At first glance, a vintage kitchen appears to be a puzzle with easily repairable pieces. Unattractive floors can be hidden with a rug, and gleaming decorations can draw attention away from filthy countertops. Cabinets, on the other hand, are a unique difficulty.
When it’s clear that things have seen better days—as indicated by jammed doors, missing hardware and a lackluster finish—the entire kitchen feels dated. And the more you wait, the more probable this little headache will evolve into something unbearable.
It is feasible to give your kitchen cabinets a thorough makeover while remaining on budget and without having to replace them entirely. Discover various methods to brighten up your kitchen cabinets by reading on.
1. Paint Existing Cupboard Doors
Painting the existing doors on your kitchen cabinets is a terrific way to update their appearance without having to replace them. Wooden cabinets can fade and seem worn over time; painting them can give them a new lease on life and completely transform the aesthetic of your kitchen.
To eliminate splash stains on the doors, choose water and greaseproof paint when painting your cabinets. For a complete analysis of all the steps to producing beautifully painted, professional-looking cabinets, see our full tutorial on how to paint kitchen cupboard doors.
2. Wrapping Cupboard Doors
Wrapping your cabinets is another popular way to change their appearance; vinyl is the most common material used for this. Vinyl is an excellent option for a variety of reasons, one of which is that it comes in a variety of finishes, including high gloss, wood appearance, matte, and textured or patterned. It also comes in a range of colors, allowing you to select something that complements your kitchen or something completely different for a striking contrast.
The vinyl is manipulated to fit the contour of your cupboards using a combination of heat and specific tools, and it's a quick method to make a dramatic change in your kitchen.
3. Cabinet Lightings
The addition of lighting under kitchen cabinets can give your kitchen a whole new look. LED light strips are a simple and cost-effective way to modernize your kitchen, and they can also be used to enhance your existing cabinets by lighting them from below. Because of their adaptability, LED light strips are a popular choice.
These lights, which are frequently controlled by a remote, offer a variety of settings, including the ability to change colors, flash, fade in and out, or dim. The possibilities are unlimited, whether you use them as mood lighting while the main light is off or to add a pop of color to your cupboards in addition to the main lights.
4. Butcher Block Island
Avoid the built-in cabinet-base island and replace it with a furniture-like table with a butcher- block surface if you want your kitchen to feel more domestic and warm. These thick wood- slab tops are stronger than wood-laid flats because their edge or end grain is exposed. That means they are more resistant to warping and nicks than laminate and nearly as good as stone.
Butcher-block islands that resemble 19th-century worktables are ideal for softening the harshness of stone counters and metal appliances in modern kitchens. You may achieve this look in your kitchen by building a prep island out of readily accessible materials or selecting one of the dozens of types available from stores and furniture makers.
5. Build a Sideboard
Dishware, serving pieces, and table linens—a sideboard offers a lot of storage capacity in a short space, making it a useful addition to any home. Choose unfinished 15- or 18-inch cabinets with doors and operable drawers (rather than sink cabinets with phony drawer fronts) and give yourself a day to put everything together. For years to come, your handsome
creation will raise heads at dinner events.
You can make a bespoke item out of a few stock kitchen base cabinets by adding molding, furniture feet, and knobs for a fraction of the cost of buying one ready-made.
6. Build a Window Seat
Only a few older homes with deep dormers appear to have window seats, as charming as they are. Adding a window seat has traditionally been seen to be inconvenient. To begin, you’ll need a niche with a window. The seat must then be custom-made by a cabinetmaker or trim carpenter to meet the window’s specific width and sill height. This method is, unsurprisingly, costly and time-consuming.
This easy, do-it-yourself solution includes a “niche” and a window seat, as well as plenty of storage. This seat was designed to fit beneath a 6-foot-wide kitchen window, but the design may be readily modified to fit any size window in practically any space. Six kitchen wall cabinets and two 48-inch-tall bookcase units make up the seat, which is accented with elegant crown molding. The window seat is made up of two 15-inch-tall over-the-refrigeratorcabinets stacked on top of each other.
Final Thoughts
These are just a few of the tips wherein you can redo your new kitchen. Hopefully, you now have some inspiration for customizing your kitchen. What you decide to do to improve your kitchen will be determined by several factors, including your budget, if you want to undertake complete gut work in the future, and whether you intend to sell your home. In the end, a mix of the easier, less expensive modifications will go a long way toward upgrading your kitchen without requiring a renovation.
