How To Update Old Kitchen Cabinets – Want to give your outdated or factory-quality cabinets a designer look without the hefty price tag? Before you spend a fortune removing and replacing them, try some of these tricks for a personalized, upscale look on a DIY budget. You can tackle most of these yourself in a long weekend!
We are currently in the middle of building our Hacienda Hideaway kitchen and I have spent the last year gathering all the dream inspiration to take my design to the next level. I thought it would be fun to share with you the best ideas I got – almost all of them I will incorporate into my next plans.
How To Update Old Kitchen Cabinets
No revelations here – a fresh coat of paint is always the biggest bang for the buck. Most cabinet surfaces can be repainted with a high quality primer and special paint. I’ve had good results with Benjamin Moore Advance and Sherwin Williams Urethane Enamel, both designed for cabinets and highly recommended by pros/DIYers.
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If you don’t want to commit to a complete color change, try painting only the upper, lower or island cabinets. Introducing a new color will add visual interest and help keep the room from feeling too one-dimensional. Even using a few shades lighter or darker than your existing cabinets will give your kitchen a more personalized feel.
Check out my detailed guide to painting cabinets like a pro and the results of my paint roller tests. The power of paint cannot be emphasized enough!
A quick fix that can go a long way in updating the look of your cabinets. The hardware is the “jewelry” of your kitchen, so you can add some personality here!
Today, there are endless options at all price points, suitable for any design style. This is one area where you don’t have to pay to find something that looks and feels premium. Sites like Amazon, Lowe’s and Home Depot and even Etsy have a great selection of affordable cabinet hardware (they are my top picks on a budget).
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Options 1 and 3 are the easiest, but limit your replacement options. Option 2 requires a little extra work. You can also choose a solid bar handle like this one that covers the old holes.
Pro tip: use a cabinet hardware jig to drill perfect holes and save time! We use this for our next hardware installation:
This is the biggest investment (both in time and $) on this list, but you may find it necessary to get the biggest impact. If you’re happy with the overall design of your kitchen but have outdated or damaged doors, it’s worth taking a closer look at your cabinets.
There are several companies (both local and online) that can make custom doors and drawer fronts to match your existing cabinets. With a little extra modification, you can even upgrade your doors to drawers, which are often a more efficient use of space.
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We are working on Nieu cabinet doors for our Hacienda kitchen mod and so far the process has been very smooth. Door installation starts this week – you can follow along on my Instagram stories!
If replacing the doors/drawer fronts completely is not an option, consider upgrading them with moldings. This is one of my favorite easy DIY tricks for doors of all sizes (check out my easy DIY door update guide).
This process is ideal for plain slab or shaker style doors when you want to take them to the next level. We updated our shaker cabinet doors with skinny molding to give it an elevated and personalized look. The magic is in the details!
You can also experiment with other types of molding, such as knurling, as we have done below with these DIY knurled Ikea cabinet doors:
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Another idea to consider: add molding along the bottom edge of your cabinet boxes for a more polished look.
Drawers are another (often overlooked) opportunity to personalize your kitchen. This can be a simple DIY using molding, or thin cover panels such as lip board.
Islands are the perfect place to add more details and help define the style of the room. In our Hacienda kitchen, we chose to dress both sides of the cabinets and the island in a vertical lap:
You can also make a statement with a pattern on the back of an island using wallpaper or tiles:
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This custom detail was at the top of my wish list for our Hacienda Hideaway kitchen. After gathering inspiration on Pinterest, we came up with a curved valance toe kick design and made them for our cabinets (full tutorial coming soon!)
Most people don’t even realize that there are more options beyond the standard toe kick indentation, and there is a reason they make such a statement – they are very rare! You will discover them if you study projects from the best interior designers. This kitchen from Warmington & North was a great inspiration for our kick design:
In our own kitchen, we put individual legs on the bottom of the cabinets, which is the easiest way to dress them.
In our Riverside Retreat kitchen, we installed a flush-toe kick, which only required some extra 2×4-inch blocking to widen the surface of the toe kick, and we ended up with a quarter turn.
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Any of these non-standard options will make your cabinets look more like built-in furniture and create a sense of thoughtful and intentional design.
If you have enough closed storage space and like the idea of displaying your favorite dishes or drinks, consider replacing one or more of your upper cabinets with open shelves.
We chose a full wall of open shelving in our own kitchen and love how easy it is to access our everyday dishes. Although our kitchen is not large and we could have used the extra hidden storage, the open shelves make the space feel bigger and add more character than a wall of cupboards.
I also went this route for the Riverside Retreat kitchen, replacing the old upper cabinets with two sets of shelves.
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An easier (and less permanent) alternative to open shelving would be to remove the doors from your upper cabinets for an “open” feel. I love the idea of painting the boxes the same color as the wall so they blend in and feel less like cabinets. You can have fun with it by adding wallpaper, or even peel and stick tiles on the back wall.
Here’s an alternative to removing your upper cabinet doors: add glass inserts instead! This still allows you to display your favorite dishes while keeping them dust free. A local glass company should be able to modify your existing doors and replace the inner panel with glass (plate doors may require additional customization).
Feel free to be creative and consider using cane, leaded or colored glass, or use a place insert. Take it a step further with unique options like cane ribbon, netting or antique mirrored glass.
This is a great area to add your own personal style to the kitchen and experiment with something new.
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The empty space above the upper cabinets is one of my biggest design pet peeves, but luckily it’s a relatively easy fix! Filling that void will instantly make the room feel taller and more finished.
There are several ways to do this, and lots of good before/after tutorials online. The fastest solution requires framing the void, fitting filler pieces, crown molding and painting to match your existing cabinets.
While you’re at it, consider building in a frame for your fridge too. Covering the sides of an open fridge instantly makes your kitchen feel more polished.
This is my personal favorite kitchen design trick. I used two vintage pieces in our kitchen – this wooden hutch that holds drinks, a microwave and a toaster:
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Vintage pieces can be easily finished to your liking (both of mine were) and are often much less expensive than cabinets. They add loads of character and will set your kitchen apart from the basic build quality.
I try to incorporate at least one vintage piece in every room, and the kitchen is no exception. At Riverside Retreat, I found a used $50 kitchen table, painted it and raised it on wheels, turning it into a mobile island:
Consider replacing one of your cabinets (top or bottom) with an antique piece, or just add an old hutch if there’s room.
And there you have it – ten designer-approved ways to transform your kitchen cabinets. Do you have a favorite? Hopefully this has inspired you to get creative with your existing cabinets if you don’t have the desire or the budget to replace them. You might be surprised at the difference a small detail can make!
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As we continue to work on our Hacienda kitchen cabinets, I’ll be checking in on Instagram stories of our progress. Next week: new landscaping at the Highs House!
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Hi, I’m Jenna and I’ve been designing and DIYing my way through homes since 2008. Join me as I learn, share my experience, and hopefully encourage/inspire you along the way!
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