Kitchen Cabinet Makeover

Beyond your appliances, kitchen cabinets can be among the costliest investments for your kitchen you will make. Yet they tend to quickly look outdated, worn, or simply not stylish anymore. Even worse, kitchen cabinets tend to be so visible that all kitchen renovations end up happening around them. Their color, too, can present a particular obstacle. And if you're looking to spice up your kitchen, most people consider it a daring investment to make any change to their cabinets. A bad color choice may haunt you for years.

But what these assumptions ignore is the increasing affordability of minor alterations to your kitchen cabinets. With just a few hundred dollars, you can give your kitchen an entirely new look by refacing the cabinets, or removing the cabinet doors altogether! Read on for some helpful tips.

Refacing

Cabinet refacing means that the infrastructure of the cabinet stays the same, but the paneling is covered with a new material. The old exterior portions -- drawers, doors -- are removed and new ones are put on. The rest of the cabinet is covered with the same material. The entire kitchen can be lightened in just one day, and for half the cost of replacing an entire set of cabinets.

A New Look

If you just decided you're tired of cabinets and the look that they bring to the room, consider removing the cabinet doors. It sounds risky, and to an extent, it is. After all, this is going to mean dedication to keeping the interior of your cabinets in order. Many people who try this technique start off with just a few cabinets -- like the ones where they keep their plates and glasses. Those are easier to keep in order than the shelves where you stash your canned goods. By removing the doors, you give the room a more open feel and, with the right cabinet contents, can make the room feel more colorful and fun.

If you're not quite ready to take such a step, glass cabinet doors are another option for giving your kitchen a little bit of an edge. It will still highlight the contents, but you might feel better knowing that there's a door between you and your foodstuffs.

Remember: All of these updates can be done with only a small time commitment and much less cash than installing new cabinets -- and they won't even require a change to the infrastructure of your kitchen!

By Amy Stice