Frugal “New” Kitchen Cabinets
Admiring NewSon and Daughter's kitchen cabinets, I was amazed at how well these previously worn and ugly cabinets now looked! NewSon and Daughter recently were able to purchase their first home and it is perfect for a young family just beginning this season of life. With three bedrooms and two and one-half bathrooms, situated in a lovely older neighborhood with mature live oak trees and with one of the nicest yards I have seen in a sub-division, this house was everything and more than what they had been looking for!
Sure, they had some work to do before moving into this new to them house. Ceramic tile was scrubbed and sealed, windows washed, upstairs laminate floors given a polyurethane coating, but all in all, things were pretty much in move-in condition. The kitchen, although not of the larger variety, was well designed and had a nice window looking out at the lovely backyard. There was, however, a bit of a drawback to this serviceable kitchen: the cabinets looked their age (about 30 years I think) and to Daughter were not very appealing. What to do?
Certainly a kitchen re-do was not in order. Yet those cabinets just seemed to be a downer to the rest of the condition of the house. Now, Daughter has learned how to make the best of things that may not be to your liking, and she would with good attitude have made this kitchen a special place in her home, even with these less than desirable cabinets. A busy schedule and a 5-month-old baby were already adding challenge to the moving experience, but both Daughter and NewSon knew that finding the time and making a cabinet re-do a priority after they were moved in might never happen.
With several weeks before the need to make the move to this house from their apartment, NewSon and Daughter decided to take on the challenge of these kitchen cabinets. After some investigation, they discovered that the purchase of a certain primer would eliminate the need to sand the cabinets. This really made the decision easy and off they went to buy paint!
I will not say this was a "simple" process. Two coats of primer and three coats of paint and then a topping of polyurethane as protection took time and commitment. They are blessed to have family and friends close by. To add some character to these rather mundane stock cabinets, NewSon put up beadboard on the sides of the cabinets and added trim to the top section of these cupboards. Of course, they painted all the drawers as well. Because the inside bottoms of the lower cabinets were so worn and impossible to make clean, NewSon used stick tile and created new bottom areas. It looks great and will be easy to keep clean.
Of course, this frugal couple had found a gorgeous stove and refrigerator at a second hand appliance store in the color of black. To make a nice match with these appliances, Daughter choose a beautiful deep red as the color to paint the cabinets. The finished look is classic and sharp and the value of their home has been even more increased.
The stick tile resurfacing of the cabinet bottoms worked so well they added these to their bathroom cabinets as well. These can be purchased to match most any style and provide an excellent surface to keep clean. I am looking forward to trying out this idea!
Some "sweat equity," helpful family, and friends and some creativity has paid off, don't you think?
Any other ideas on how to fashion frugal "new" kitchen cabinets?
7 Responses to “Frugal “New” Kitchen Cabinets”
October 30th, 2012 at 10:57 am
Sounds like this young married couple have a good sensibility about this type of thing. I think making small changes ‘before’ you move in is wise. Not picky. And… it helps to live with some of the issues for a while before making a decision to make other changes.
I like the stick down tiles under the cabinetry. I’ve done that in the past.
These cabinet look great. I’m guess they were a worn out oak before priming and painting… My cabinets are far worse. But with paint and a little tweaking here and there we were able to save money and make them last a little longer.
hurrah! for them…on their new home! (and good decisions)
Pat
October 30th, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Thanks, Pat, for your gracious comment and encouragement! One of the blessings of living the frugal life is seeing the next generation make even better decisions and from the start of their marriages!
October 31st, 2012 at 7:29 pm
My son and his wife and I did a similar thing with their kitchen this summer. We used the rustoleum product with the top glaze it took a very dated kitchen and made it gorgeous. No waste and much cheaper than a new kitchen.
October 31st, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Wow, those look great! I am impressed. A coat of paint can clearly go a long way. Even though it was super frugal, it likely will have brought up her property value as well – the kitchen is the first thing people look at.
November 27th, 2012 at 7:39 am
Beautiful job! Your daughter and NewSon
are lucky to be surrounded by a caring family.
What colour/brand of paint did you use?
November 27th, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Rachelle:
My daughter says that she used Valspar paint and the color was Spanish Tile.
November 27th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Thanks DL, much appreciated.
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