Revitalize your Kitchen With a Kitchen Cabinet Make Over

When you want a new look in the kitchen, probably the first thing you think of is re-doing the cabinets. Before you rip out those old cabinets and head down to the DIY warehouse, take a moment to consider your options. If replacing the kitchen cabinets is not in your budget, you can still update the kitchen by painting or refacing the cabinets. If you have a substantial remodel budget, then consider custom cabinets.

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Painting your kitchen cabinets is an easy and inexpensive way to liven up dull, boring kitchen cabinets. Plus, painting cabinets does not require a lot of skill. You can completely customize the look of your kitchen by finishing your cabinets in vibrant, eye-catching color.

To paint your kitchen cabinets yourself, first remove the doors from the cabinets. If the cabinets themselves are easy to remove, take them down as well. Be sure to take the hinges and hardware off and put them in a bag or a container for safe keeping.

Take the cabinets or the doors outside or into a well ventilated garage, and create a workspace by laying out newspaper, a tarp, or an old sheet.

The next step is to sand the cabinets to prepare them to receive the paint. Don't neglect this step even if you can't get your cabinets down, because this will ensure the quality of your work. Use first a medium and then a fine grade sand paper with the sanding attachment on your rotary drill. You will want to take off all the original finish and leave the cabinets with bare, smooth wood for painting.

The sheen of the paint you use will determine how many coats of the paint you will need to apply. Flat and Eggshell paints require fewer coats than semi-gloss and gloss. Always paint with a latex based paint to make clean-up easier.

Paint in the direction of the grain of the wood. This technique keeps the paint strokes from looking like they go against the natural grain.

After you have painted the doors allow them to dry in a well ventilated, shaded area. Then return to the kitchen and repeat the process on the inside and underneath of the cabinets. Keeping all the windows and doors open, and keeping the house at room temperature should provide adequate ventilation.

Once the doors and cabinets are completely dry, simply reattach the hinges and doors. With the money you saved doing it yourself, you can buy brand new hardware. At the end of the day you will have a new kitchen and the pride of doing it yourself.

Refacing Cabinets

Refacing cabinets can provide an easy and affordable alternative to purchasing new cabinets. Instead of replacing your kitchen cabinets, all that is required to spice up the old cabinet is a new finish. With a minimum of effort, and expense, you will be pleasantly surprised how good your cabinets will look.

If your kitchen cabinets are in good structural condition, and you have enough storage and counter space, then refacing is for you. To reface your cabinets you will cover the exterior surfaces with new laminate. Replace the doors and drawer fronts, and finish the front and side panels with new veneer. These materials are available at your hardware store in a stunning variety of styles.

Refacing your kitchen cabinets is the perfect DIY project. There is no damage to your walls and floors, and minimal mess. Most refacing jobs take only a few days.

Custom Cabinets

If your kitchen remodel ideas run to completely new cabinets, rather than buy stock (or modular) cabinets off the shelf, consider the grandeur and convenience of custom built cabinets.

Cabinets are one of the main focal points of a kitchen. Custom cabinets will add that little something extra to the beauty and value of your home. A home with custom cabinets will have a higher market value than one with stock cabinets. In addition to value and aesthetic appeal, custom built cabinets will easily accommodate a modern family with options like organizational tools and space saving storage devices.

Custom cabinets are designed especially for you and are built to accommodate your needs. They can be made in any material and style you wish, and the style can be mixed and matched to your preference. You no longer have to be stuck with boring knobs, with custom cabinets you have your choice of hardware.

But the real beauty of custom cabinets are the organizational tools, such as lazy susans, boxes, and separation racks. These features are designed especially for your kitchen and your family. If you want specially sized cabinets or a unique design feature, you will have to have custom built cabinets. They are expensive, but, if your kitchen is a work of art, they are worth it.

About the Author

Steve Dolan has undertaken extensive home remodelling over the past 10 years. Learn more about cabinets for your home at Home Cabinets and for help redoing your bathroom, click Bathroom Remodelling and Decorating

Shopping for Kitchen Cabinets: Choosing the Right Kitchen Cabinet for your Price Range

Kitchen Cabinets are by and large the core of any kitchen. They can be highlighted by kitchen appliances such as the refrigerator, stove, cooktop, dishwasher and microwave, or these appliances can be modified to blend in by using panels that match your kitchen cabinets.

Shopping for kitchen cabinets can be intimidating, especially for a first time buyer. There are hundreds/thousands of major kitchen cabinet companies, and many more smaller custom kitchen cabinet shops where you can get any cabinet made from any species of wood that your mind can imagine. Add to that list the explosion of RTA Kitchen Cabinet importers, and the laminated cabinet manufacturers, and suddenly the list can be overwhelming. Not to mention the fact that higher price always means high quality in construction, or more features being available.

In the past, pricing had always been the way to categorize kitchen cabinets. Traditionally, tthe higher-quality cabinets simply cost more money. As I mentioned before, with more and more importers conforming to the KCMA (Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association) building standards, some of the RTA Kitchen Cabinets or Stock kitchen cabinets can actually be a sturdier cabinet than the traditional, made to order cabinets. Regardless of what type of kitchen cabinet you decide to go with, it does not take much effort to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the actual kitchen cabinets.

Most kitchen cabinet manufacturers build their kitchen base and wall cabinets in standard sizes. The kitchen base cabinets are often 34.5 inches tall and 24 inches deep. They come in widths starting at 12 inches and can go up to 48 inches often in increasing width increments of 3 inches. Kitchen wall cabinets are often 12 inches deep and 30 inches or 42 inches tall. They also come in the same size widths as the base cabinets. Wall cabinets also come in several different heights and depths for locations such as over the refrigerator or over the microwave/hood range unit. With custom kitchen cabinets, you have even more choices available, since the kitchen cabinets will be created specifically for your kitchen space.

Different semi-custom kitchen cabinet manufacturers make different-sized kitchen cabinets for all sorts of special looks and situations. It is not uncommon to have one cabinet extend beyond adjacent cabinets to create a distinguished look. It pays to shop around to see all of the different possibilities and special cabinet features offered by the custom and semi-custom kitchen cabinet manufacturers.

One of the biggest advantages to true custom kitchen cabinets is the ability to make one giant base or wall kitchen cabinet instead of separate boxes that are screwed together by the installer at the jobsite. A custom-cabinet maker can easily make one giant base cabinet 8 feet long that installs as if it were a piece of furniture. The same is true for wall kitchen cabinets. The advantage of this method is the lack of vertical seams where two traditional cabinet boxes would mate up to one another.

Pay particular attention to the materials used to build the kitchen cabinets. Some kitchen cabinets are made with minimal-quality engineered lumber, particleboard, or fiberboard. . If you plan to load a wall cabinet with heavy traditional china, the weight of the dishes may cause the cabinet to pull apart over time. This is particularly true when it comes to the semi-custom cabinets that the name brand cabinet manufacturers sell at the big box stores (which is why price is not always an accurate gauge of cabinet quality). Many of the RTA Kitchen Cabinet manufacturers use solid plywood sides, which obviously creates a strong kitchen cabinet box than a particleboard or fiberboard box. When it comes to custom cabinets, the material choices are endless and can usually be specified by the customer.

Another factor that will determine the price of kitchen cabinets is the material used to hold it together. Custom kitchen cabinet manufacturers will often use a combination of dovetailed joints, wood biscuits, and glue to create tight joints. Mid-grade kitchen cabinets will have a wide range of materials holding them together (staples and nails on the lower end, to cam lock assembly and wood glue on the higher end). Most RTA Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers utilize the cam lock system, which creates a nice sturdy cabinet, and when enhanced with wood glue, can last a life time. Steer away from any kitchen cabinets that are using staples, wooden dowels, or just screws. The strength of the cabinet will be compromised at the joints with these weaker joining materials.

I have been remodeling houses for over 10 years, and have been able to weed out some of the kitchen cabinet choices that didn't work for me. If you are interested in learning more about my personal preferences, check out my author bio.

Gary Nealon

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