How to Deal With Bad Cabinets

One of the kitchen dilemmas I hear most often is the “my cabinets are ehh” problem.  Our customers want to upgrade to granite, but they don’t like their cabinets. As anyone who has remodeled a kitchen knows, cabinets are a big ticket item. So the question they ask me is, “Should we wait to get granite till we can afford new cabinets? Or should we plan on replacing the granite when we replace the cabinets in the future?”  The answer is neither. Over the years I’ve found several budget-friendly alternatives.

 

1. The Background Effect

It’s worth noting that if you have solid wood cabinets in good condition, most of the time putting granite on them will take the focus away from the wood. The natural materials in a room always catch the eye first. When you have a man-made countertop, your eye will be drawn to the cabinets, but once you get a stone that you love in there, those “ehh cabinets” will become a background item. I faced this very problem when putting granite in my home.

Being in the business, I of course put in a very unique stone. I hated the cabinets, but I figured I would be able to pick a new stone if I wanted to replace it later. That was six years ago, and I love my stone so much that I don’t even notice the cabinets enough to think about replacing them. In fact, once I saw them up against another natural material, they looked much more elegant and high-end.

 

2. Spa Treatment

Here are two methods for cleaning your cabinets that will enhance the natural color and give them a newer feel. 1) Dust/clean them with a soft, damp cloth. Then take a very soft cloth with a tiny bit of wood stain and touch up nicks and scratches on the cabinets. After the stain dries, use a clean soft cloth to gently wipe lemon oil onto the whole cabinet. If your cabinets need more than that clean up, try this second method: 2) Use a super, super fine steel wool to clean the cabinets with Murphy’s Oil. Once that dries, use a soft cloth and lemon oil.

                                                                                                                                                               

3. Accessories                                                                                                                                        

New hardware (pulls and knobs) is a great, easy way to update your cabinets. A cheap knob on a nice cabinet is like an ugly hat on a nice looking person. It changes your perception of the cabinets. If you’re saving thousands of dollars by not replacing your cabinets, you can indulge in high end hardware. There are tons of stores and websites with a great selection. Restoration Hardware has some gorgeous choices. If you want to save even more, ebay is a good place to look. 

 

4. Reusing Old Cabinets in a New Kitchen Design

We’ve had several customers rearrange cabinets to freshen up the look in their kitchen or make their workspace more efficient. I was perusing a blog by The Kitchen Designer about the subject recently and she had some great how-to advice. If you’re careful, it could be a great way to update the layout of your kitchen without buying new cabinets. Here’s a summary of her  advice for the project:

• You will need to draw the room to scale…experiment with a variety of configurations.
•  Consider where your existing cabinetry offers the best access near certain appliances and work centers.
•  For sections which you will need to fill in with new cabinetry, do not attempt to match a new color with the old; it most likely will not work. Try a painted cabinet or a contrasting stain on the same species of wood.
•  Expert advice never hurts. Talk to someone in the kitchen design field for tips or a head-start. (I know for a fact that these guys are always willing to use their years of experience to give you advice.)
•  Fill in spaces creatively: metro shelving, curtains and furniture pieces can result in a very interesting bohemian/modern look.

 

 5. Makeup

Painting or glazing your cabinet doors is another way to totally redo the look of your kitchen without having to go through the pain of buying new cabinets and cooking with the bathroom sink for a week while they are being installed. I’ve heard of kits you can buy to do it yourself, but I don’t know anyone who’s tried one. Ask around and see if you know anyone who has before you try one. The other option would be to have it done professionally. If you’re in the great D.C. area, several of our customers have worked with Annapolis Paint Designs in Annapolis, MD, and the results were superb (the photo is from their website).  Deborah Watson is another local who specializes in decorative painting for cabinets, walls, and more.  (Her facebook has more pictures of her work).

Hope some of this info helped, and good luck on your upcoming kitchen update!

-Lori Hethmon

Hannah: The best thing would be to call the shop # 301 218 7666 and see what we can do.

Ty Cobb: Building in SC on the ocean south of Charleston, and my builder is looking for 4 to 5 large very high...

Hannah: Thanks! I put Avanti on the Available Colors page. Thanks for remind me!

Melanie Young: Love your site and loved the video! thanks

BRANDON KAPELUCH: Hi Ladies! This is so fun and such a great way to show off your stone. I really like it! Hope all...