We’ve all stepped foot inside an outdated kitchen earlier than. Assume again to the second you took in house. What was the very first thing you observed? Usually, essentially the most evident component in an outdated kitchen are the cupboards ? which will also be the costliest to swap out throughout a house rework. There’s one thing about oak cupboards paired with different dated parts that makes you are feeling such as you’ve re-entered the early 2000s.

In case your kitchen options oak kitchen cupboards that make your complete kitchen really feel dated and drab, chances are you’ll be questioning what budget-friendly, do-it-yourself choices are on the market to modernize your house. As an alternative of ripping out the cupboards or masking up the attractive wooden tones with paint, Kitchen Cupboard Kings has put collectively a listing of how to raise the appear and feel of your house with out masking them up.

Paint Your Kitchen

Let’s begin easy. What shade are the partitions of your kitchen? Again within the day, oak cupboards had been usually paired with shades of pink, inexperienced, and yellow. Nonetheless, trendy kitchen aesthetics usually lean extra in the direction of clear, impartial shade palettes. Contemplate repainting your kitchen to a extra impartial shade of white, grey, or black. These colours will assist the oak cupboards be a focus of the house, enhancing their pure magnificence to create a hanging distinction. You could even determine to color different parts of the kitchen, together with your kitchen island or vary hood.

Set up a New Backsplash

One in every of our favourite methods to spruce up a kitchen is to swap out an previous backsplash for a brand new one ? that is an particularly nice alternative in case you are portray! With a wide range of kinds to select from, it’s simple to search out one thing that enhances the cabinetry whereas nonetheless permitting your character to shine via. We love the look of a geometrical tile or basic subway tile. You’ll be able to go for grout in several shade schemes together with the tiles to match your design preferences. In search of some distinction to a white backsplash? Select black grout. Putting in a black hexagon backsplash? You could desire contrasting white grout. Mess around with the assorted choices till you discover the one which speaks to you.

Swap Your {Hardware}

In trendy kitchens, you’ll usually discover slim however outsized {hardware} that creates smooth strains on the cabinetry. Upgrading these small particulars of the kitchen might not look like they’ll make a giant distinction, however they will rework the look of the house. As an alternative of dated knobs, think about putting in matte black, brushed nickel, or chrome pulls in a wide range of trendy kinds. Including a small contact of contemporary enchantment to a barely dated cupboard will give it a brand new life. Relying on the type of your present {hardware}, chances are you’ll even be capable to spray paint it ? saving you a little bit of your funds as an alternative of buying all new {hardware} (and lowering the set up time!).

Change Your Faucet {Hardware}

For those who determine to alter the {hardware} in your cupboards, we frequently advocate altering your faucet {hardware} to match. Having a matte black faucet pairs properly with matching black cupboard pulls. There are a selection of faucet kinds to select from, together with a pull-down faucet, double-handle faucet, bridge faucet, and wall-mounted faucet. Take a go to to your native ironmongery store to see which color and style you favor.

Improve Your Lighting

Typically, the issue isn’t truly the cupboards themselves however the surrounding design parts within the kitchen. If different focal factors of your kitchen seem outdated, it could mechanically make your oak cupboards seem extra dingy than they are surely. Contemplate upgrading the assorted lighting fixtures across the house to suit your desired aesthetic. This will embrace a contemporary fixture with uncovered mild bulbs, or possibly you’re a fan of rattan pendant lights. No matter you determine, ensure that it offers sufficient illumination to brighten up the house and showcase the attractive wooden grain of your cupboards.

Change to Open Shelving

Open shelving is a standard design function present in modern-style kitchens. Whereas we don’t need you to take away all your higher cupboards, think about eradicating a bit of them and changing them with oak wooden open shelving. This helps create a recent or trendy really feel in an older house, permitting you to showcase the great thing about your favourite dinnerware and serving dishes.

Refinish Your Cupboards

We love pure wooden cupboards and by no means wish to see them go ? however there are methods you can also make them really feel new once more, equivalent to refinishing them. Though refinishing oak cupboards might really feel like a frightening job, however it may possibly assist breathe new life and modernity into your kitchen. The refinishing course of lets you clean up your kitchen’s shade palette with out eradicating the wooden’s lovely, pure grain.

Improve Your Home equipment

Oftentimes, outdated kitchens boasting oak cupboards even have older home equipment. Whereas these home equipment had been as soon as the discuss of the city, they now stand out like a sore thumb with their black and white fronts. In case your funds permits, think about upgrading your fridge, oven, range, and microwave to stainless-steel which can mechanically make your kitchen really feel new and contemporary. For those who’re going for a contemporary aesthetic with black {hardware}, chances are you’ll even go for black stainless-steel home equipment.

Exchange the Counter tops

Whereas this is probably not essentially the most budget-friendly possibility on the checklist, changing your kitchen counter tops may also help elevate the looks of your kitchen. It turns into the point of interest of the house, drawing unfavorable consideration away from dated cupboards and serving to to make your complete house really feel contemporary and new. Relying in your present counter tops, chances are you’ll even go for budget-friendly choices like masking up previous laminate counters with contact paper, which can provide off the look of marble, quartz, or one other pure stone.

Ceaselessly Requested Questions

Can I swap out my cupboard fronts?

You probably have a kitchen with oak cupboards that seem a bit dated, chances are you’ll be questioning when you can swap out the cupboard entrance. Most often, you must be capable to discover a comparable cupboard door shade that matches your present cupboard bins however boasts a extra trendy look. We regularly see owners swapping to shaker-style fronts or doorways with glass inserts.

What are essentially the most budget-friendly methods to replace oak cupboards?

If funds is a significant concern, we advocate specializing in swapping out the cupboard {hardware}, portray the kitchen to create an attractive distinction, and upgrading your kitchen backsplash. These three parts will make your kitchen really feel brighter and extra refreshed.

The place ought to the {hardware} be put in on the cupboards?

Contemplating putting in trendy {hardware} to your oak cupboards? The {hardware} needs to be put in on the entrance on the other facet of the cupboard hinges. It is suggested that the knobs or pulls are put in about 2 1/2″ to three″ from the nook of the cupboard door.

Will modernizing my oak kitchen cupboards enhance my resale worth?

Modernizing your oak cupboards can doubtlessly improve your private home’s resale worth; nevertheless, many different parts play an element. Trendy kitchens are standard amongst homebuyers, however they aren’t everybody’s cup of tea, so updates might enchantment to some house consumers however not all. We advocate making modifications based mostly in your private preferences and never doing them for potential homebuyers.

Andrew Saladino

Andrew Saladino is the Co-Founding father of Kitchen Cupboard Kings the place he has helped over 10,000 clients with their transforming initiatives. He’s a nationally awarded kitchen and loo skilled by the NKBA and his recommendation has been featured in main publications equivalent to Forbes, Huffington Publish, Mashable, Yahoo! Small Enterprise, and extra.