Kitchen Cabinet Door refacing

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forum.....tchbath/  Go here and talk to these people. Upload pictures :)

 

Staining with a wipe-on gel stain is easy if you want to go a bit darker.

Painting is slightly harder.

Adding interest to flat-front doors with molding is easy if you learn how to cut a miter or a straight end. You could make something similar to the green door with beadboard, molding, and paint.

Making new cabinet doors, especially the styles you point to, is not going to be easy. Those are done with computer controlled routers and other expensive equipment. Or by experienced cabinetmakers.

my cabinets are not flat front, that would be easier to do. they are the builder grade boring regular ones. The whole door would need to be replaced to get a different shape. The ideas I linked to don't sound like they would be that much harder then do then if they were the flat front ones. It doesn't have to be exactly like those. I don't think you understand what I was trying to say, I am not very good at explaining things. I was just saying I liked the arch. That should be able to be done with a jig saw right? Ana does a lot of curves with a jig saw doesn't she? Here is a recent one. And doors for a kitchen cabinet can't be that much different then for a media cabinet, like this. In theory it shouldn't be hard to modify that plan for a kitchen. I just don't know how.

I know I can't be the only one who wouldn't like a new kitchen that doesn't cost $20,000 :)

I purchased a home that with all melamine cabinets... definitely my last choice! Anyway, we'll see how it turns out and here's an idea for your to try as well. I am getting ready to just build new cabinets doors by taking 1x3's and using the Kreg Jig to pocket hole them together in the corners (so it looks like a picture frame, except I will not miter the corners, just keep them straight) and then router out the inside of the "frame" and insert beadboard. I'm painting them white and then adding a brown glaze. Don't know if this what you are looking for but its an idea. I was worried at first that it would be too thin just having the beadboard in the middle, but upon deeper scrutiny of all the new cabinet doors in my friends' homes, I don't think it will cause any problems.

That sounds great! I don't think thinness matters, it's not a structural part, just a coverup for all the stuff inside. However, I am not sure I am up to using a router like that yet, but maybe later. First I need to build a closet system and mudroom shelves. :D

tash said:

I was just saying I liked the arch. That should be able to be done with a jig saw right? Ana does a lot of curves with a jig saw doesn't she? Here is a recent one. And doors for a kitchen cabinet can't be that much different then for a media cabinet, like this. In theory it shouldn't be hard to modify that plan for a kitchen. I just don't know how.

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Getting a room full of arches that all match, using just a jigsaw, is not at all easy.   Ana says, "After cutting with a jigsaw, I clamped the two ends together and sanded, sanded, sanded, until the ends matched."

The media center doors are just flat front with applied, square-cut trim. As long as you can make square cuts, it's easy.

 

Post a picture of the kitchen with cabinets.

Besides the light (which I love) it is just soooo blah. If you watch Imagination Movers do you know that boring guy, the neighbor? His favorite color is cardboard or something. I think this is his kitchen. Right now I am thinking that (besides adding appliances) it would look
better if we put in trim around the top of the cabinets. That would
probably be the simplest cheapest solution.

I also plan on taking out the cabinet and desk area and making it a functional home command center with mail sorting boxes etc. All it is right now is a tall cabinet (with a depth that makes things get lost in the back) and a drawer.

Yes, that is Cardboard Man's kitchen!  Before you concentrate on the cabinet faces as the problem, paint!  You have four shades of brown and beige in there and they clash. The tile is a grey-beige, the walls are pinkish beige and the cabinets are a medium orangey brown and the countertops look white or pale yellow-beigy almond.

 

You would get the most bang for the buck by painting the walls to enhance the floor. Color depends on the surroundings, so you will have to do some testing. http://www.associatedcontent.c.....olors.html is my method for picking paint colors. Start by picking things that look good with the floor, then lay a cabinet door down and pick to look good with it. 

 

http://colourmehappyblog.blogs.....ige.html  explains the tricks about beige and tan.

http://colourmehappyblog.blogs.....cting.html is a good example of picking the right paint color for existing counters and tile.

 

Gel staining the cabinets darker is easy and would kill the 1980s oak look.  http://www.associatedcontent.c.....ins.html  I redid my crappy 80s cabinets in a dark walnut (the pic at that link is the before and after stain).

The sad thing about the 80's look is that the house was built in 2002! I like the idea of staining darker, but every piece of wood in the house is that color. The kitchen is part of a bigger room with the other end being the family room area. The family room has a built in entertainment center that is the same wood. All the baseboards in the house are the same. The doors are the same. The cabinets in the bathrooms are the same. And the stairs are the same wood. I totally would love for all that wood to be darker, but that sounds like a huge project.....

 

My husband and I were also thinking of redoing the floor in  a few years. We would like wood, but I don't know how to match all the existing wood (current color or stained) to a floor without feeling like I live in a tree. We would also love to get darker countertops. Something non-laminate.

Tash - It's not a huge project. It's a bunch of small projects.

I stained all the cabinets - doors, drawers and frames - in two bathrooms, the kitchen, hall closet, and laundry in this house.  It took several months, but doing one chunk at a time eventually gets things done.  I was limited by the space I have for setting up all the pieces to stain and dry. So I did one drawer stack, or all the doors in a section, then stained the frames and put the drawers and doors back.  Then I did the next bit. And the next.

When you can see visible progress, it doesn't seem so big.

I just saw a new (to me anyway) product at orange the other day when I was walking by the paint & stain section...it was a kit for staining wood cabinets darker without removing any of the previous poly or stain.  They had a bunch of different colours and it looked fairly easy.  I didn't stop long enough to see who made it, but I can check next time I'm there!

oh, and Tsu - do you have any recs for staining the toe-kick?  I'm getting geared up to re-stain the main bathroom vanity upstairs and I'm good with everything but the toe-kick...did you leave it in place or is there usually a way to ermove them easily?

 

Thanks!

The Design Confidential has plans for building your own cabinet doors. She also has plans for building your own cabinets, but from what I can see she made them way more complicated than necessary.

 

Farmhouse Overlay

Hampton Overlay

 

Another idea is Cabinets 2 Go. I have their catalog and they sell real wood cabinets for a lot cheaper than the big box stores. 10' of uppers and lowers for $1,181. I have never been to their showroom, so I can't speak to the quality but it's an option to check out.

 

I like the look of dark cabinets and light countertops.

I just found a kitchen makeover that had cabinets similar to yours. They refaced their cabinets and added new countertops and appliances, the transformation is amazing.

 

http://hisugarplum.blogspot.co.....eveal.html

I used the gel stains from General finishes – no kit required, just wipe on. You may have to look around for it, but it's easier to use than the Minwax gels.  And I used the wipe-on urethane from them too. I'm only a few blocks from a Rockler woodworking store :)

http://www.generalfinishes.com.....l-stains 

Use their store locator: http://www.generalfinishes.com/where-buy

You will need soft cotton cloth to wipe on the stain, and some mineral spirits. Old white t-shirts work great as stain wipers.

I taped the floor and wiped a coat of stain onto the toe-kick. It's not very visible, so I wasn't too fussy. Just getting it darkened was all I cared about.

2 quarts stain (50/50 java and Georgian cherry mixed) covered all the cabinetry in the house – front and back of doors, drawer fronts and framing: a 13-foot vanity in one bath, a 10-foot vanity in the other, 8-foot wet bar base, and the kitchen cabinets and peninsula, 5-foot upper laundry cabinets and one tall hall cupboard. 

I mixed up the stain as a big batch first to ensure it was going to be consistent throughout the house, and transferred portions to fill small wide-mouth canning jars so it wouldn't evaporate and get gummy.  A half-pint jar holds enough stain for about10 feet of base cabinet. It really doesn't take much.

One quart of the top coat gel covered all of the above and I have some left.

 

The method:

1 - Take off the doors and remove the drawers from one section. I did one side of the "G" shaped kitchen at a time, stopping at corners where variation in color would be least visible. Don't stop in the middle of any section

2 - scrub the wood clean with soapy water to remove old food stains
3 - scrub the wood with mineral spirits to remove old wax and oil residues
4 - wipe on the stain in a circular motion to fill tiny scratches and nicks, then wipe in the direction of the wood grain to enhance the grain and make it pretty. I tend to wipe it on sparingly and build up color, you might find that wiping on a lot and then removing the excess works bettter. Test your method with some cabinets that aren't highly visible, such as laundry cabinets.
5 - After you have the doors/drawers stained, clean and stain the face frame.
6 - Let them dry, then wipe on the topcoat and let it dry.
7 - Put doors and drawers back, and ADMIRE THEM!

Doing panel doors.  These are a bit tricky because the stain tends to build up on the panel right at the edge of the framing.

1 - Squish some stain into the corners of the framing around the center panel. dabbing with the rag will do this.
2 - Wipe the stain along the inner edges where the frame meets the panel
3 - Wipe the stain towards the center of the panel, feathering it out so it's not a hard edge on the new color
4 - Wipe some stain from the center of the panel towards the edges, feathering into the stain you wiped from the framing.
5 - do any extra wipping along the edge to make the stain either even or looking "antiquey" with a bit of buildup. Pick one and stick to it.
5 - Wipe stain along the top and bottom framing strips (and if there is a middle bar, do it too), overlapping into the side strip. If you have an arch on the door, wipe STRAIGHT with the grain, not following the arch.
7 - Wipe the side strips from top to bottom, being careful to not slop onto the cross-pieces. You will cover up the
8 - Set it aside to dry while you do the next one.

Doing Face Frames: Do the crosswise strips first, then the verticals, just like the doors. I stained the inside edge of the door and drawer openings because it looked better.

Tsu Dho Nimh said:

Tash - It's not a huge project. It's a bunch of small projects.

....

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Yeah, but it's a whole bunch of small projects. And I have two small children. :)

 

orangesugar said:

The
Design Confidential has plans for building your own cabinet doors. She
also has plans for building your own cabinets, but from what I can see
she made them way more complicated than necessary.

 

Farmhouse Overlay

Hampton Overlay

 

Another idea is Cabinets 2 Go.
I have their catalog and they sell real wood cabinets for a lot cheaper
than the big box stores. 10' of uppers and lowers for $1,181. I have
never been to their showroom, so I can't speak to the quality but it's
an option to check out.

 

I like the look of dark cabinets and light countertops.

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Thanks for the links. Ill have to send that cabinets 2 go one to my husband.

I keep thinking of doing dark countertops and light cabinets. Maybe black and white, although I do like the brown and cream.

 

orangesugar said:

I just found a kitchen makeover that had cabinets similar to yours. They refaced their cabinets and added new countertops and appliances, the transformation is amazing.

 

http://hisugarplum.blogspot.co.....eveal.html

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That is nice. The appliences we ordered are all stainless. I think that alone will be a huge improvement over the ones in there now.