Cabinets - replace or re-paint?
I'm sprucing up my laundry room with pretty blue paint (Berry Mojito from DE), getting new washer/dryer, moulding and new flooring. I want the two cabinets - a wall cabinet with 3 doors above the w/d and a floor to ceiling pantry/broom closet - in the room to remain white. I love their dimensions and they are in great shape overall except the broom closet bottom door doesn't shut very well anymore after about 30+ years in this old 1947 house. For the cabinet above the w/d you can't tell the doors aren't shutting properly. They have little push-button magnet closing mechanisms that don't operate anymore. The floor to ceiling broom closet/pantry bottom door, on the other hand, doesn't close well and it is obvious to see. It doesn't stay "stuck" in the door's inner contour as it should and it is usually slightly ajar.
Now my question: my contractor/painter immediately said without hesitation that I should replace both the cabinets. I assumed that they could be painted, given some new knobs, and be good to go with a little TLC given to the doors. I even found a YouTube video of how to add thin wood overlay to the face of plain cabinets like mine to make them shaker style, but my contractor said it would be better to buy new. So, I'm wondering what others think. I shopped around and it will be costly to buy two new cabinets and they a) have to be special ordered to get the dimensions I want since my tall pantry is 16" deep instead of the usual 12" (too shallow) or 24" (sticks out too far since it is across from an entry door) for pantry closets and the cabinet above the w/d is 18" deep instead of the standard 12" available in stock in the stores and b) probably won't be as well-built and solid as the ones I have now. A search for just finding a place to make new doors alone indicated it is very expensive and about the same price to just get all new cabinets. I don't care if the doors just sit flush against the cabinet openings when closed. I don't need them to have any fancy closing hardware. So, what do you think? Why would I replace them and not just beautify them? I could go tomorrow and buy two new cabinets off the shelf at a cabinet warehouse I found, but they would be less appealing to me depth-wise. And I asked my guy if he could reduce the depth of a broom closet I could buy in stock at the store from 24" deep to 18" deep and he wasn't positive about it. I always hear they don't make 'em like they used to, so what do I do? Is it a huge, tedious job to clean up/paint already hung cabinets and fix their doors? (Pics show original dingy laundry room with the old appliances)
Comments (8)
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Laminate cabinets-paint or replace?
Comments (6)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!...See MorePaint or replace? Any ideas on the cabinets?
Comments (11)I would opt for new cabinets due to the kitchen layout. I don't like cook tops in islands. Your at the sink prepping and you have to walk around a wall to cook. I would make it all counter to the left of the fridge and put the cook top over there. I would put double ovens on the little wall. To the right of the fridge I would put the beverage center. That way the island can also act as a bar. In the place of the beverage center I would put pantry....See Morepaint cabinets 1st and then replace countertops?
Comments (18)Don't be afraid to paint yours and don't let my "it took me four months" scare you either. I took my time and painted 2-4 cabinets each week. I also painted in sections. You can easily paint the cabinets much quicker just like Chess did. Just do some prep work, even if the paint you buy says it isn't required. Clean the cabinets and lightly sand. Without a good surface for the paint to adhere to then you're just wasting your time and money. I highly recommend Cabinet Coat in Satin. Advance is good too but CC is paint and primer in one so you can do without Advance. I used both because the paint store recommended them and I didn't question them since I knew very little about paint back then....See MoreNeed Advice on Kitchen Cabinets - Paint or Re-stain?
Comments (13)forget staining them. as mentioned above, it's actually more work than painting. you have to get them down to raw wood again before applying a new stain. (if you want it to look good) If you were thinking about doing a darker stain, you could do what they've done here to resemble a dark stain. General Finishes Dark Chocolate paint, and 2 coats of their clear coat. (you still have to sand and prime prior to painting) this is from a poster here on Houzz who shared this. right now, your backsplash, tile flooring and countertop are at odds. It's very busy with those 3, and all the other stuff you have going on in there. you have a lot of knick-knacks, plaids, stripes, tile pattern on the floor, granite movement, mosaic tile movement, etc. they really compete with one another. I'd remove the backsplash and that 4" granite piece up the back. Remove everything on top of the cabinets. Pare down half of what you have everywhere else. Paint your cabinets and get new hardware. I'd paint out the trim and baseboards to white, but that's me. on these first few pics, notice how these owners dealt w/the small space above the cabinets by have boxes built to fill in above it. If you're painting, this is easily done. Before/After. paint color is Shoji White with glaze, and Annonymous on the island the one above, and this one, show how removing old tile and the 4" granite piece up the back, make a big difference in look. you could always do a nicer crown molding on the tops of your cabs. look how nice it looks w/the white cabinets, darker wall color, and no stuff collecting dust on top! Maria Kilim before/after. she painted all the oak trim/baseboards, windows, etc. If you want to paint, hire a pro Cabinet Painter, not house painter. ask them how they prep the cabs and how they plan on painting. It's a ton of work to do and cost is going to reflect that. If someone gives you an estimate of 2-3k to do yours, don't fall for it. Read this if you want to know just how much work it takes to get professional looking painted cabinets. https://www.evolutionofstyleblog.com/how-to-paint-your-kitchen-cabinets-like...See More
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