Easiest Way To Update Kitchen Cabinets – When my husband and I decided to remodel our kitchen, we knew we had to stick to a tight budget. We didn’t want to spend a fortune, but we wanted to make a strong impact with our redesign. One of the biggest expenses of a kitchen remodel is usually the cabinets, so instead of ordering brand new custom cabinets, we decided to update the kitchen cabinets while staying on budget!
Because our floor plan changed a bit, we had to buy some new cabinets, but we went with builder grade unfinished cabinets so we could fix them up to match the rest of our existing cabinetry.
Easiest Way To Update Kitchen Cabinets
Our original cabinets were a not so nice maple finish with very traditional hardware. Paired with black and brown melamine worktops, this created a very brown, dark kitchen. When I was creating my design plan, I wanted to stay as far away from brown as possible!
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Now keep in mind that we are on a budget. Demos cost money, as do shelves, so instead of pulling out perfectly good existing upper cabinets to install brand new shelves, we simply removed the doors and hardware, then cut out the middle of the cabinet doors.
You don’t realize how dirty your closets are until you start taking them apart. Yeah, I won’t judge. See up close and personal. Then grab your degreaser and magic eraser and clean the crap out of those bad boys.
I’ll explain the painting process in a moment, but let me just say this: I was afraid to tackle this project because if I messed up, I’d have to spend a lot of money on new cabinets, but it was a lot. easier than i thought. So if you’re afraid of painting your cabinets, I say just do it.
No matter how small the detail, new cabinet hardware makes a big difference in the finished look of updated cabinets. Before choosing the style I wanted, I looked on Pinterest for inspiration, then contacted D. Lawless Hardware to place my order.
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As I said, demos cost money, so we opted to keep the existing cabinets and build faux open shelving instead. By simply removing the cabinet doors and hardware, we created the look we wanted.
Before we fully committed to opening the upper cabinets, we removed the doors and hardware and lived with it for about a week. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t distracted by the sight of my dishes. My husband originally wanted to install glass doors, but the thought of constantly cleaning them kept me from doing it.
If you choose to do it yourself, be sure to cut the middle divider as well, fully opening the shelves. This is the part that sits between the cabinet doors, but is the eyes when the door is closed. We also chose to remove the trim piece along the tops of the cabinets. It was too traditional for my taste.
It is very important that you clean the cabinets thoroughly before painting them. Cooking and just living in general creates grease and grime and odors on your cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and if you just paint it, you’ll end up with a bad finish… Plus, it’s easy.
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#1 – Start with a degreaser. Spray an old towel or washcloth liberally with the degreaser, then clean each part of the cabinet. Do it yourself with all doors, drawer fronts and cabinets.
#3 – Soak a clean cloth or paper towel in warm water. Wipe down the cabinets very well to remove any degreaser residue from the wood. Then dry well.
Once your cabinets are completely dry, take the 220 grit sandpaper and lightly sand the cabinets, doors and drawer fronts. The goal is not to sand the entire finish, just smooth the surface so the primer has something to stick to.
Thanks to Mike, my painter at my local Home Depot, I decided to use Behr Multi-Surface Primer and Sealer. I chose a semi-gloss paint for the cabinets (also on the recommendation of my painter, Mike), and this particular primer allows the paint to be glossy enough without being too glossy.
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Let’s talk about brushes and rollers for a minute. They are not all created equal. Now I know we’re on a tight budget, but you don’t want to skimp on cheap rollers and brushes.
When painting cabinets, you want to use both a small paint roller and a brush. Preferred roller is 4″ premium single coat for smooth surfaces with 1/4″ (premium white knit). And here’s a tip from Mike, the paint guy himself: wet the roller and take it out before pulling it into the paint. The paint is water-based, so it absorbs naturally into the roller. You’ll get better coverage if the roller is already wet >> More paint on the shelves!
Now for the cut-in brush: Choose an angled brush no wider than 2 inches. 1 1/2″ is preferred. I use Wooster Pro 1 1/2″ angled brushes. And guess what? I have another tip from painter Mike (he just knows a lot about painting, doesn’t he?).
Brush Tip: Choose a brush with a copper ribbon instead of silver. Brushes with silver bands have cardboard under the silver, and the cardboard absorbs the paint and water, then breaks down. Copper tape brushes have plastic under the copper that won’t break down when wet, so they last longer, longer and cleaner.
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Now for the fun part (she says sarcastically). Here’s the reality: While painting cabinets isn’t difficult at all, it is time-consuming. You have to go slow, apply multiple coats, allow enough drying time… and that doesn’t include surface preparation.
1. Grab a bunch of duct tape and carefully tape all your surfaces – countertops, walls, floors… anywhere that comes in contact with your cabinets.
#2 – Remove all hardware. If you plan to replace the hardware, fill all holes with painter’s putty, then smooth the putty with your finger.
#3 – Prime all surfaces – the cabinets themselves, doors and drawer fronts. Allow to dry for a few hours or overnight.
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#4 – Paint, paint, paint. For my cabinets, I chose Behr Premium Plus Ultra Paint and Primer in One in Semi-Gloss. (Lower cabinet color – Naval. Upper cabinets and wall color – Bakery Box).
As I said, it is a time-consuming process. For best results, I recommend taking your time when painting with smooth, even strokes with a roller or brush. I also recommend allowing enough drying time between coats.
New cabinet hardware can really change the look of a kitchen. I d about my new kitchen hardware. Working with Lawless Hardware, they kindly provided me with cabinet pulls and handles to complete this project.
Our newly remodeled kitchen is less traditional than before. We got rid of brown and black and brought in whites, grays and navy blues with lots of clean lines. Our new faucet is brushed nickel, so I chose brushed nickel body hardware. For specific pieces, I mix and match two styles:
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I chose steel rod pulls for my cabinet doors and satin nickel cups for my drawers. The mug pull is just enough for my farmhouse style, while the bar pull is the perfect modern touch to tie it all together.
Installing the hardware was the hardest part of our kitchen remodel. I spent hours and hours sanding and priming and painting and painting and painting these cabinets, so we had to be very precise when installing the new hardware.
I originally tried making templates to use, but ended up buying a cabinet hardware template on our next trip to Home Depot. It saved both my sanity and the paint job.
The template we purchased served as a guide to help us measure the width between the screw holes, but we still had to configure a bit based on the size of each individual drawer front. I had the brilliant idea of putting a piece of frog tape on the front of each drawer, roughly in the center. We then measured and marked the horizontal and vertical center on a strip of tape instead of my newly painted cabinet.
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After marking the center, we placed the template on the tape and marked our screw holes. It worked like a charm!
We actually chose to place the drawers first so we could drill the holes without supporting the drawer. It was also easy to visually verify that the new hardware was perfectly aligned in each drawer in the row.
The template helped us with the hole in the top of each cabinet door, but since our steel handles were too long, I used my trusty frog tape again. I placed the strip on the back of the handle along the screw holes and poked the tape with a pencil where