These are the best ways to do kitchen remodeling without completely replacing your cabinetry. We've collected different approaches, ranging from simple DIY methods to uncomplicated installs to ready-made kits.
Refinish the Kitchen Cabinetry
Your kitchen looks and feels like a cave because of the dark cabinetry. But those dreary cupboards need not be thrown out in favor of brand-new ones if they only need a facelift. Cleaning the frames and doors and giving them a new coat of paint may transform a drab kitchen into a bright one over the course of a weekend if the wood is in good enough shape.
Go to How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets for a comprehensive rundown of materials and methods.
The addition of color completely transforms a space. Simple cabinets may be transformed into shabby chic, rustic, provincial, or futuristic with the help of some well-placed colors. Some of our favorite imitation finishes that may be used to update your kitchen's look are listed below.
Install lighting under cupboards.
Most American homes lack something crucial, and it's not a $7,500 stove or a 4-acre fridge. Well, it's just the illumination. Undercabinet task lighting is simple to install after the fact and shines a bright white light onto the countertop, making it ideal for anything from slicing vegetables to reading instructions.
To create dramatic accent lighting or a night light for late-night snacking, just connect the fixtures to a dimmer switch. There's no need to worry if you're nervous about using electricity. If you turn off the power at the breaker box before beginning the installation, you won't risk being shocked.
Construct a kitchen island out of butcher blocks.
If you want your kitchen to seem warm and inviting, don't install an island with cabinetry at its base; instead, make the center workspace a table that looks more like a piece of furniture and has a butcher block top. These thick wood-slab tops are superior to flat-laid wood due to the exposed edge or end grain. This means they are more durable than laminate and may virtually compare to stone in terms of resistance to warping and nicks.
To soften the severity of stone countertops and metal equipment in contemporary kitchens, butcher-block islands that evoke 19th-century worktables are ideal. This timeless look may be brought into your kitchen by building a prep island out of inexpensive materials or purchasing one of the many designs offered by stores and manufacturers.
Constructing a sideboard is a good idea since it provides enough room for storing dishes, serving utensils, and tablecloths while taking up a tiny amount of floor space. In this episode of TOH, general contractor Tom Silva shows how to make a custom piece of furniture out of a few standard kitchen base cabinets for a fraction of the price of a high-quality, prefabricated one by adding molding, furniture feet, and knobs.
Choose 15 or 18-inch unfinished cabinets with doors and drawers that really work (rather than the phony drawer fronts often seen on sink cabinets) and set aside a day to assemble everything. For years to come, when you bring your gorgeous masterpiece out at dinner gatherings, everyone will take notice.
Construct a Sea Window.
Only older houses with deep dormers seem to have window seats, despite their obvious aesthetic value. It has traditionally been seen to be wasteful to install a window seat. To begin, locate a suitable window-equipped nook. A cabinetmaker or trim carpenter will next have to measure the window's width and sill height before constructing the seat. It comes as no surprise that this method is both time-consuming and costly.
The "niche," the window seat, and a tonne of extra storage can all be yours with an easy DIY method. The original version of this window seat was constructed under a 6-foot-wide kitchen window, but the basic concept is readily transferable to any room and window size. Crown molding tops off the six kitchen wall cabinets and two 48-inch-tall bookshelf units that make up the seat. The window seat is really just two over-the-fridge cabinets placed side by side, making up its 15-inch height.
Make use of a Plate Rack.
Dishes might be stored discreetly out of sight. Instead, if they are visually appealing, you might design a location to showcase them, which would both prevent them from taking up valuable cabinet space and enliven the room with color.
Including Crown Moulding to Cabinets 9
Crown molding is the most obvious sign that you invested much in bespoke cabinets. The molding will give your kitchen cabinets a finished look.
Mounting molding on a wooden frame that rests above cabinets is a simple way to give your cabinets more character. Frames make it possible to complete the detailed work on a bench rather than a ladder, and attaching the crown from behind means fewer nail holes in the finished product. After the frame and crown are joined, you install the complete assembly in one move.
Increase Storage With Additional Kitchen Cabinets
When This Old House builder Tom Silva began his carpentry business over 35 years ago, he typically handcrafted the kitchen cabinets he installed for his clients. "Back then, it was still cost-effective for tiny firms to make them," he remembers. "Today, manufacturers construct them quicker and more inexpensively than we can."
The idea is to take this assortment of boxes and put them together to build a lovely piece of built-in furniture. The fundamental installation procedure is straightforward: You want to get everything straight, plumb, and level. Yet more often than not, the space itself lacks such traits. Not to worry! We can help you get the job done correctly.
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