Paint, Replace, Refinish, or Restore Kitchen Wood Cabinets

last year

My home is in the Pacific NW town of Beaverton, Oregon. The house is 3600 sq ft and has beautiful wood plank ceilings which will stay the way they are. The kitchen area needs updating with new flooring, countertops, sink/faucet, light fixture(s), paint the white rail upstairs black, and new neutral wall paint. But to start, my first question is (1) “what about the cabinets?”. I really don’t want to take them out for a full remodel — so, should I have them refaced, painted, or just keep them and restore the luster to the wood? Then I move on to (2) should we move to stovetop to the wall (left of the sink) and then (3) take out the peninsula to create an island? Any other comments about the space are also welcome.

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cat_ky

last year

last modified: last year

Your cabinets are gorgeous. Please do not paint them. Definitely replace the countertops. The stove top is best left, closer to the refrigerator. However, in your pictures, it looks like that the peninsula is crowding your refrigerator. Is it like that in real life. I definitely would change the peninsula so it is straight, instead of jogging out like that, if you decide to keep it. You would most likely have room for an island, but, you have a lot of countertops, so are not in need of more, and its really nice having that dining room table and chairs there, so I would not do an island.

Comments (8)

HU-918119203
last year
What you do with your cabinets is a function of how you want this space to look and feel. Have you browsed Houzz and other sources for inspiration images? What do you gravitate toward? It looks like your house is a 1970s-80s contemporary. Do you like that vibe and want to stick with it? Do you want something more modern? More classic/traditional? What colors do you like? What's the rest of the house like?

Until you answer those questions for yourself, I don't think you can make an intelligent decision on what to do with the cabinets. Your other questions regarding moving appliances, etc. are related, because if you want to keep the cabinets (particularly if you don't want to paint them), moving stuff around in your kitchen makes a lot less sense. If you end up deciding to replace, sky's the limit.
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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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The cabinets might feel dated to you, but the wood is back:) So, even on this forum, where people are supposedly more sensitive to "when and how it was done" -if several years ago, let's say, 80% would tell you to paint, and 20%, to leave wood and work with it-now it's roughly the opposite numbers. That all doesn't matter much though-what matters is that you want a different feel, and we need to think how to get it, with less sacrifices, if possible. First, i wonder what wood is it(I can guess, but prefer you tell me)) and whether can be restored/refinished lighter stain successfully. But I hear you on preferring slab. White oak slab woud indeed be fabulous with warm white counters and tile backsplash. Fabulous. I can't see the whole kitchen, but seems like it's a lot of refacing and it might be that it will cost same/almost same as new cabinets (also California here. I can see more that 10K refacing-and I see just one side of the kitchen. ) But say, you go for it. In order for it to really be great, you'll need to change the floors. (You can leave the ones that are under the cabinets, just mind the height of the new ones. Even better-if you change for hardwood, and you are worried about leaks, at least you know that cabinets are on stone) You can work with the travertine staying of course, you can try and tie things together-bring a bit of gold in accessories, put a rug with a bit of white on the floors-but it will bug you. You'll always know you made a compromise. Another way to go about it-leave your granite, which is a pretty one, on the counters, go with tile backsplash, where you take cues for tiles from granite, change cabinets for white oak, leave the floors. You give up on the whole big change of the vibe thing -but don't deal with a very messy demo and new floors expense. Yet another way-you just redo everything to your current liking. That's already close to full-blown remodel . Would need to see more of the kitchen for that, and other floors, because you mentioned you'd like to minimize different floorings in the house. It seems since your hardwood isa real deal one and original, so is easier to find a hardwood and finish on site so it'll match the other one. Or: you can go with slate/other tile-but then you'll have more types of flooring, not less, given you have travertine in guest bathroom. Also might bug you, unless you change floors everywhere including the guest bathroom. Is there a bath/shower there, and that's where the half-wall is? Or it's just a powder room situation? Asking because if bath is there and half wall is there-that's also change of waterproof barrier..short story becomes real long. It's a question of how much money. time, and effort you want to spend-and as much as it's nice for me to spend others' money, lol, and tell you how great it will be when you change X, Y, and Z -nobody knows that but you. For now I can tell you-out of many "Tuscan" kichens I saw, this is one of the best ones, subdued, pleasant, not overwrought, so that's great. Really gives one time to consider things and plan accordingly. Sorry for the long post, and all the typos I didn't catch yet!
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llenox
Original Author
last year
cat-ky — the peninsula does crowd the refrigerator a little so I like the idea of changing the shape of it. I just thought that moving the stovetop (the ovens are near the fridge) would make the peninsula more livable by not having to worry about cooking while people are sitting there. Thx for your ideas!
llenox
Original Author
last year
HU-918119203: Valid questions - and yes I comb Houzz and other sites for inspiration, but in this case, the house does decide some of these design questions because by leaving the wood ceilings and the shape of the room, it drives some of the changes. It is not a house like others I have had or seen and the wood ceilings are throughout the house. So although I have personal tastes, I want an answer that is about what would go with the wood ceiling and all the cabinets that are in this kitchen. I wasn’t able to classify this house — to me it feels like a lodge with a lot of wood - a Pacific NW house. It is a different kind of place and I although I usually can decide these things, this time I was stumped. Thanks for your questions!
cat_ky
last year
I would change the shape of the peninsula, and just use it for stove stuff. You have a very nice table and chairs, that people can sit at, they dont need to sit at that peninsula.
llenox
Original Author
last year
cat-ky Yes, I’ve thought that too about the peninsula. Also - I am thinking a light colored tile floor and am thinking that I paint the white railing black for an accent. I’ll keep the wood cabinets but it is a lot of wood in one place - besides painting the white railing above a black color, is there any other ideas about how to add accent colors? Maybe the countertop should be a darker quartz? Or just use dark accents on the countertop? It’s hard to find examples online as a lot of cabinets are painted. Thanks again!!
PRO
lisedv
last year
Here are a few suggestions...

- Paint the walls a matte white from top to bottom (don't change colour above the wood moulding)

- You sound willing to change the floor tiles, go for a limestone look in a pale grey

- Change the countertop to a white quartz plain or not much veining

- Other than painting your railing in black, bring in other black accents: chairs, stools, new contemporary style ceiling fan, new peninsula pendants, install contemporary long pulls on the cabinets, depending on the rest of the house paint the window frames black, install a solar shade on the window, buy a washable colourful runner...
llenox
Original Author
last year
lisedv - thank you! I really like your suggestions - especially the other ways to incorporate black accents! I also think the white quartz for countertops. I wasn’t sure about the pulls on the cabinets, but I like the way it looks in your picture. Thanks again!!

Paint, Replace, Refinish, or Restore Kitchen Wood Cabinets

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