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Laminate cabinets-paint or replace?

12 years ago

My boyfriend and I bought a lovely 630 square foot city condo two years ago. The small galley kitchen has the original laminate counters and cabinets but they are starting to show wear and tear after 20 years.

We're likely going to replace the counter with quartz, but we're not sure what to do with the cabinets. For us, I think we'd be perfectly happy painting them. Our concerns are whether we should go further and replace the cabinets since we're already going to be doing the counter and floor. We don't plan on living here forever and are concerned that painted cabinets with such a nice counter would be off-putting to a buyer. Assuming the cabinets were painted well, would you recommend we go that route, or should we replace them altogether? Thanks!

Featured Answer

kompy

12 years ago

If I were a buyer looking at a property, seeing old cabinets painted over and then topped with HEAVY new granite or quartz would raise a red flag for me. Replacing the cabinets, at a later time, would be labor intensive and costly. Who would I get to do it? WHO WOULD do it? Some top shops might do it, but not guarantee there won't be any breakage. I would be happier if there were just laminate tops on it, so it could just all be removed and replaced easily.

I would also feel the need to re-use the granite or quartz tops...and then couldn't redesign the space better to my liking.

It makes much more sense to either go with a cheap and easy to replace top, like laminate.....or bite the bullet and replace the old, dingy cabinets. It will HELP you sell your place down the road.

Your kitchen is probably pretty small if only in a 630sf condo....so the cost of replacing the cabinets shouldn't be horrible!

KOMPY

Ps. After I wrote that...I just remembered that I painted over an old laminate kitchen once. It was 1985 and I was 21. I had just bought my first home. It was 900 SF. The cabinets were white woodgrain laminate slab doors...partial overlay. I bought this spray can stuff called "Fleckstone" and I painted all the frames and fronts. It was a lot of work!!!! After I was done, though, it looked great. And that finish was HARD as rock!!! When my friend went to drill the new chrome hardware, he could barely drill through it! Then I put new square edge, black laminate tops in with the 'sparkle' finish. The kitchen looked hip and ultra modern but cost me very little! I wish I had a picture of it. ahhh sweet memories of my youth. This situation was different....I was 21 and had little money. And the home was not worth very much....in rural Ohio. Can you believe I only paid $27,000 for that house? My last car cost more than that. Wow!

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Comments (6)

ci_lantro
12 years ago
Assuming the cabs are in very good condition & the overall style of the condo, painting them (professional quality job) might give you a look similar to this:

Alternatively, you could look into replacing just the door & drawer fronts rather than total cabinet replacement. Going this route would give you almost unlimited style options and be a minimal disruption vs removing & replacing existing cabinetry. But, in a small galley kitchen, I think a sleek contemporary look lives a little larger. Makes for much easier job keeping things clean, too. Slab doors don't have nooks, crannies, & crevices for dust & gunk to get lodged in.
joaniepoanie
12 years ago
I agree...unless they are painted professionally, I think they will look shabby next to a new floor and countertop and you will wish you had replaced them. Shop around...Ikea might be a good place to start for decent cabinets reasonably priced.
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rocketmomkd
12 years ago
We painted our laminate cabinets when we moved into this house. For us, it was a temp solution, knowing we would do a full reno eventually. I think they turned out ok, but by the time we started the reno, which just stared in Feb, the paint job and the cabinets themselves were showing lots of wear. I would say paint them only if the cabinets themselves are in great shape. I second the suggestion to look at Ikea cabinets. Some of them are really nice and if you are going to the trouble and expense of putting in quartz counters, you'll want the cabinets to look just as nice.
colorfast
12 years ago
Why not post a photo of your kitchen and some closeups of the cabinets?

It really makes a difference what you are working with to start. Mine were not worth refinishing. A short list: chipped veneer on the fronts, drawers put together with staples (falling apart), non-adjustable shelf heights, weird depths and deep corners where things got lost. On the other hand, I have seen some sturdy 80s oak kitchens that have been re-done wonderfully.

I think you want it professionally painted if you do keep them.
emilyadi
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you for all of the wonderful tips and suggestions! I think we've decided to just go and replace the cabinets based on your comments. Now comes the endless struggle to figure out what colors work best!

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