In most of our lives, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It garners the most traffic throughout the day, whether you prepare elaborate breakfasts each morning or simply pass through quickly, filling your stainless-steel mug full of coffee before rushing out the door. Kids gather after school to nosh and busy the table with homework and tales of their day. It is the gathering place most evenings and bursts at the seams around the holidays. No matter the size of your family or circle, we can all agree, the kitchen is a popular place.
Over time though, our well-loved kitchens can become rather tired looking. Maybe you have outgrown it, or maybe the warm sun has aged the color of the cabinets. Regardless of the reason or the season, a cabinet overhaul can make all the difference. No throwing the kitchen out with the bathwater in these tips!
Add or replace the hardware. Adding new hardware to old cabinets makes a big impact with minimal effort. This is a cabinet face lift that can be done in an afternoon and with minimal expense. If your cabinets currently lack hardware, this can also improve the functionality and make it easier to get items out of cupboards and drawers. Adding hardware will even take older styled cabinets into the new year with a more modern appearance.
Paint the existing cabinets. Similar to adding or replacing hardware, painting the existing cabinets can be done on a budget but can prove to be a bit more tedious. A change in color; however, can have a huge impact on your kitchen and the payoff far exceeds the effort, especially if it lightens or makes the kitchen seem bigger in the long run.
Reface your cabinets. If your cabinet doors have seen better days another option you have is to reface them. This is a term used to describe leaving the cabinet structures as is and simply replacing the doors and drawer faces. In terms of budget, this can cost more than simply repainting, however, this option can give you more freedom to change the overall design and feel of your kitchen without a full renovation. You can even brighten up a dark kitchen by adding a glass front door and wallpaper the interior of a cabinet you want on display.
Add task lighting. Installing lighting under your cabinets or in your new glass front cupboard can bring light and life to an otherwise lackluster space. This can provide a warm light in the evening when you are settling in or help provide that extra light needed when trying to read a recipe card written by your grandmother. Read more about kitchen lighting here.
Replace your cabinets. Last but certainly not least, the final way to overhaul your kitchen cabinets is to replace them. While this task will take those with a bolder budget and timeline, it does not have to be as intimidating as it sounds, and we can help! Replacing your cabinets can provide you with an opportunity to create the ultimate dream layout you have in mind for your kitchen. You can choose options like colors, materials, pull out shelves, islands, lighting and down to the project that started this list, hardware! You can read our crash course for kitchen layouts here and see what sparks your design dream.
Or, maybe you already know what you want but don’t know how to start. Just start a free design quote here and get connected to one of our talented design specialists today!