When some dents here and some dull finish there scream that your kitchen cabinets have seen better days, it’s time to do something about it. But when replacing the kitchen cabinets is going to do some damage to your family budget, this home improvement becomes rather challenging. Ready for a few good ideas on how to upgrade the kitchen cabinet looks without replacing them – whether they are dated or outdated?
Paint kitchen cabinets
Painting the kitchen cabinets is the first thing one would think of. That’s also the way to go even if you opt for a full kitchen renovation as long as the cabinets are in good shape and not rotten or otherwise damaged. A fresh color will make a huge difference. And if the current color is dark, a lighter hue will lighten up and brighten up the kitchen.
Bring in the patina style
If you like the idea of painting the cabinets but want an extra flair, a patina is an excellent solution. The whole purpose of this project is to intentionally age the looks of the kitchen cabinets. Today there are several solutions to bring in the cabinet patina looks.
a. You can paint the cabinets and then distress just the edges to create an antique look.
b. For a more distressed look, you need to sand more parts of the cabinets – not just the edges. The best parts to distress are around the handle, close to the handle, and the perimeter of the cabinet door.
c. You may also find on the market paints, which give a cracked and chipped effect. Alternatively, you can zap the fresh paint with a blow dryer for a few seconds or until the cracks are apparent.
Install new cabinet handles
An easy transformation would be with the replacement of the hardware. That’s something you can do whether or not you paint the cabinets. This is also your chance to get more convenient handles for your cabinets. From golden and brushed nickel to bronze and black, the cabinet handle finish choices are enough to meet all tastes.
Gloss cabinets up
If you like high gloss kitchen cabinets, why don’t you do exactly that? If you are to paint the cabinets, buy a high gloss paint. If you like intense colors, choose a vivid hue. To make the cabinets even shinier, finish them with a clear high gloss acrylic varnish.
Add kitchen cabinets or a plate rack
Whether you transform the looks of the current cabinets or not, you can further change the looks of the kitchen by adding a plate rack. Or additional cabinets. If there is sufficient space under, over, or on the side of the current cabinets, it’s an excellent way to make an aesthetic difference and gain more storage room too.
Place crown molding
Nothing screams more elegance than crown molding on top of the cabinets. Their look is instantly transformed. And nowadays, mixing and matching styles is the way to go. So, if your cabinets are contemporary with flush doors, you can still go for a crown. In fact, the more intricate the trim style, the better. Don’t think twice about installing dentil crown molding – just to randomly name a trim style. The trim will add personality and may also close the gap from the cabinets to the ceiling, making the kitchen look taller and sparing you from cleaning over the cabinets.
Add wallpaper to the cabinet doors
If you like the idea of changing the cabinet door color but would prefer a rather intricate pattern, place wallpaper. Today, there’s removable wallpaper on the market and numerous patterns.
Get new cabinet doors
If you don’t like the above ideas or the kitchen cabinets are quite damaged, you can reface them. Instead of spending a small fortune on new kitchen cabinets, you can spend less by replacing just the doors.
Of course, you can mix & match several ideas. For example, if some cabinet doors are ruined, you can reface just them and then paint all cabinets while also placing new handles. How about that?
