If you are looking for a less expensive way to give your tired old kitchen cabinets a new look then resurfacing them can be a great way to add some zip to your kitchen.
Resurfacing your kitchen cabinets means simply to give a new surface to them. This can be accomplished in a couple of different ways – and not all of them have to cost a lot of money!
Typical cabinet refacing or resurfacing needs to be done by a professional. This means replacing cabinets drawer fronts and doors and adding a new veneer to the base cabinet. The choices for refaced cabinets are many – actually you can get any type of wood you want but it can be rather expensive ranging anywhere from $4000 to over $10,000. Refacing your kitchen cabinets can take 2 days to a week depending on how big your kitchen is.
Resurfacing your kitchen cabinets by a professional might seem expensive but it will still save you a bundle over replacing the cabinets. It is a good way to go if your base cabinets are in good condition and very solid and you also don’t want to change the layout. On the other hand, if your existing cabinets are of low quality or are not in good condition, this is probably not your best choice.
But what if you don’t have $10,000 for cabinet refacing?
Don’t worry, there are still several things you can do to make your kitchen cabinets more attractive without spending thousands!
Perhaps the easiest and least expensive way to perk up your old cabinets is to simply paint them. Paint can add a huge change to the look of your kitchen, especially if you are gutsy enough to cover them in a bright splash of color! If you are artistic, you can even paint a design on the cabinet – either freehand or by using stencils. Wouldn’t your retro 50′s kitchen look cool with aqua cabinets? How about some roosters stenciled on your painted and antiqued cabinets in your country kitchen? Just add some coordinating drawer pulls and knobs and you’ve got a whole new kitchen for under $500!
Another idea to consider is to remove the cabinet doors. This would look great in a casual cottage style kitchen or even an old fashioned Victorian style. Try lining the shelves with fabric or lace that hangs over the edge. Or you can make curtains to hang instead of the doors or even try to find an old window that might make an interesting door.
If your cabinets aren’t organized and you don’t want everyone looking at your mess, it’s probably best to leave the doors and if you don’t want to paint, you could even try wallpapering them. Can’t find any wallpaper that suits? Then try applying contact paper. It might be best to stick to a plain pattern and make sure it is washable or you will be sorry later. Remember to prepare the cabinets as you would a wall. You don’t have to wallpaper the whole door either, use your imagination and cut out shapes or patterns from the wallpaper and paste it on.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give your cabinets a whole new look – even simply changing the hardware can do wonders. Just use your own creativity and you’ll be sure to have a unique kitchen that fits your own unique style!
Lee Dobbins
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/get-a-new-look-in-your-kitchen-by-resurfacing-your-kitchen-cabinets-58697.html
Is resurfacing your kitchen cabinets a good thing?
Does it look good? Does it last?
Yes, It will probably look good and last,but……..it will take allot of work. It is not an easy task. Stripping the old finish and making sure the wood is properly prepped for painting is painstaking work. Good Luck!!!
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My boyfriend is a painter and he just refinished my parents’ kitchen cabinets. It was a huge pain in the butt (I got recruited to help. Whee!), it took about 2 weeks to finish, my parents were out of a kitchen for all of that time, but my parents now have a kitchen that looks like one of the ones you see in the home decorating magazines.
Are you doing it yourself or having someone do it for you? If you plan on painting your cabinets, you could probably do it yourself and have it turn out okay and last. If you plan on having the wood show, you might want to have a professional do it, because you’ll want it to be lacquered and that’s not something you want to do yourself.
You also might want to consider REFACING. Most cabinet shops do this. You get new drawerfronts and new doors for your cabinets and then a wood veneer is glued to your existing cabinets. You can change your kitchen to any type of wood you want or keep it the same, just new looking.
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Me.
Refinishing your cabinets is only worth it if the base is good. For example: If they’re plywood, I wouldn’t bother……replace them if you can afford it. If they’re metal, it would require a special lacquer paint and would be best done by a professional (very pricey). If they’re solid wood and in good shape…by all means refinish them. It will require a lot of work, but, if done properly, will last a long time and will increase the value of your home.
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Do you mean refacing? Refacing usually entails laminating the cabinet boxes and doors or replacing doors and laminating the box. It can look real good, but is costly due to labor involved. Replacing cabinets is usually a better option, depending on the circumstances.
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Cabinet maker
I say yes. My cabinets were a medium pine finish and I got brave one day and painted them. First clean them, then put 2 thin coats of Zinsser 123 Primer on with a sponge brush, let them dry throughly. Then I put on 2 coats of semi-gloss, which is easy to clean. This was about 3mo. ago and they look great, through the wear and tear. Also my kitchen looks neater and larger, painted them white.
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i have just done my kitcahn and i have fablon all my cupboards and work tops it looks great and washes down easily too dosent cost too much at all and easy to do
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resurfacing can be very expensive if you are not dong it yourself and just replacing your door fronts is very expensive sometimes more than replacing all your existing cabinets.I install them all the time and my cost on a typical kitchen is about 1700 that is all the cabinets and a new counter top from home depot
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