I recently purchased an older home. The home has plenty of kitchen cabinets, but the fronts have been badly abused. I love the look of wood, antique, etc. What can I do to give the kitchen cabinets a new look?
Our Answer
You have lots of options when it comes to refinishing your kitchen cabinets, but first, you need to figure out what your cabinets are made out of. If the cabinets are particle board covered in a wood veneer, you can give them a new painted finish. First, you’ll need to clean them with a degreaser. Then prime with a good quality oil-based primer like KILZ. This will neutralize the surface and allow the top latex coat to stick properly.
Since you like the look of an antique finish, you could paint the kitchen cabinets an almond white, then use an aging glaze tinted in a brown tone to add aged details in the corners near the raised or recess panels, as well as along the edges of the door. Use the aging glaze sparingly until you achieve the look you desire.
If the cabinet doors are flush mounted, meaning that you do not see any of the cabinet when the door is closed, you can purchase new cabinet doors and replace the old ones with something more along your design tastes.
If the kitchen cabinets are solid wood, you can either paint them or completely refinish them. To do this, you’ll need to strip the old finish off of the doors. Rock Miracle is an excellent stripper because it goes on thick and you can see it change as it is removing the existing finish. You might have to apply it a few times to get the finish completely off. Once you have reached the raw wood, you can reapply a new stain in any color and finish that you like.
If you do decide to paint, or strip and stain your kitchen cabinets, here are a couple more tricks of the trade to help. Make sure you remove the doors, but leave the hinges attached to the cabinet itself. This way, you will not have to re-adjust the hinges upon reassembly. Be sure to label the back of the door and inside the cabinet, so you know exactly where each door goes.
Finally, don’t forget to change all those knobs and pulls when you are done. Adding some new hardware will give your kitchen cabinets some bling that can really spices things up!
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