Real Estate Community Forum

I am planning to update my kitchen and I'm looking for inexpensive tips for making my kitchen cupboards look more modern and up to date. I've already gone to Home Depot and was amazed to see how expensive new cupboards can be. I wish I had the money to purchase new cupboards, but I need to work within my budget.

Currently, my cupboards are a solid oak and are very plain with no style. I was thinking of painting them white, but I think they would get dirty too fast and I'd have to repaint them every year, which can get annoying. I'd appreciate any feedback on making these dull cupboards come back to life. Thanks!

Even if you are on a budget, you can find a way to remodel your kitchen. There are alternatives that allow you to have a new looking kitchen without the full expense of a complete kitchen remodelling. There are a lot of steps you can take to refurbish your kitchen and save money at the same time.

The biggest part of a kitchen remodelling project is the kitchen cabinets. But there are ways to update your cabinets without spending a fortune. One such way is to just paint the cabinets. This is a very inexpensive way to make your cabinets look fresh and new.

Sand down the cabinet surfaces and put on a primer coat. This will help the paint stick better. If you use a block primer, dirt and oil stains will be covered. Make sure you use a paint that is intended for cabinetry. All you need to do is put some labor into the job, and oi will have new looking cabinets for a tenth of the price of new cabinets.

The next step up in "newish" cabinets, more expensive than paint, but less expensive than new cabinets, is cabinet refacing. This will cost a few thousand dollars, but not the tens of thousands that new cabinets cost. Cabinet doors and drawer fronts are removed and new ones put on. The support areas of the cabinets are covered with a matching wood veneer, and new hardware is installed yielding an entirely new look to the cabinets.

The same type of thing can be done to the appliances in your kitchen. Instead of replacing appliances that work fine but don't look fine any more, you can just replace the front panels for a new look.

Good Luck

In order to make your kitchen cupboards look new, I suggest putting new hardware. Start by sanding the cabinet. After that is completed, put new hardware on the cabinet. In fact if the cabinets are wooden, put some polyurethane to make the cabinet shine. Many home improvement stores have all the things you need to make your cabinets come back to life. I suggest going there and speaking to a sales clerk for more advice.

I watching a home improvement show and the guy wanted to save the original hardwood cupboards in his kitchen. To update his cabinets, he took off the front doors and made new ones. The new front doors were more modern and very attractive looking. This is a great ideal to consider if you want to keep the original cupboards and save on money. Just make sure you to match the same type of wood, such as maple or walnut.

Another solution is to paint the cupboards. This is a simple and cheap fix to any household problem.

Each of the other suggestions are good, but there are some tricks I’ve learned you might want to try. Cleaning the cupboards if you want to refinish them is essential. TSP or another de-greasing cleanser is needed to remove the cooking grease that has built up on the cabinets. Clean them on every surface, inside and out. I actually remove them from their hinges and take off the hardware before I clean. Just make sure you mark the cabinets and the doors so you remember which one goes where. I use a piece of masking tape on the cabinet and match the numbers with an indelible marker on the top edge of the overhead doors and the bottom edge of the lower cabinet doors.

Should the varnish on your cupboard doors be peeling, bubbling or flaking, sanding is going to be needed. Sometimes they will only need rubbing with a fine steel wool to prepare the surface for re-varnishing or painting. If you are re-doing a galley on a boat, always use bronze wool instead, as it will not rust. Steel or bronze wool will let you get into cracks and crevices easier than sandpaper will, also. Painting should not be needed every year if you prime first and then use a very good enamel. It can be an oil-based enamel or a water-based one, but it must be of a high quality. Apply at least two coats for durability. I use a foam roller to get a good coat of paint on the surface, then brush to smooth. A very little paint on the brush will get you started, and if you work quickly you won’t need to wet the brush again. Switching back and forth between the roller and brush is best, smoothing one door before rolling the next. See if you like the dry-brush finishes or adding stain to the paint finish more than just a coat of paint. These can give texture and personality to a cupboard door on any type of cabinet behind it. Should you choose these, add a coat of polyurethane varnish to make them completely scrubbable.