Kitchen cabinets: reprint, sell, reinstall them or leave them alone?

6 years ago

We are moving into house with less-than-20-years-old cabinets. Husband loves them but I don't like the color - we will have minimal remodeling and replace carpets with light colored laminate. Will probably get light colored furniture to modernize and brighten up the house.
We don't have a good sense of interior design so any tips are welcomed!
So my question is,
1. Do you think I should hire a pro to reprint these cabinets to an off white color? We live in SoCal - how much does it usually cost?
2. I saw on some other discussions that some people buy cabinets... do you think I can sell mine? And how much will it cost?
3. If I can get enough money for the old cabinets, should I just reinstall some new cabinets? Or do you think repainting will do the job?

4. We don't plan to do any upgrades to the tiles or countertop there... will it help?

Again, my goal is to make the new home brighter and modernized; not planning to do a major makeover... probably don't want to spend over $20k on the kitchen... what do you think?
P.S. we are expecting our first baby so probably won't be able to do any DIY projects... and I hope to not have major remodeling for years to come.

Featured Answer

jhmarie

6 years ago

I don't think you will be able to sell those cabinets for much - and I am one who actually likes my oak cabinets. However, yours appear to have a plywood veneer inner panel - why the grain is the way it is - which is not a valuable cabinet. I would not put any expensive countertop on them. The kitchen does look functional and in decent shape, so you could put the changes off for a year or two if that would help the budget. You will be busy with a new baby, and the kitchen cabinets won't be that important to you:)

Many years ago, my kitchen cabinets were literally falling apart, and we had little extra money. Many here recommend Ikea cabinets as a good value for the money. We got a reasonable priced cabinet from a home center store - solid wood doors and good reviews and simply replaced the old cabinets with new cabinets, new laminate counters and sink. I did change up the cabinets a little, but all appliances stayed in the same place. You might be able to get granite counters as some have come down in price. You could donate the older cabinets to ReStore Habitat for Humanity store.

White cabinets with the white floor might feel too white, but you could consider a color too. I like the darker blue lowers combined with white uppers when the floor is white, but there are many possibilities.

Wood countertops are a budget friendly solution, though most I know change out to stone after a five years are so to an easier to care for stone. A farm sink is not budget friendly, but I love my single bowl Kohler Whitehaven - it would be a great sink for he baby's bath.

I did recently refresh my oak kitchen with quartz counters, farm sink and backsplash. Pics are in my "my pics" idea book. Cost was $6000. My cabinets are very sturdy and in good shape. I also have a "wood kitchens" idea book which has some other oak kitchen refreshes.

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Comments (11)

Shalom Gag
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks a lot Jhmarie. So with the inexpensive materials that the cabinets are made of now would you say it is not worth it to get them painted professionally?
PRO
Cambridge Kitchens MFG
6 years ago
check out our page for cabinet color ideas
er612
6 years ago
I wouldn't spend much unless you're changing the layout. Painting the cabinets will definitely brighten the space. It's a worthwhile investment IMO.
katinparadise
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Congratulations on your new baby on the way and your new house! I would say you're going to spend $5,000 to have the cabinets professionally painted and because the grain is so heavy, you're probably still going to see the grain. If you're happy with the layout, I would look into having them refaced, adding new hardware, and spending 3-4 thousand on new granite counter tops. With the white appliances and white tile floor, I would consider doing a wood for the cabinets or at least two tone like jhmarie suggested. If it fits within your budget, you might consider refacing the bottom cabinets, replacing the counter tops and adding new upper cabinets that go to the ceiling.
P Banos
6 years ago
When we had a professional prep and lacquer our cabinets, we spent $6000. Our cabinets were fine, just showed 20+ years of wear. We also replaced the counters. There went another $6000.

Do you want to spend that kind of money now or save it towards the future kitchen you can plan for over time?

A quick and dirty paint job will not look great or hold up well. I agree you should wait and decide over time how you want to spend your money.

But you might add some pulls or knobs for fun.
smileythecat
6 years ago
You will not get much for those cabs [if you manage to sell them at all] Paint if you can't afford to replace, but really I would save the $ for replacements.
artsyphartsy_home_maker
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
If you want to save a lot of $$ I would paint them {especially if you like your current layout}. If you want more storage space maybe you could hire a carpenter to add small cabinets above your existing ones so they go all the way up to the ceiling & you could also add some crown moldings. That is a trick I read about. I doubt anyone would ever guess they are your old cabinets unless you tell them. Adding more cabinets above the old ones would of course cost money, so it depends what you want/are able to spend. Painting is cheap though !
PRO
Savvy Cabinetry Design Interiors
6 years ago
For the extent of painting and you are saying you are not interested in a DIY- this would not and should not be a cheap option. If you do want to go the painting route- hire a true professional who- but also understand a professional paint job will take time. Are you comfortable living with a disassembled kitchen for some time (sanding, painting, curing)?

Otherwise, I say invest in stainless steel appliances... if that. In this case, you are probably better off living with it and saving your dollars for a new kitchen.
lesleycurl
6 years ago
I would paint the cabinets. You'll only get maybe a couple/few hundred for those cabinets if you try to sell them on Craigslist (if they don't get damaged during removal), maybe even less and the old cabinets will fill up your garage annoyingly while you try to sell them. I don't think it's worth it to have the cabinets lacquered after they are painted, but you'll know once you get some idea of cost. Get a few bids from contractors. A quick way to get them painted would be to only paint the faces of the cabinets and then both sides of the doors. I had some brown cabinets sprayed by a contractor who also sprayed the interiors of the cabinets and that added to the cost and I had to mask off the kitchen and clean over-spray from every single nook and cranny in my whole house for weeks. I've also had just the faces painted manually and the doors were sprayed outside, which was a LOT faster, I didn't have to empty the cabinets or mask off the kitchen and it was cheaper. Paint the cabinets, paint the walls a color that you like that compliments the cabinets and get a fun kitchen rug, then go enjoy your new baby!
DSinding
6 years ago
I agree, painting is the more viable direction, if you are keeping the counter tops - match the color and invest the rest on a nice backsplash picking up on the brownish color from the floor tile -

add interest to the space by adding a nice cheery runner

and window valance this will bring a pop of color to the kitchen

hope this helps - happy decorating