Tips on How to Reface Cabinets

It can be expensive to pay someone to reface your kitchen cabinets for you.  Luckily, this is a project that you can easily and inexpensively do yourself.  It will take some time but the end results will be well worth it considering that you will now have a beautiful kitchen with the exact design that you desire.

• Be prepared to have limited use of your kitchen for a while.  You will need to clean out all of your cabinets to ensure that nothing inside gets damaged or in the way.


• Take some time out to plan your design ahead of time.  You can revise it as you go but you should determine whether you want a traditional or modern design. Also consider what your budget is going to be and how much time you have available to spend on this project.


• Work from top to bottom so that you don’t damage any of the areas that you have already finished working on.  You will also want to do all of your prep work in this order too.


• You may only need to add a new coat of paint or self-adhesive wood veneers in order for your cabinets to look completely refreshed.  However, other cabinets will need something a little more.


• You may want to try a special refacing technique on those cabinets that will be a focal point.  Consider cutting out the center of them and replacing it with glass, a wired grille or pierced tin.  They can then be edged with wood molding.  If time and money are a concern, only do this with a few of the cabinets that you are refurbishing.


• Look at your local recycling center or consider reusing hardware from other parts of your home.


• Remake the front of your kitchen cabinets from items that you find at a yard sale.  For instance, you can attach a picture frame to the front of your cabinet instead of using custom molding.  This is a great way in which to save some money.


• Take a look at the inside of your cabinets too.  Since they are already cleaned out, consider relining them with new adhesive paper or adding decorative edgings to those shelves that will be made visible when you add glass to the doors.  Consider painting the inside of them with chalkboard paint so that you have a memo board that you can see daily but only when the cabinets are open.