What Options do I have for Refinishing My Cabinets?
Q: What options do I have for refinishing my cabinets?
A: If you’re tired of staring at those same kitchen cabinets you haven't liked for years, there are lots of ways to give your cabinets a new look, whether you prefer something more classic or super contemporary. There’s an option for every budget, and most of the time you won’t even need to replace your cabinets or counters, unless you just really want to. When it comes to giving your current cabinets new life, you have options. Some are pretty simple and don’t require a lot of effort, while others could be more challenging. They’re all valid options, though, depending on how much time and effort you’re willing to put into the project.
You’ll have the most flexibility if you’re working with wooden cabinets, whether or not they’ve been painted previously. Laminated cabinets (also sometimes called MDF) are a bit of a different beast, and are more difficult to change once they’ve been installed. Here are a few things to consider, depending on your cabinets:
SWAPPING HARDWARE
Sometimes, the thing making your cabinets feel old and dated is the hardware itself. It might sound like a small thing, but heavy cabinet hardware from the 1970s has a whole different feel than more streamlined contemporary hardware. If you’re on a small budget, or you can’t have your kitchen torn apart for an extended period of time, investing in new hardware could give you a fresh new look.
REPAINTING
This is generally only a trick to try on cabinets that are made of wood, but if you use specially designed paints and primers, you may be able to make paint stick to laminated or metal cabinets. Choose a paint that’s self-leveling and dries hard, like a latex-based enamel cabinet paint, along with a bonding primer, for the very best results. You’ll need to take the doors down, sand the existing finish just enough to rough it up, and allow for plenty of dry time, but because these paints are tintable, the sky is really the limit. It goes on just like other high grade paint, so mix and match colours, paint two-tone designs on your existing cabinetry, or freehand it with fancy designs for a look you really love.
RE-STAINING
This will only work with wood cabinets, but you can really change the look of a room simply by re-staining your existing cabinets. It’s possible to strip old paint off of painted cabinets, but be warned: it will likely be a big mess, so do the work outside as much as you can. Once you have all the old stain or paint sanded off, apply your new stain as per the label directions. Stains these days come in a lot more than shades than traditional “wood”; many can create simulated whitewash or aged wood, or add a thin tint of colour that will still allow the wood grain to show through.
If redoing your cabinet doors seems like it may be more mess than you’re prepared to deal with, or you want to change the actual design of your cabinet doors, another viable option would be to order all new cabinet doors. You may still need to paint or stain the cabinet bases to match, but a whole new design is a lot easier to achieve with new doors - and replacing those doors is a lot simpler (and less expensive) than replacing all your cabinets!
Article courtesy of Homekeepr.com