Kitchen Cabinet Makeovers – Not Too Tough to Tackle
Think giving your kitchen a cabinetry makeover is a project best left to the professionals? Well, think again. The folks over at MLive.com recently begged to differ in an article titled “Kitchen cabinets are a project beginners can tackle.” Although the prospect may seem daunting, “updating cabinets is a do-it yourself (DIY) project that many people can master,” the article’s expert assures.
“The project doesn’t require a lot of tools, but it does require patience,” the article goes on to point out. Therefore, you might want to consider replacement of your kitchen cabinets as a tag-team effort. Don’t try to take on the job all by yourself. The cited expert warns, “You have to get the doors off the cabinets, and this might be a two-person job. Door and drawer replacement is the hardest task.”
Once you have removed the doors, you have two affordable options: 1) You can either refinish your existing cabinets, or 2) you can reface your existing cabinets with new door fronts. If you choose the former option, “the prep work is the most time-consuming.” Sanding and painting the door fronts is grunt work but it can be accomplished by a single person. Staining and/or glazing the wood are also finishing options. The article’s source “recommends going to a [kitchen cabinet] showroom to look at the different types of finishes and, of course, new door pulls to finish off the new look.”
But what if you decide to reface your kitchen cabinetry instead? Consultation with a manufacturer of kitchen cabinets, including a selection of wood door styles, should be the first step in your agenda. Many considerations will go into the choosing of a new door style. Wood species will be the first decision you’ll have to make. The beautiful, natural woods offered by the most recognized brands of cabinetry for the home include beautiful and natural woods as well as laminate styles. Once you’ve narrowed down the cabinet material, you’ll need to move on to the doors’ shape. This selection may prove more challenging than it sounds with square, arched, slab, raised panel, and recessed panel options to choose from.
Finally, you’ll need to decide whether you want to leave your cabinet doors natural or apply a finish, just as you would if you opted to refinish your existing door fronts. Leading kitchen cabinet manufacturers offer a wide array of standard and premium finishes and glazes to complement any design style. Your specific options will be dependent on the wood or laminate species you’ve chosen.
DuraKraft finish is one of the finest wood finishes available. A combination of clear resin chemistry and ultraviolet screen inhibitors, it provides a custom finish that extends the original color and clarity of your cabinetry’s material while standing up to everyday wear in the kitchen. In fact, a recognized finish testing laboratory tested the DuraKraft finish for resistance to common household chemicals and agents. The result? DuraKraft exceeds all specifications required by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association. In addition to chemical testing, DuraKraft was also tested for resistance to extreme temperatures and was found to withstand temperatures below -5˚F and above 120˚F for shipment and use in all parts of the world.
Carmen Fontana is a Web Services Manger for Western Reserve Internet Services. Explore the many types of doors available for your wall cabinets at the Kraftmaid website.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/kitchen-cabinet-makeovers-not-too-tough-to-tackle-905653.html
May 14th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
IMHO, stay away from DIY cabinetry refacing. It is, without a doubt, the cheaper way to go, but the results often look cheap as well. My wife and I considered many options when we remodeled our kitchen last year, and we decided to hire someone to replace everything for us: new cabinetry. That option only cost about 25% more than the hired-out refacing. We thought the price difference was worth the benefit of new cabinetry, more logical storage, and a better functioning kitchen. We could have saved a bit of money, but we’d be paying for it every time we didn’t like something about our old layout. I wouldn’t change anything in retrospect. We had our work done through: http://www.totalkitchenstore.com Take a look at them.