Updating kitchen cabinetsEvery year many people embark on kitchen renovations which can cost thousands of dollars. By the time you replace the kitchen cabinets, the sink, all the appliances and the floor you’re into thousands of dollars. A friend of ours spent over $30,000 to upgrade their kitchen. The worst part, not that it really matters, we do not like it at all.

Replacing all of the appliances can be expensive enough, however at least you have brand-new state-of-the-art appliances. Replacing the sinkĀ  and the faucets falls into the same category.

Your flooring may need updating because of wear and tear and it’s great to have a brand-new floor that is current and modern.

But What About the Cabinets

However, when it comes to the kitchen cabinets unless they are falling apart this is a major renovation expense that can be avoided as long as you’re willing to put a little elbow grease into them. One way to avoid having to replace the kitchen cabinets and a major expense as well, is to paint your kitchen cabinets!

Depending on the current finish that is on your cabinets this may be a relatively easy job or it may take more work. Either way, it is much less expensive than replacing them, installing new wiring and throwing the old ones out.

The best approach is to take one of your cabinet doors into a qualified paint store. Ask for their opinion as to how best to refinish your kitchen cabinets. In most cases you will need to remove the existing finish. Then you will be ready to paint your kitchen cabinets.

Updating kitchen cabinets – Refinish

In our case we had white solid wood painted cabinets. The paint was a melamine finish and based on recommendations that we received from our local paint store we sanded each cabinet door lightly to roughen it up and then repainted with the white melamine finish using a foam roller.

The application of the melamine paint was quite easy and straightforward however it needed three coats with a light sanding between each coat. This particular project took several weeks to finish however our kitchen was updated for a cost of less than $100 for the cost of the paint. Compare this to many thousands of dollars for brand-new kitchen cabinets. When we say thousands, we are talking at least $20,000 or more for new kitchen cabinets. Compared to spending $100, this is a major savings!

This is a major savings opportunity for homeowners and something that almost any homeowner can do themselves. Don’t fall prey to renovation experts recommending replacing expensive cabinetry. There is no money in it for them to just do a small portion of the work. Consider alternate solutions like this one that are much less expensive. If you do not like it when you are finished or partly finished, you can always revert to replacing the cabinetry.

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