Kitchen - DIY Cabinet Reface

Honestly, I would have never thought that the same week Denise tackles her kitchen is the same week I tackle mine! Haha!! Take a look at this picture!!! This is one old fashion 1970’s outdated kitchen. I can’t look at these U-G-L-Y – Ugly brown laminate cabinets any longer! Honestly, would you be able to cook in this kind of environment? Wow! What were these builders thinking????


Don’t let this print fool you, it may look like wood, but it’s not! It’s this plasticy laminate adhering to some ply wood! As we know, kitchens are so expensive to redo, and because all my savings went into purchasing this house, I had to get smart. So, I google searched “painting brown laminate cabinets” (yes, so creative). After hours of searching I came to the conclusion that I should paint my cabinets white, this should brighten up the room and bring this kitchen to its proper decade! But, that just was not enough for me!!! I wanted to update the flat boring cabinet doors! I decided to add some molding! Where? How? I had no clue! So on to Home depot and Lowes I went! I bought a 8 foot piece of EverTrue 1-5/8"W x 8'L Primed Composite Chair Rail and a miter box with a saw.

I went to work –I primed the cabinets and measured 3 inches from each side of the cabinets...I decided to create a shadow box with in the molding on the cabinet door. I cut my 45 degree angles and nailed the molding to the door…I liked the way it looked, but I just wasn’t convinced.

I ended up taking a trip to a local molding store…I got a smaller molding CASING 1-5/8. I went home and cut the 45 degree angles and decided to nail the frame on the outside of the cabinets...I fell in love!!! Talk about a DIY cabinet reface, I saved myself a few $$$...

With a fresh coat of semi-gloss ultra white paint, the kitchen lookes fabulous! I ended up painting the walls a shade of brown to make the cabinets stand out. I know, I know, I need new appliances, but that is going to have to wait for now.

The kitchen still needs some work; re-grouting the tile on the countertops, adding the hardware to the cabinets, tiling the floor…so much more to do!

Hire Someone To Do It

And so it begins. The wood paneling removal was more work than we thought. Once the panels were removed there were holes everywhere! More work= more money.

Thankfully the house only had acoustic ceiling in the living room. So as soon as the wall was repaired it was on to the ceiling. FYI-just pay someone to do it. Trust me. How the entire house managed to look like it was covered in snow (inside!) is beyond me. One of the messiest projects EVER!

So this is what I am working with. A livingroom with a one red wall and one wall with paneling. Yuck! The bright side, hard wood floors! I see major potential. This kitchen needs some much needed attention. Blue and yellow tile! My plan is to strip down all the paint from the cabinets, so that I can have a nice smooth finish when I paint them. I also plan on updating all the hardware, hinges included. New tile flooring and countertops. And yes this I plan to do myself. But of course with the help of DIY and youtube I can do anything!! Wait till you see what Dina has going in her house! So much more to come!

Old Home New Look - Part 2

Well, I’m the beautiful friend and a first time homeowner! I can’t believe this day has come, I could finally put to use the hours of HGTV I’ve been watching... OH YEAH! My husband and I moved in 2 weeks ago and in the process of settling in, we are upgrading, remodeling, painting, cleaning, the list goes on! I can’t believe how physically draining it has become but I enjoy every minute of it! I'm ready to tag team with my friend our houses as we share details, ideas, experiments, mistakes, and soooooo much more!

Old Home New Look

On October 6, 2010 I received the keys to my first home. It was a big decision and to be honest I'm not sure I was even prepared for what I was about to encounter. I have always had the love for making old things look new, but this.... this was one of my biggest projects yet.

Thankfully, my beautiful friend got the keys to her first house about 2 weeks prior. So we are going to take this challenge on together.