26 DIY Kitchen Cabinet Updates So You Don’t Have to Replace Them

With these originative DIY ideas , you may learn how to update old kitchen cabinets without replacing them .

You do n’t have to rupture out old cabinetry to give your kitchen a fresh new look . With these originative DIY ideas , you’re able to learn how to update old kitchen cabinets without replacing them . Try these easy ways to refresh your cabinets with key , mold , inserts , and new hardware . These trick work for bathroom cabinetry , too !

Decorative Edge

For thiskitchen cabinetupdate , you ’ll need 1 - inch wooden ball knobs and a storage locker threshold with an inset gore . position the orb along the intimate edge of the panel , fitting as many as you could along each side , evenly spaced . Use a strong adhesive material to secure them in position . When the glue is dry , prime and paint the locker your trust colour and reattach ironware .

DIY Glass Cabinet Door

Update an sometime console doorway by adding a glass panel , selecting between clear , frosted , sown , or ribbed chicken feed for a unique look . Use a routerto transfer the center venire , then sand and paint if desired . Have the drinking glass cut to size , add together an extra half - inch on each side . Place the glass piece on the back of the frame and secure it with clips . Reattach hardware .

A glass shop can do this for you or sell you the necessary function .

Caned Cabinet Update

Star Stenciled Door

curry up an average cabinet doorway with a moderately painted blueprint . First , paint the locker your desired background color and let ironic . Tape a stencil in place on the door . If you ’re operate with a door that has a recessed control board , you may necessitate to cut the stencil to agree . Using a stencil blusher brush , paint the open areas of the stencil with an tapping movement . Peel off the stencil to reveal your painted pattern .

Farmhouse Kitchen Cabinets

Create abarn room access - inspired patternacross the front of Shaker - style cabinetry . Cut a piece of woodwind instrument clipping that fit inside the recessed panel lengthwise and assure it using E6000 adhesive or wood glue . Add two more pieces perpendicular to the first trim part to make a cross figure and paste them in place . Cut angled trim pieces and attach them from quoin to tree to create diagonal lines that organise an X. Usewood fillerto fill any crack between trimness slice ; then sand , prime , and paint the locker doorway .

Kitchen Cabinet Refresh

Useadhesive wallpaperto give your kitchen cabinet a fresh expression . Cut the wallpaper to fit inside the locker ’s recessed panel . discase off the adhesive support about 2 inch down , and line up the edge with the interior recess of the panel . Slowly pull back the backing as you continue adhere the sleep of the paper .

DIY Herringbone Design

A canonic slab door works best for this DIY kitchen cabinet idea . Start by separate the door into fourths vertically and mark off the line with a pencil . Purchase sharpness band in various sizes and metal money of wood and melamine — most craft and hardware storehouse offer iron - on varieties . Cut the band into strips at 45 - arcdegree angles at both ends so they will fit between the drawn lines . As you make the angled cutting , observe that every other division of band will be going in the opposite focus . put the sections of banding , making sure to vary the color and species of wood in your excogitation . apply an ironto adhere the piece one at a time — or peel off the adhesive backing and control stick — between the lines . Use a polyurethanewood finishto seal the console surface after all of the pieces have been attached .

Copper Panel Cabinet

A simple sheet of copper alloy can translate an superannuated kitchen cabinet into an eye - get focal full point . write out the copper to the sizing of the door ’s raised panel . Cut narrow wood trim pieces to produce a frame around the fuzz sheet . Use a pin nailer to tie the trim pieces and copper to the console ’s panel . tapeline a publish design ( we found a wide-eyed honeycomb design online ) to the copper panel . utilize an awl and hammer to punch equally space holes into the copper piece of paper according to the pattern .

Buffalo Check Painted Cabinet

Paint kitchen cabinet doors with a buffalo chip pattern for afarmhouse - inspired upgrade . Start by painting a recessed - panel door bloodless . Using a pencil and rule , strike off a control grid of 2 - column inch square on the inset panel Earth’s surface . begin with the far - right vertical column , tape around every other substantial withpainters tape . Paint the unwrap squares black , covering every other wrangle , and wait until the rouge has dry to remove the tape . Next , record the squares in between the calamitous ones on the same quarrel and paint them greyish . replicate this picture process on the second vertical chromatography column from the leftfield . For the remaining rows , record around each lame that lines up horizontally with a fatal square ; paint these exposed squares gray . When the paint has dry out , remove the tape to reveal the buffalo check pattern .

Trimmed to Perfection

tote up your own trim to a mere slab cabinet door . go by cutting baseboard trim pieces with mitered nook to create a thick frame on the face of your door ; adhere the pieces with woodwind instrument glue and a rowlock nailer . utilize intermediate - sized ornamental trim pieces to create another frame along the inside mat edge of the baseboard piece of music . After cutting the pieces to size , secure them in place using wood glue and a flag nailer . Using even small decorative trim ( less than 1 - inch astray ) , sum up another chassis inside the superimposed baseboard frame using the same process . Paint the door your desire cornerstone gloss . For an elderly look , conflate brown paint with a glaze compound and paint over the first color . forthwith wipe aside the extra paint so the colour outride mostly in the gloomy spots and internal curves of the trim .

Shutter Style

This kitchen cabinet update idea works well for recessed - panel storage locker doorway . curve 1.5 - inch craft panel to the distance of the inside measurement of the inset venire . Lay one board at the bottom of the panel , angling it slightly upward to overlap the inside edge of the cabinet inning . utilise E6000 mucilage along the top underside of the board and adhere it in place . Set the 2nd board in the control panel , slightly overlap the first , and glue it in place , repeat this operation to cover the total inset control board . Use minute wood trim pieces to make a frame around the shutter figure . permit the glue to dry ; then prime and paint the room access your desired base color .

Give the storage locker room access an antique look by layering on paint in different colors and sanding between coats .

The Basics: Painting Cabinets

Beyond fun embellishments and personality - tot details , a good storage locker makeover often pop out with refreshing paint . view this video recording to determine how to master the BASIC of painting cabinets .

Wallpapered Door

Putextra wallpaperto use as a pretty model insert . For this easy kitchen cabinet update , pop by paint the locker threshold with semigloss internal latex paint blusher . When the rouge is dry , ignore a slice of fleck wallpaper to fit the recessed panel . Apply atomizer adhesive to the back of the paper , then carefully smooth it onto the instrument panel . To seal off the airfoil , use a paintbrushto implement a thin coating of decoupage medium over the paper and the entire room access .

Bird Stencil Design

Give old woodwind doors a makeover , but let a bit of their original character show through . First , apply a coat of polyurethane atomiser paint to seal off the wood . To create this bird , line your desired shape onto link paper ( we used clip artistic creation find online ) , then cut it out and press it onto the storage locker front . utilize your fingernail to seal the edges tightly . Paint the cabinet ( we used off - livid semigloss interior latex paint ) . When wry , carefully remove the contact newspaper to reveal your purpose . Use a moist cloth to absent any rouge that bleeds under the contact paper .

Trimwork Update

Add stake to a homely cabinet doorway by troop pretty trimwork around the door ’s perimeter . Measure your cabinet doorway to determinehow much moldingyou’ll demand . Be certain to factor in the size of the four embellishments for the corner . Use a miter boxto trim back the molding strip to size . Paint the cabinet , mold , and embellishments the same color . When dry , utilise wood glue to affix the molding and embellishments to the locker . Clamp the pieces in station until the glue prohibitionist .

Sheet Metal Refresh

Forthis kitchen console update , we used patterned sheet metal to give these door a fresh yet vintage timbre . After removing the internal room access panelwith a jigsaw , paint the storage locker door and let wry . To make a skeletal system for the net cut-in , glue Ellen Price Wood comic strip , paint black , around the back of the door frame so they part show in the front . Cut the plane metallic element to fit the frame using canister snips , then batten it to the wood strips with wood glue .

DIY Beaded-Board Cabinets

Add country charm to plain kitchen cabinets with this DIY task mind . Replace the inset center section of the door withbeaded - board panelsfor a farmhouse - instigate look . Customize the invention with any rouge color , stain , or sugarcoat you prefer .

Cabinet Cutouts

Addcottage styleto your kitchen with simple embellishments and a little rouge . Wooden applique — available at home improvement centers and crafts stock — can be easily paint and attach to cabinet door with wood mucilage . For an antiqued tone , mix up a blusher washables tocreate a distressed finishing .

Chalkboard Painted Kitchen Cabinets

Remember yourshopping listby jot it down decently on the closet . Use quick - spillage painter ’s magnetic tape to cover the door frame so only the inside panel is show . Spray the doorway with chalkboard paint and rent ironical before dispatch the taping .

DIY Lattice Design

habituate electric tape measure and bright paint to create a design that really pops . Start with a base pelage ofwhite paint , then apply electrical tape measure to the door in a lattice aim . Tape on the erect and horizontal lines first before intersecting them with diagonal . Paint the door your trust color ( we chose a vivacious aquamarine ) and allow dry before cautiously peeling off the electrical magnetic tape .

Corkboard Cabinets

Applying cork to a room access is a in effect way to cover even major imperfections . Plus , you ’ll have a handy billet for notes , lists , and recipe . To achieve this kitchen cabinet update , cut self - adhesive cork paper to fit the doorway control panel , skin off the backing , and iron out the bobber to adhere .

Tin Tiles

The intricate designs of Sn cap tiles make them great accent mark for cabinets , especially when painted . move out the inner door panel using a reciprocating saw , then paint the cabinet door and let dry . Cut a tin roof panel to fit inside the frame and paint it your desire people of colour . When ironical , paste the jury to the Sir Henry Joseph Wood home .

Drilled Pattern

Give your kitchen a whimsical feel with a bird transfer and twig care . Evenly spaceddrill holescreate the bird ’s outline . For kitchen or bathrooms , practice two coats of glossy rouge for a wet - resistive , easy - to - clean finish . If you ’re using a bland or eggshell finish , apply varnish or a well-defined pelage over the paint for more strength .

Fabric Cabinet Panels

Add grain to your kitchen cabinets with fabric . apply a fretsaw to cut out the door center , then use a router to create a lip or ledge on the back of the room access to hold the fabric . Lightly backbone and paint the door . wrapper fabric around a 1/4 - column inch - thick piece of Sir Henry Joseph Wood , then nail fabric - covered wood to the back of the threshold .

Labyrinth

become a boring door into a modern masterpiece by add up comic strip of thin mold . Start by cutting a 1/2 - inch board into funnies . Paint the door and the strips in the same color and let dry . Lay the strip on the room access to create a labyrinth blueprint and nail them in station . Cover up the nailhead with dabs of paint .

Photo Finish

Turn your kitchen into aphoto albumby displaying your favorite photos . Affix a picture frame to the door , add a picture , and finish with anew knob . These photo - embellished door serve individualise your kitchen space with your favored memory .

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — metal kitchen cabinets are in reality quite easy to update . Simply choose a blusher color of your selection and be sure to corrupt it in a alloy - well-disposed finish , like spray rouge or another acrylic - latex paint ending . On a diminished scale , you could also update alloy kitchencabinets with new hardwareor skin - and - pin wallpaper .

When painting your kitchen storage locker , you want to opt a paint polish that is both durable and fluid . In most example , this entail choosing a semi - gloss or satin paint in as high - timbre of a conceptualization as you could afford . In some instance , home owners may also prefer for a high polish finishing which can be very durable but can show flaws easily and should always be done by a professional .

If you ’re looking to sully your cabinets for a natural woodwind instrument aspect , your best wager is to expend an oil - based mark . Not only are there plenty of stain brand name and colour pick out there to choose from , but oil - based stains are the best choice because they deeply penetrate the wood , are able to stand up to daily article of clothing and split , and provide an even finish .

white and blue mosaic pattern cabinet door

Credit: Brie Passano

It typically costs much less to reface kitchen cabinets than to replace them . Since reface will only update the outside of your cabinets without altering the storage locker boxes , this process will in the main cost 30 - 50 percent less than purchase replacements would .

Yes . An update kitchen can make your home more likeable to buyers , and end up advance theresale economic value . On modal , homeowners will see a 30 percent paying back on investment after performing a major kitchen overhaul .

green cabinet door with decorative beads