ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Kitchen Renovation - Tips for a New Look using Existing Cabinets

Updated on April 7, 2016

Keep your existing cabinets and update your kitchen

Glass doors display colorful items and break up the expanse of wood
Glass doors display colorful items and break up the expanse of wood

Have you always wanted to update your kitchen but just can't find the time or money for a full kitchen renovation? Outside of your appliances, your cabinets are typically the most expensive part of the room. They can be extremely functional and beautiful to look at - or the exact opposite. Oftentimes, we think we have to replace the whole set of cabinets to get a new look or add usability. But there are many different options to bring new life to your kitchen without breaking the bank. If your cabinets are basically in good shape, think about keeping them and using some of the tips below to give them a facelift.

Door Inserts - With most cabinet doors, it is fairly easy to remove the insert and have glass cut to fit the opening. Take a look at the picture above. Decorative glassware can be displayed behind the glass doors. Besides bringing color to the kitchen with the dinnerware, the expanse of wood is broken up by using a different material.

Remove doors - Similar to using glass inserts, the doors of a couple of cabinets can be removed altogether to reveal open shelving, which, again, can be used to display special pieces of kitchenware or decorative items. The wood used on stained cabinets is typically of a higher quality so that the grain can show through. So keep that in mind when thinking about painting stained cabinets.

Repaint or Stain - Giving your cabinets a whole new color scheme is a great way to make a major change to your kitchen. There are so many colors and options to choose from, you can select something that is totally opposite from your current look. Keep in mind that you can always paint over painted or stained cabinets, but you can't stain over paint.



Flat front kitchen cabinet doors before.
Flat front kitchen cabinet doors before.
Beadboard insert was added to the kitchen doors as well as glass on a couple of the doors.
Beadboard insert was added to the kitchen doors as well as glass on a couple of the doors.

Replace doors - You can also replace all of the cabinet doors with a different style and then paint or stain to match the existing cabinets. In the 2 pictures above, the original flat front doors in this old house had a layer of beadboard added to the front and were then framed out. They're the same doors, just with a different dressing.

Insides - What lies behind the doors is equally as important as the looks of the front. You can have pull out drawers added to cabinets to help organize and access pots and pans or add dividers to store baking sheets so that they are easier to find when you need them.

Hardware - This one is always mentioned but you really can add a whole different look or style by changing out the hardware. Just make sure to measure the length between the screws of any handles you want to replace. If you don't want to create a bigger job by having to fill in existing holes and drill new ones, you will want to look for handles that have the same width between screws as your current handles.

Desk area to the left of stove changes the use of that area
Desk area to the left of stove changes the use of that area

Single section - If most of the layout works well, you might consider only changing a single section. You could remove a set of lower cabinets and replace with a desk area if that is a needed function in your current kitchen. The kitchen in the picture above also added cubby holes for bills or office supplies. The kitchen below added a wine rack in place of a set of upper cabinets. This area is now a great buffet style serving area.

Add cabinets - If your cabinets don't go all the way to the ceiling or are topped by a soffit, you might consider adding a row of cabinets along the top for more storage. You could add glass front doors and open shelving for display space or regular doors to keep those items that are used infrequently.



A wine rack over a set of regular cabinets turned this space into a serving area for entertaining.
A wine rack over a set of regular cabinets turned this space into a serving area for entertaining.
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)