Kitchen cabinets are the focal point of many of today's kitchen designs. But after several years you may grow tired of the look, or you may simply want to change the decor of your home. As part of any remodeling effort in a kitchen, you need to come to some decision about the cabinets. Here are some things about the choices you have with your cabinets.
Replacing Kitchen Cabinets
If you are making structural changes like moving walls or major appliances, then you may be in a position where the only reasonable choice you have is to simply replace the total cabinets. Also, if the cabinets are old, and especially if they have been under a heavy load (for example the heirloom china is stacked high on some of the shelves) you may find that the structural integrity of the shelves has actually suffered. In this case, they simply won't safely do the job of holding your kitchen goods.
In replacing cabinets, you are looking at a couple of different approaches. The best looking is full custom cabinets. These are built on a single base, and have a completely seamless look to them The alternative is modular units. These can look quite attractive these days, but since they are separate modules the fit may not be as tight, and there is the possibility of visible seams. In either case there is a wide variety in wood species and finishes available, so you should be able to match any decor.
Refacing Kitchen Cabinets
If you are happy with the layout and capacity of your current cabinets, and the structural integrity is up to snuff, then a more cost effective approach to changing the look is to simply reface the cabinets, or replace the doors and hardware such as hinges and knobs or pulls.
Once again there is a wide variety of looks, and a quite a change in the overall appearance of the kitchen can be had for significantly less money by refacing your current cabinets. This is also quicker to implement, since the cabinets are left in place, and the inconvenience to the homeowner is a lot less.
Painting Kitchen Cabinets
By far the quickest and cheapest way to redo the kitchen is to simply paint the kitchen cabinets. This can often be done without even unloading the cabinets, and can also be done is phases, doing one cabinet at a time. While the variety of finishes that can be done with repainting is somewhat reduced ( changes in the wood species or even stains are out of the picture) you can still match a wide range of decors with a simple repainting. And you can't beat it for the low cost.
