There is a good chance that if you live in an older house, your kitchen cabinets are nearing the end of their usefulness. It’s possible for cabinets that are 20 years old to seem worn or obsolete if the previous owner or tenant neglected them.

 For one or all of these reasons, your kitchen cabinets may not look their best, but don’t toss them away just yet. Instead, look into a cabinet refinishing service that will give your existing cabinets a new lease of life.

Outright cabinet replacements can be costly since they must be removed from the wall. There are a lot of buildings that would not have been required had this happened. New cabinets must be built to fit your kitchen and provided by a professional contractor to assure their structural integrity.

If you don’t plan on entirely remodeling your kitchen, cabinet replacement is a bad idea. In contrast, refinishing does not need any extensive dismantling of the box. This eliminates the requirement for specialized renovation professionals and the necessity for further construction work. You won’t have to worry about the structure being compromised either.

Using cabinet refinishers, you receive the same aesthetic appeal as new cabinets because they merely touch up the exterior of your cabinets. The doors and drawer fronts and new hardware and surfaces are included in cabinet refacing.

With the new hardware, doors that are drooping or misaligned will no longer be a concern. If you’re fed up with peeling finishes, squeaking hinges, cracked or out-of-date knobs, refinishing rather than replacing is your best option.

A cabinet refinishing service may improve the look of almost any cabinet. The primary box must be intact, and if it is hanging, it must be fastened to the wall. As a general rule, this isn’t a problem in the vast majority of occupied residences.

If the bottom of a cabinet is weak or collapsing, it is possible to salvage it by replacing the weak or collapsing section with a new one without sacrificing or losing much of the box.

Your kitchen’s countertops and flooring are essential, but your cabinets are the finishing touch that ties everything together. Consider refinishing your kitchen cabinets if you have older ones and aren’t sure if you should replace them or not.

 If you’re planning a kitchen makeover, how do you decide which cabinetry improvement choice is best? Knowing the various advantages of doing so is necessary to get the most out of your cabinet refinishing. You’ll save money and get a new look for your kitchen at the same time using this method.

1. Paint the Cabinets to make them all new:

If the stain finish on your cabinets has worn out, you can restore them, just as you may refinish cabinets that have been painted.

As much paint as possible can be removed with a stripper. Then, if necessary, use a scraper to remove any remains of the previous finish.

• Repair any dents, scratches, or other surface damage with wood filler.
• Using sandpaper, grits of 100, 180, and 220-grit, sand the freshly smoothed surfaces.
• Before applying a sealer, use a tack cloth to remove any loose paint.
• When the sealer is dry, use 000 steel wool to scuff the surface lightly and a tack cloth to remove any remaining dust.

There is typically no trouble in painting wood, wood-laminate, or metal cabinets. Refinishing plastic laminate cabinets may not be possible, and outcomes may vary depending on the type of paint and technique used.

 Consult an experienced paint retailer if your cabinets have plastic laminated surfaces. As an example, you could take down a door and transport it to a paint shop. Make sure you test a tiny amount of paint on an unnoticeable spot to make sure it adheres to the surface.

Repainting flat-fronted doors and drawers can be done quickly, but architecturally detailed woodwork will take longer to prepare and paint. It is possible to acquire new unfinished doors and drawers and paint them to match your current cabinets if they are deformed, extremely weathered, or have come apart at the glued joints.

Spraying, rolling, or brushing with either a natural or synthetic bristle brush or a foam brush are all methods of applying new paint. Choosing the best approach depends on the quantity of woodwork you need to refinish and your working style. The type of paint or finish you pick may also influence the ideal applicator.

2×4 boards raised on buckets or crates can also work if you don’t have a large work table. For those of you who don’t have them, use a drop cloth as a work surface.

How to get started?

To get started, clean your worktops and cabinets, then cover your backsplash and appliances with a plastic sheet. Remove all of the cabinet hardware, including the hinges, knobs, bolts, and drawer slides. Masking tape may be used to designate each door with a unique number and its matching place as you remove them.

When reinstalling the hinges, make sure you don’t mix them up—no need to remove the slides if you are painting just the drawer fronts. Slides can be removed if necessary, but be sure to indicate the falls and their places. To make it easier to rebuild the cabinetry, store the hardware and screws in plastic bags.

Grease, steam, and food splatters are typical in kitchens since they are places where people work. You’ll need to thoroughly clean and prep all of the doors and drawers before painting them.

The first step in this method is to clean your cabinets thoroughly to remove any residue or oil. Apply a solution of one part trisodium phosphate and four parts water to all surfaces that will be repainted. Rinse, but don’t soak the cabinetry in water. Allow them to dry out completely.

Wood filler can be used to fill up the holes if you intend to install new hardware. All of the doors should be lightly sanded. Use a sanding block made of wood to keep the wood edges from becoming rounded. Mask off the cabinet interiors with painter’s tape and sand only the front and visible edges of cabinet face frames if your painting job is merely a facelift for the cabinets; you don’t need to paint the inside.

When sanding, if the previous paint is sound and well-adhered, there is no need to remove all of it; roughen the surface so that the new color may attach better. Focus on the most heavily used and heavily worn portions of the former finish. Remember to sand any glossy parts to remove the old finish. Denatured alcohol and fine steel wool can be used to cure stubborn finishes.

2. Using Cabinets Under Lights:

Lighting beneath kitchen cabinets can transform the look and feel of a kitchen in an instant. An easy and inexpensive makeover to your kitchen may be achieved by installing LED light strips beneath your cabinets. The popularity of LED light strips is attributed to their adaptability. Using a remote control, these lights may be programmed to change colors, flash, fade in and out, or mute. You may use them to set the atmosphere when the leading light is off or to add a splash of color to your cabinets while the maximum light is on.

A simple, low-cost option to enhance visual depth and increase the effectiveness of your home’s most often used workstations is to install under cabinet lighting. Installing under-cabinet fixtures may save you a lot of money in the long run, whether you put them above kitchen counters or under floor cabinets.

With LED under cabinet lights, you may save a lot of money on your utility bill. Even though LED lights can last for decades, the savings on your utility bill can be used for further design initiatives in your house.

Are there any other design considerations that should not be overlooked? Safety, security, security. Several of our top design partners have told us that making it easier for the elderly to get around their homes is of utmost significance. In the kitchen, where culinary mishaps are more likely to occur owing to low illumination, under cabinet lighting can assist prevent injuries. Our eyes begin to fail us as we get older, and we need more light to see well. As a bonus, LED lights are less glare-inducing for older eyes.

Related post: Jerry’s home improvement in Eugene Oregon.

When choosing under cabinet lighting, here are a few things to consider:

Make sure your lights aren’t too deep so they don’t get in the way of the cabinet’s face. A simple measurement is all that is required to ensure that the fixture will fit snugly into the cabinet’s lip.

You should pick a finish that closely matches your cabinetry for the most significant effects.

Use light bars that are the same width as your cabinets to give uniform illumination over the counter.

Use 8-12′′ spacing between puck lights for a uniform light distribution or broader apart to create nooks and crannies of light.

3. Usage of Glass Door Cabinets:

The illusion of a larger room is created by the use of glass cabinets. Small kitchens benefit significantly from having an open, breezy atmosphere. A more open look may be achieved in any kitchen, even in the most cramped of spaces. Adding glass cabinets to an older-style kitchen may bring a sense of modernity to the room without altering its layout or appearance.

Colour and form may now be used to create bespoke pieces in the new visual depth. Display or keep your cookery books or utensils. Wallpaper or paint your kitchen’s accent color on the inside of the cabinets.

The use of glass cabinets as an accent on the top cabinets is relatively frequent. It’s a simple way to add visual interest and variety to the kitchen. Adding a pair of glass cabinet doors to the top of an appliance makes it stand out. 

Small “upper-uppers” can have glass doors if your cabinets are extended to ceiling height. Adding a functional and visually appealing top border around the kitchen divides the upper cabinets from the ceiling.

Even while glass cabinet doors are not unheard of on lower cabinets, they are less prevalent. The kitchen island is a frequent location for bottom cabinet glass doors. Doors or open shelves can be seen on the sides of many kitchen islands.

 Protecting and showcasing these end caps is made easy with the addition of glass cabinet doors. Try to use the right kitchen cabinet hardware if you want to see your kitchen look beautiful.

Inside your cabinets, you need to change your perspective. They may now be used as a showcase, thanks to the addition of glass doors. Using a display-only cabinet as a china hutch would be a waste of space in the kitchen, as it takes up valuable counter space. You have to strike a balance between functionality and aesthetics.

Determine the purpose of your cabinetry first. When displaying your regular dishware, make sure you enjoy it and that it matches your kitchen. Do not overcrowd the table with utensils, yet orderly stacks can be beautiful. 

Consider painting the backs of your cabinets a complementary color to your kitchen and dishware. Instead of alphabetically arranging your cookbooks, maybe about grouping them by color or height!

4. Wrap the Cabinets:

When deciding whether or not Thermofoil cabinets are the best choice for you, keep in mind that they offer several advantages and disadvantages. Thermofoil cabinets are built from medium-density fiberboard (MDF) or engineered wood and a vinyl substance that is heated and molded. In the end, you get a cabinet door that is more resistant to chipping than painted ones because of the flat surface it has.

The low heat resistance of Thermofoil cabinets is a shared kitchen design choice for many homeowners. When placed too close to an oven or other heat source, the laminate may separate from the veneer core and become loose. It is possible to solve this issue by putting metal strips called heat shields between the cabinets and the heat source.

Moisture-resistant Thermofoil cabinets are highly sought after for usage in kitchens and bathrooms. However, while they may withstand moisture better than other materials like ordinary MDF and wood, they aren’t entirely impervious to it. The cabinet might be permanently destroyed if the laminate layer becomes compromised and water penetrates the core.

Unlike typical wood cabinets, Thermofoil cabinets have laminated MDF or engineered wood cores. Because of this, they are more challenging to put in place. Repairing a Thermofoil cabinet’s vinyl layer is impossible if damage to the vinyl layer has occurred, as with wood cabinets. Compared to other cabinet materials, certain Thermofoil brands are equivalent in price; nevertheless, expert installation is recommended for Thermofoil cabinets, which increases the entire cost.

Laminated Thermofoil is thicker and less flexible than Thermofoil, making it look more like an actual wood surface. This material may be utilized to achieve a fraction of the cost of actually painting wood cabinets. Complex designs like raised panels routed doors, and arches are possible with this material instead of laminate.

Colors other than white and ivory may need special orders, and they’ll cost more, as these are the most common Thermofoil finishes. A stove or other heat sources should not have Thermofoil near them without suitable heat shields, as this material is susceptible to heat damage.

If the vinyl film is punctured, the cabinet will be permanently ruined and vulnerable to water damage as a result. Due to exposure to the sun’s rays or cigarette smoke, this material can also fade.

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Final Thoughts:

So these are some of the cabinet redo ideas that we could think of. If you have some ideas, do let us know, and we may add them to the next blog. 

Author bio

Alycia Gordan is a freelance writer who loves to read and write articles on healthcare technology, fitness, and lifestyle. She is a tech junkie and divides her time between travel and writing. You can find her on Twitter: @meetalycia