We’re going to let you into a little secret. It’s entirely (and easily) possible to upgrade your kitchen without going down the whole remodeling route.
How to do this? Well, typically, your kitchen cabinets suffer the most damage and start looking tired first (especially if you have little ones that grow up and become teenagers). If you’ve had your cabinets for a long time, the style may seem outdated. By swapping out or restyling your cabinet doors, you can unleash a whole new lease of life in your kitchen for a fraction of the cost of a remodel. There is a multitude of ways that you can do this. You just need to pick the best option for you.
When to Remodel the Cabinets Instead of Having a Complete Remodel?
If your kitchen is looking tired, outdated, or in need of an upgrade, you likely want to remodel it but you may not be willing to spend a lot of money or take a lot of time out for the project. Remodeling cabinets can be the answer. Of course, this solution is not best for everyone. If you’re weighing up what you should do, it’s important to consider the following before you decide to only remodel the cabinets:
You can remodel only the cabinets if:
- The overall structure of the cabinets is still solid and in good order.
- You are still happy with the current layout and storage capacity of your kitchen.
- Your main concern is changing up the style or freshening the appearance of your kitchen.
How Do I Update My Cabinets?
You have two options when it comes to updating your existing cabinets:
- Keep the existing cabinet fronts and cover them to update their appearance.
- Replace the cabinet fronts entirely.
Keeping and covering your cabinets is the most cost-effective solution. You have almost limitless options, so you can create a unique style. However, you can only go down this route if your cabinet fronts are in good condition. If they’re broken, there may be no saving them.
Replacing your cabinet fronts is straightforward but a more expensive option. The challenge here is to find a supplier that manufactures cabinets in the same size as your existing units. Furthermore, this option may not be viable if you have custom-built units.
How to Update Existing Cabinet Fronts
There are so many choices when it comes to covering your existing cabinets and creating the kitchen of your dreams:
- Paint: A perfect and easy solution to get your kitchen color on-trend. Simply sand your cabinet doors, paint with your choice of color, and then seal them.
- Cover: You can use a range of materials to cover the surface of your cabinet doors. From wood panels to metal sheeting, wallpaper, adhesive vinyl, or even corkboard. A well-chosen material will change the look of your kitchen entirely.
- Replace the hardware: You can update your cabinets instantly by swapping out your old handles and knobs.
- Remove entirely: Fancy some open storage? If you remove the door completely, you will have some new storage shelves to display things neatly. Go one step further and add some patterned wallpaper to the back face of the newly open cabinets. This adds a pop of color and a focal point to your kitchen.
- Add a two-toned effect: It’s on-trend to have your bottom cabinets a different color from the top ones. Choose a bold colored paint for the bottom and a neutral tone for above. Alternatively, you can go all-out bright and cheerful or choose muted hues. Consider mixing and matching different materials, such as paint and wood, or metal and vinyl.
How to Replace Your Cabinet Fronts
If you want to swap out your old cabinet fronts with new ones, there are a few ways you can do this:
- Find a compatible manufacturer: If your existing kitchen is a well-known brand such as IKEA, you will find lots of manufacturers who create kitchen cabinets compatible with IKEA cabinet sizes.
- Contact your custom remodeler: If your kitchen is custom-built, you can contact the remodeler who created it. Ask if they would make a new set of cabinet fronts for you and ask for a quote.
- Change up the fronts: Consider swapping a solid cabinet door for a glass-paneled door. Or you could remove the fronts entirely to create open shelving.
Other Ways to Update Your Cabinets
Once you’re satisfied with the fronts of your cabinets, you can do some other clever things to make your kitchen feel more spacious and operate like new:
- Install pull-out shelves to make finding things easier.
- Install drawer tidies.
- Install under-cabinet shelving for more storage space.
- Add spotlights to the insides of your cabinets to illuminate the interior and make it easier to find things.
- Add storage solutions such as plate racks, drawer organizers, and hooks for hanging utensils.
- Install toe-kick drawers instead of having baseboards.
- Replace closing mechanisms on doors and draws with “soft-close” options.
Add Something New
To complete your newly updated kitchen, why not try adding something new? Perhaps a complementing sideboard or kitchen island will work to create space and change up the layout without having the entire room remodeled. Extra shelving or a new wine rack can also enhance your kitchen, as will changing up your tiling or splashback for a fresher look.
Ultimately, it’s not as daunting as you think to give your kitchen an on-trend makeover. As long as you have some time and patience, you can transform your kitchen into something beautiful and practical. And all of these options cost significantly less than an entire model while being much quicker to achieve. When it comes to the result, you are only limited by your imagination, so get creative with your solutions and breathe new life into your kitchen. If you are considering a kitchen refresh or remodel, and you’re in the San Diego area, give us a call today!