren't ready to remodel but our kitchen cabinets were looking really bad. DH is very handy so he removed the doors, sanded everything down and then restained them. They looked really good but it was a lot of work.

Good luck!

 

[leight]

when dh & I were living in his mom's basement apartment before we married, we refaced her kitchen cabinets. They were a red/brown color(original from the early 70's when it was built, caked with grease and dust. We applied some solution to remove the stain, sanded, sanded, sanded then stained a natural varnish to seal the wood. And of course added new hardware. The whole kitchen looked brand new when we were done- after we replaced the counter & appliances, painted and added laminate wood flooring. Very time consuming but when she decided to put the house on the market she sold in two days and the feedback was that the kitchen sold the house.

 

[crjack]

Check out the kitchen forum under www.gardenweb.com (thathomesite) for ideas and information. They also have a great gallery of photos.

Lots of DIY threads for painting and staining cabinets and I have seen some wonderful transformations.

We did a full kitchen remodel about 5 years ago and this website/forum was a tremendous help.

Just search for former postings or keywords....not everyone is doing the expensive remodel with all new high end but on some days it can seem that way. It's definitely worth checking out.

Best of luck.