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Kitchen Cab: Paint/Reface/Replace?

15 years ago

Hello. I have old kitchen with old, dark cabinets. I need to lighten things up without breaking the bank, as we will only be in this house, at tops, 5 more years. I was going to paint the cabinets white, but the countertops and appliances are white, and I am not replacing them. With painting, I would want something light in color because the room is not that large. I wouldn't mind getting them replaced/refaced either, as long as it didn't cost me a fortune.

We will be painting the walls a light color (haven't decided what yet, maybe beige) and putting down vinyl flooring. I will also be replacing the backsplash as the tile is old. Here are some pics of our galley kitchen.

One side:

The other side:

Close-up of cabinet:

And backsplash:

Any advice would be appreciated!!

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Comments (5)

hestia_flames
15 years ago
I think the least expansive way to go would be to:

1) paint the cabinets;
2) you really need to replace the knobs (fill the holes before painting, then drill new holes for new handle placement.)
3) either white subway tile, or bead board backsplash (I would worry about bead board near your cook top.)
4) rethink new countertop - it could be very affordable to install Ikea butcher block sealed with Waterlox - that would look fantastic with white cabinets, and very fresh
5) You may want to rethink the hinges - I would replace them. If you want to keep them, you should replace your sink faucet so that the color matches the hardware on the cabinets.
6) Your floor looks like wood. If you want to increase the value of the house, I would consider refinishing the floor instead of covering it with vinyl.
7) an inexpensive tin type of ceiling would improve the room as well.

Refacing the cabinets would be more expensive, you would still need new hardware/backsplash, etc.

If you don't care about the style (modern or country) I believe that a country style of look would be less expensive for your kitchen.
User
15 years ago
If you're planning on only being there only 5 more years, I would definately just paint the cabinets. Refacing cabinets and replacing doors can cost almost as much as replacing the whole set of cabinets. The cabinet doors are definately a traditional style, so what I'd suggest you do is paint them an off white, and maybe add a touch of glaze to them so they aren't stark white. I would also fill the handle holes and put new hardware in a more traditional place on the doors. If you paint the walls with something other than a neutral light color, say a pretty soft green or yellow, those cabinets will POP! A good way to save some money too is to just spray paint the hindges to match your new hardware. People do it all the time and no one will know the wiser. I know you said you aren't planning on replacing the counters, but laminate counters are not expensive, I'd strongly recommend using some of the money you've saved on the cabinets to change out the counters to something with color. Faux granite, soapstone or something. Then you can do the backsplash in a traditional subway, and I think the kitchen would look really sharp!
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Re-facing can be the right answer if you have a great layout that works and good cabs (as they are only 4 years old I am assuming there is a good chance this is true in your case). Most significant portion of the cost of cabs is usually the doors and drawer fronts and the things you see. Someone here just recently refaced their exisiting cabinets (DIY) and found he could still get the door style so they replaced a few and added some at the same time (they also finished the new ones so they would match the ones they re-faced). I think if you search using "Dream Kitchen" you will find it (poster name has Dave in it). In the thread is a link to their blog about it.
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If they are only a few years old Woodmode, then they are worth painting by a professional. You need to make a few more phone calls to places that deal with furniture refinishing and the like. I'd expect to pay arond 5K+ for a pro job, but if it's prepped correctly, then your cabinets won't be that much more prone to chipping than new ones. You will be able to touch them up with more paint that you keep though. It's really difficult to do a touchup on factory painted cabinets if the spot is larger than an eraser head. Or, you can probably DIY paint them if you've got patience and time. It's not that hard. And for less than $200 in materials, you can get almost the same results as a pro. It'll just take 4 months longer.
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To me, two of the best things about a new kitchen are 1) new cabinet insides and drawers that have new glides, soft-close, full-extension, and no grimy build-up :) 2) the opportunity to perfect the layout and really make a fabulous, functional kitchen that works for my family The only experience I've had with resurfacing is that the house we bought 3 years ago had newly resurfaced cabinets (over cruddy old cabinetry and in a terrible layout.) The previous owner would have been much better served to spend another 10-20% and replace everything. But if your cabinets, drawers, etc are all in great shape, and you love the current layout, it might be an option. Don't forget that you can almost always do better than your initial cabinetry quote if you do some research. Sales, eliminating super-pricey specialty cabinets, and shopping around will almost always yield significant savings.
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$1750 is a hack. Not a Pro. It’s not even half of what a good job should cost. 7-9K is average, from someone that knows what they are doing spraying a conversion varnish. Lacquer is a 10 minute finish for cabinets because it does not hold up to moisture. House paint belongs on houses, not cabinets. It won’t be durable enough. Read about the KCMA testing that all cabinet manufacturers undergo for a factory finish. That is the kind of durability that you are giving up. For chips, runs, and drips, and bugs and dust. https://www.kcma.org/certifications/ansi-kcma-certification DEMAND a finished door sample to do your own testing. You will end up in the same boat as these people. The tide has turned on white cabinets. Wood cabinets are coming back strong. And those are ahead of the game. When white cabinets are the new avocado green, you’ll wish you had your old wood ones back.
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skitter_2009
15 years ago
We are going to have our cabinets refaced in natural cherry the end of the month. The doors will have raised panels with the 5 piece drawer fronts. We feel we got a good price $4,800.00 installed by a local cabinet company. We had Sears give us a quote and they wanted about $12,000.00 to reface them in white. We could have brand new cabinets for that price. Our cabinets are builder grade oak and about 10 years old. Husband is 72 and I'm 68 so we didn't think we could tackle sanding and painting them ourselves, and can't afford to completely replace them.
Good luck and I'm sure whatever you decide to do it will look great.
kjeppy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks all! The floor is actually a pergo floor, and the counter tops are corian, which are very easy to care for. Do you think i should keep pergo as oppose to getting vinyl? I thought a lighter color floor would help make the room look larger.
2ajsmama
15 years ago
I think just lighter cabinets will make the room look larger, but you don't want to be floating with a white ceiling, white cabinets, and a light colored floor.

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