Update Boring Builder's Cabinets

Give your kitchen a low-cost makeover that starts with upgrading your builder's cabinets.

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Before: Bland Builder's Cabinets

Swedish Country Classic

6 Easy Steps to Paint Your Cabinets

Upper Cabinet Details

Cabinet Feet

Arts and Crafts Style

Stenciled Center Panel

How to Clean Kitchen Cabinets

Juicy Personality

Upper Cabinet Detail

Lower Cabinet Detail

Old-World Elegance

Stenciled-Door Details

Simply Scandinavian

Lower Cabinet Details

Country Charm

Lower Cabinet Details

Upper Cabinet Details

Beaded-Board Backsplash

Contemporary Image

Base Cabinet Detail

Mix and Match

Base Cabinet Details

Upper Cabinet Details

Color on the Go

Upper Cabinet Details

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Before: Bland Builder's Cabinets

Cosmetic artistry does wonders for Hollywood stars and they pay a fortune for it. A builder's cabinet can also get the same kind of lift -- but on a moviegoer's budget. It's easy to use these nine easy design strategies; each one has the power to personalize a generic kitchen.

Get quotes from cabinet professionals in your area.

Swedish Country Classic

About this facelift:

-- Start your makeover by giving plain brown cabinets the look of free-standing furniture.

-- White paint and chrome hardware refresh the cabinets' exteriors.

-- An arched fascia (in the upper cabinet), and curved side brackets between the fascia and the countertop create the illusion of a formal hutch.

-- A beaded-board backsplash enhances the look.

-- Removing the valance above the sink, then adding simple red-and-white toile curtains, creates classic Swedish country style.

6 Easy Steps to Paint Your Cabinets

Upper Cabinet Details

-- Glass replaces wood panels in the upper doors.

-- Faux muntins were simply cut to fit on top of the glass and glued into the door frame.

-- A red-painted interior provides a dramatic backdrop for dishware.

Get quotes from cabinet professionals in your area.

Cabinet Feet

-- Bun feet (tucked into the toe-kick gap) complete the transformation.

-- Taupe paint makes the toe-kick appear to recede behind the added feet, reinforcing the feeling that this is a freestanding hutch.

Arts and Crafts Style

About this facelift:

-- Oak cabinets gain artisan intrigue with stylized stenciling on center panels and new metal hardware.

-- A faux support underneath the upper cabinet offers the strength of mission oak furniture.

-- A tiled backsplash, natural-wood window blind, vintage-look faucet, and leaded-glass light add handcrafted appeal.

-- Earthy-green paint on the walls offers a period-appropriate backdrop.

Get quotes from cabinet professionals in your area.

Stenciled Center Panel

-- Celebrating handcrafted pieces is a hallmark of the early-20th-century Arts and Crafts Movement.

-- Using stylized botanical shapes (such as this motif) suits the style.

How to Clean Kitchen Cabinets

Juicy Personality

About this facelift:

-- Juicy citrus paint and fabric colors liberate a once-brown kitchen.

-- Instead of a valance, a shelf now provides space for colorful pottery.

-- Removing upper cabinet doors offers additional display space.

-- Below the sink (doors removed here, too), a fun curtain threaded onto a steel cable hides supplies.

-- A new faucet, pendant light, and sleek hardware add to the modern personality.

-- Pale green walls let the bolder cabinets pop.

Tip: Using only a single row of tiles for the backsplash saves cash while it adds style.

Get quotes from cabinet professionals in your area.

Upper Cabinet Detail

-- Start the painting process by remove doors, drawers, and hardware.

-- Lightly sand and prime any cabinet surfaces that will be painted.

-- Referring to the photos, paint some surfaces with gloss-finish orange latex paint. Let dry.

-- Use painter's tape to mask off areas to be painted light orange. Paint with light orange gloss-finish latex paint; let dry.

-- Apply two coats of water-base polyurethane, let dry. Attach hardware, rehang doors, and replace drawers.

Lower Cabinet Detail

Tip: If young children or pets are part of the household, make sure the sink-cabinet contents are safe for them to access (i.e., no cleaning supplies).

Old-World Elegance

About this facelift:

-- Rich, multilayer stenciling and burnished-copper-look hardware disguise once-boring cabinets.

-- Other changes include a tile backsplash with vintage-look edging, an elegant light above the sink, and a sleek faucet for contrast.

-- Chocolate-painted walls highlight the distinctive stencil designs.

Tip: Adding an island can be a low-cost way to increase storage and work space -- without investing in additional cabinets.

Learn how to stencil this design

Stenciled-Door Details

-- Gain old-world style with a combination of multilayered rope and tile stencils.

-- Rustic copper-look hardware enhances the look of age.

Learn how to stencil this design

Simply Scandinavian

About this facelift:

-- Inspired by blue-and-white Wedgwood dishes, this kitchen gets its impact from the repetition of simple detailing.

-- The stencil technique includes the valance above the sink for wallpaperlike effect.

-- A one-row-high tile backsplash, brushed-silver hardware and faucet, and a white-glass pendant light let stenciled designs take center stage.

-- Light yellow paint on the walls adds a warm contrast to cool blue cabinetry.

Lower Cabinet Details

-- Swedish style merges practicality with whimsical elements such as stenciling.

-- Graceful brushed-silver hardware coordinates with the stencil patterns without screaming for attention.

Country Charm

About this facelift:

-- Adding a beaded-board backsplash, an arched fascia, and bun feet gives generic cabinets the look of a free-standing hutch.

-- To update the surfaces, prime -- then paint -- all the cabinets (ivory for the "hutch," black for the sink cabinet). (See next slide for additional project details.)

-- Bronze cabinet hardware and a brushed-nickel faucet enhance the heirloom character.

-- A simple calico valance and sepia-tone floral wallpaper add the warmth of age.

Lower Cabinet Details

-- Painting the sink cabinets black helps create the illusion that the ivory-painted "hutch" is a separate piece of furniture.

-- Add the look of age by sanding the paint for a distressed look, then finishing with dark brown stain.

-- Wipe off most of the stain, leaving it in the crevices.

-- Top with three coats of water-base polyurethane.

Upper Cabinet Details

-- Replacing door center panels with glass inserts and faux muntins gives cabinets the look of a vintage hutch.

-- Painting the cabinet interiors black creates a dramatic backdrop for favorite dishes.

Beaded-Board Backsplash

-- Beaded-board paneling adds instant character.

-- Adding a brown stain, then wiping most of it off, enhances the aged look.

Contemporary Image

About this facelift:

-- Coats of primer and white latex paint clean up dated cabinets. Two coats of semigloss water-base polyurethane add durability.

-- A white field-tile backsplash pops with colored tiles added to the mix.

-- Removing upper cabinet doors provides a sleek display area for dishes.

-- Replacing the valance with a shelf and pendant light enhances the design.

-- Brushed-chrome cabinet hardware and faucet complete the streamlined makeover.

Base Cabinet Detail

-- Replacing sink-cabinet doors with a white curtain softens the look.

-- A steel cable and clip-on rings make the curtain easy to install.

Tip: If young children or pets are part of the household, make sure the cabinet contents are safe for them to access (i.e., no cleaning supplies).

Mix and Match

About this facelift:

-- Sanding and priming prepares the tired oak cabinets for painting.

-- Paint the upper cabinets taupe and the lower cabinets red, with contrasting colors used for accents (see next two slides).

-- Continue the color pairing with the woven shade and toile wallpaper.

-- A chrome gooseneck faucet suits the vintage-look setting.

Base Cabinet Details

-- Taupe paint, dry-brushed over the red door frame's beads, adds vintage character.

-- Painting slim red stripes about 3 inches apart creates the look of tongue-and-groove paneling.

-- Sturdy wooden knobs are painted to match: red for lower cabinet doors, taupe for uppers.

Upper Cabinet Details

-- Red paint, dry-brushed over the upper door frame's beads, provides depth and aged appeal.

Tip: The secret to dry brushing is to use short random strokes with as little paint on the brush as possible.

Color on the Go

About this facelift:

-- Bright multicolor cabinet doors and drawer fronts add vibrant personality to the formerly all-brown space.

-- Removing cabinet doors above and below the counter creates display space for packaged foods and baskets.

-- A sleek chrome faucet and long chrome hardware follow the style direction set by the stripes.

Upper Cabinet Details

-- Blue, green, mustard, vanilla, and brown stripes sizzle against the red background.

-- Soft lime-green walls allow the mostly red cabinets to pop.

Update Boring Builder's Cabinets

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