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Cabinet Kitchen Makeover
If you are looking to save a lot of money then consider a DIY refinish kitchen cabinets makeover. It is an amazing way to clean up your cupboards, make them look brand new while spending as little money as possible. No one around you will be able to tell that the cupboards were done by little you, but it is possible, depending on your situation.
Getting professional cabinets completed is doable but is high in cost. In times when people are looking to save in any ways necessary, a refinish kitchen cabinets DIY project is a self-sufficient way to be handy in your home and practical with your money. Not only will you spend less, but you are building the value of your home by upgrading it, spending as little money as possible.
History Of the Cabinets
When we bought our house, the one part I was not too keen on was the kitchen. For a person like myself who cooks often, the kitchen is one of the most important parts of my house.
Unfortunately for me, this room in our new space did not feel inviting. The backsplash looked tacky, outdate and old. They were updated before we moved in to help sell the house. However, even after the upgrades, the kitchen cabinet makeover is still needed.
Are Your Kitchen Cupboards MDF Or Wood?
Examine Your Cupboards
My partner looked at the cupboards and said they were MDF. I took the word, leaving it alone, understanding that no change was going to be made. Instead I started looking into buying new cupboards, but was still lingering on about not being able to upgrade the cupboard myself.
Before this I kept asking if we could just sand and stain these cupboards ourselves because we would save a lot of money instead of buying brand new cupboards. I was assured the cupboards cannot be redone by us. We would have to buy new cupboards. So I let it go.
Shop Around For Kitchen Cabinets
Meanwhile I shopped around to get quotes on how much it would cost to redo a kitchen. At one point we invited someone to come in to assess our kitchen and give us an estimate. He gave us two quotes.
If we were to do a reface and get new MDF Thermofoil doors, new hinges, new handles, plus whatever parts are visible they would have applied a veneer, and keep the old backbone, it would have cost $8000 — $9000.
On the other hand, had we done a full kitchen change, meaning all new cabinets, it would have been anywhere between $22–35K.
Solid Oak Wood Kitchen Cabinets
One day one of the cupboard doors came off the hinges and my partner said that they will buy some hardware to replace it. We ended up leaving that cupboard like that for 2 weeks until another cupboard door came off.
I suddenly noticed that the cupboard doors in our kitchen are solid oak wood and that we can strip, sand and stain the cupboards without having to buy new ones!!
Buying real wood cupboards today is very expensive for the material and then to pay to install. I suggested to refinish the kitchen cabinets ourselves because it is possible to do it with them being real wood.
What Are The Benefits To Refinish Kitchen Cabinets Yourself?
Go At Your Own Pace
The response was that it would be a lot of work and take a long time and that it is best not to give it a try. However, I realized this is possible to do because the labour is easy enough to handle. So I took on the project.
Time And Money
It took almost 8 weekends and some hours during the week to complete this project. It would not have taken as long had I been able to strip it easily from the start but I had to try different products and methods to remove the paint.
We sampled different kinds of strippers and still ended up with the same results as far as removing the paint. I would say this work took about 85–100 hours. There were 2 layers of paint plus a primer. The first layer came off fairly easily. The primer under the beige was a really good one which meant more work for me. On the other hand, the green paint took a very long time to come off.
I spent many hours stripping the paint off. The green paint was in the grain of the wood so I had to use acetone and a brass wire brush to remove the residual green paint because the new stain would not cover any remaining green paint.
After that I sanded the cupboards. Our cupboard doors had a lot of raised profiles so it added to the labour to get into all the hard to reach nooks and crannies to sand thoroughly.
Lastly I stained and varnished all the cupboards. We decided to go for a contemporary look and settled on grey/brown cupboards. We first stained the cupboards dark brown from the leftover brown stain we had from refinishing our oak stairs and then layered it with a grey stain to achieve the colour we were happy with.
For the sides of the cupboards we bought 3/4″ oak veneer plywood and had them cut to size. We stained/varnished them and replaced with the existing side pieces.
The Items Needed For Refinish Kitchen Cabinets Are:
Sand Paper- 80 / 100 / 120 / 150 grit $50.00-$120.00 (I did not buy. We already had)
Paint Stripper-$30–45 x four rounds of stripper
Stain -re-used the remaining brown stain for the kitchen cupboards. However cost is around $30.00
Grey colour stain to blend with our brown is about $30.00
Paint scraper and blades -$20-$25
Putty knives-$103
Sheets of oak veneer ply wood for the sides-$80.00 each
Hours spent of project-average 100 hours.
Total Cost of Project (average) $635.00
Staining Your Kitchen Cabinets
Wooden oak cupboard doors could cost from $11,000.00 -$15,000.00 for all new doors. We saved over $11K on a project the contractors would have charged for new cupboards. We have a total of 15 cupboard doors plus 5 drawers that were stripped and re-stained.
This is just the beginning of the changes we are making in our kitchen. Even though the process of upgrading this room will be slower, I am willing to work with what we have and make the most affordable changes that our budget can work with.
In Summary
If you have real wooden cupboards in your home that have been painted over, you have an easy solution to fix them and make them look better by refinishing kitchen cabinets on your own. Especially if they are wood cupboards hidden underneath that paint. A kitchen cabinet makeover is a great way to build your assets and save your money as well as upgrade your space.
Leave a comment and tell me what you think.
In Memory of my loving Father February 23, 2021.
Related Topics:
Backsplash, Lighting and Valence Upgrades
DIY Countertop Refinishing Kit
Best Dining Room Tables For Families
Good luck on your project!
**Originally posted on February 23, 2021**
** Newly Updated Post On July 19, 2023.**
Green Thumb
I am the founder of Everything Handmade. I am helping others become self-sufficient using their own hands. This website is sharing DIY home renovations, gardening vegetables in the city, cooking our own meals and building a solid foundation in times of economic instability.
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