Kitchen cabinets one of the largest visual features in a kitchen and if they are outdated they can make your whole kitchen look outdated. Replacing your kitchen cabinets can be a major expense, though, and is one of the largest costs of remodeling a kitchen. Rather than replacing your cabinets, try some of these easy and inexpensive ways to update and modernize them.
One of the least expensive ways to update your cabinets is to paint them. A fresh coat of paint can refresh and revitalize older cabinets and make them look new again. When choosing your paint color, be sure to consider the size of your kitchen.
If you have a small kitchen you may want to paint your cabinets in a lighter color since light colors create a more open feeling and can make your kitchen look larger. If you have a larger kitchen to begin with you can go with a deeper, richer color that adds depth and warmth to the room.
You should use a semi-gloss paint for your cabinets as opposed to a satin or flat finish. Because a lot of cooking goes on in the kitchen the doors can get greasy from fingers or just from the grease in the air so you want to choose a paint that is washable and easy to clean.
Get New Door & Drawer Hardware
Another fast and easy way to update the look of your cabinets is to get new hardware for your drawers and cabinet doors. It’s amazing how much more modern older kitchen cabinets can look just by getting new handles and drawer pulls.
Cabinet handles and pulls come in a huge variety of styles and materials, so there is sure to be a style available that you love. For a truly unique touch try purchasing your hardware from an artisan instead of from a chain store.
Replace the Centers of Your Cabinet Doors
If you are a do-it-yourself type and are good at working with tools, you can consider cutting out the center of your cabinet doors and replacing them with something more interesting. Use a jigsaw to cut out the center of the door, and then cover the hole in the door with a fun and creative material attached to the inside of the cabinet door.
You can use chicken wire for a country kitchen, or colored sheets of acrylic for a more modern kitchen. For a more earthy feel, find some bamboo placemats and stretch them across the cut-out section, stapling or nailing them to the inside of the cabinet door. This creates a beautiful slatted bamboo inset that can give your kitchen cabinets a beautiful, one-of-a-kind look.
Tile You Kitchen Cabinets
If your current cabinet doors have an inset in the center, consider placing tile in the inset. All you need to do is measure how deep the inset in the door is and then find tile that is approximately the same thickness or a little thinner.
Once you have your tile you just need to use tile adhesive to set it into the inset in the door. You can set the tile using straight lines, or you can get creative and come up with a unique, artistic pattern.
After your adhesive has dried you can grout your cabinet doors, seal the surface when the grout dries, and then hang them back up. Tile can add whole lot of elegance and personality to even the ugliest kitchen cabinets.
