Ideas for Replacing Kitchen Cabinets

Replacing your kitchen cabinets yourself is a lot cheaper than having a professional come in and replace the cabinets. The cost of individual kitchen cabinets can be pricey unless you are in a home improvement store and see the cabinets on sale. Kitchen Cabinets can range from $150-200+ in price (Lowe’s or Home Depot). Even the smallest kitchen would need at the very minimum 3 cabinets. You are already looking at $600 for three cabinets and that is if you install them yourself. Lowe’s has installers and the cost of installation will depend on where you live. Most installations start at $100.

My suggestion is if you are looking for a new look scuff the cabinets and paint them. I have done this before. The scuffing is for two reasons: 1. to hold the paint and 2. overall nicer appearance in the paint. If you can refinish the wood instead of painting the cabinets that will look more natural. It’s your house do what looks best to you.

To paint the kitchen cabinets or to put wood finisher on them you will want to take the doors off first. It will make your job easier and quicker. Scuff the cabinets and doors with sand paper. Take a piece of cloth and wipe over the cabinets and doors so you won’t get the dust in the paint or finish. Follow the directions on the finish. If you are painting you may want to put kilz on as the first coat of paint. The kilz will keep the paint from seeping into the wood by sealing it and making the paint job look like a professional did it.

Let the kilz dry thoroughly before painting. While the paint is drying go shopping for new hardware. If the hinges are old and you want a fresh look change the hinges. There are new styles for door hinges. Change the cabinet door knobs or if it doesn’t have knobs and you’re good at drilling put knobs on the cabinet door. After the cabinets and the doors are dry hang the doors back and viola you have a new kitchen.

If that sounds like too much work to you but you want to do something, buy new doors for your cabinet. You may have to go directly to a cabinet company for the doors and for each door you could be looking at $60-80.

Since it would probably be cheaper to buy kitchen cabinets at that point maybe you can take the doors off the kitchen cabinets and cut the center out for a glass door. Take each door and mark the doors the same. Draw the design you want your glass “window” to be on each kitchen cabinet door. You can have your glass cut a quarter of an inch bigger on all sides and either a glass company or you can install them.

For a quick fix: kitchen cabinet door knobs are $8-$20 per knob at Lowe’s and Home Depot. The knobs are so beautiful it may just change the whole kitchen. Before you paint or do anything else to your kitchen put the new knobs on. You’ll be surprised the difference knobs make.