Tips for Renovating Kitchen Cabinets on a Budget

Condition Assessment

• If your cabinets are less than 10 years old, they can probably be renovated without replacing doors or hardware. Cabinets that have been used for more than a decade may have hinges, knobs and handles that are more cost-effective to replace than refurbish. Doors and drawers with holes in the facades or deteriorating along the edges generally cannot be repaired and require replacement.

Hardware Decisions

• Knobs and handles that are discolored or have outdated finishes can be renewed by spray painting. Shiny gold or brass pulls can be softened and given a classier look by painting them with pewter color paint that dries to a semi-flat, polished finish. For cabinets repainted in bright primary colors, choose glossy spray paint in coordinating colors for the handles. Hinges and brackets that have broken away from the wood or particleboard may be salvaged by resetting them with new attachment points but this requires retooling the cabinet face as well to make the doors fit. In this case, it is often easier to replace the entire door and install new attachments if you can find doors in matching styles.

Choosing Finishes

• The least expensive and easiest cabinet renovation technique is paint. Varnished or painted cabinets can normally be painted with minimal surface preparations such as thorough cleaning and light sanding. To transform painted cabinets into wood grain ones, the paint must be stripped and the wood treated by sanding and primer application before varnish or clear lacquer is applied. For best results, remove the doors and drawers and all internal and external hardware before painting or varnishing, and let all surfaces dry for at least a day before reassembling them. Rushing the process often results in doors and drawers that stick shut.

Paint Shopping

• Your tight budget doesn’t mean you have to settle for dull colors for your renovated cabinets. Collect swatches of your favorite high-priced paint colors and go shopping for paint at discount home improvement stores and garage sales. As long as you stick with the same type of paint, such as latex, acrylic, semi-gloss, lower priced paints will generally enhance the finish of your cabinets just as well as the more expensive brands.