Minor kitchen remodel on even minor-er budget
October 6, 2015 2:02 PM Subscribe
We *must* replace our lower kitchen cabinets. The uppers are *ahem, previous owners* stained green. How do I match the unfinished lowers to the uppers? Is it possible with stain or am I forced to do a flat paint/black stain to cover the previous stain?
Is there a cheaper route than Home Depot/Lowes? Is Habitat a practical option? I don't see cabinets on CL.
Ikea has kitchen cabinets. On Craigslist, look under "materials." You can also search for building materials surplus stores in your area.
posted by melissasaurus at 2:19 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by melissasaurus at 2:19 PM on October 6, 2015
You can get cabinets refaced where they put veneer over the body of the cabinets and install new doors. It's a lot cheaper than new cabinets of the bodies & layout are fine. Google "cabinet refacing"
posted by GuyZero at 2:35 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by GuyZero at 2:35 PM on October 6, 2015
It will be very, very difficult to perfectly match -- the human eye is amazing at picking out slight color differences. We once had to return wall-to-wall carpeting 4 times because they kept using sections from different runs and the colors didn't quite match.
I would definitely recommend painting the bottoms a different color from the tops.
posted by LittleMy at 3:02 PM on October 6, 2015
I would definitely recommend painting the bottoms a different color from the tops.
posted by LittleMy at 3:02 PM on October 6, 2015
Habitat definitely depends on your area. In my area, they have very nice vintage cabinet sets -- I think you'd have to shop a couple weekends in a row to find the right ones that would fit your layout, but I'd definitely buy there.
However, note that Habitat (at least in my area) will expect you to take the full cabinet set, which may include uppers. (Although, hey, if you're willing to replace your uppers too and you get a good price on the set, that might solve your problem!)
posted by pie ninja at 3:24 PM on October 6, 2015
However, note that Habitat (at least in my area) will expect you to take the full cabinet set, which may include uppers. (Although, hey, if you're willing to replace your uppers too and you get a good price on the set, that might solve your problem!)
posted by pie ninja at 3:24 PM on October 6, 2015
You can strip out old stain (I've used lacquer thinner and steel wool), but it still will not match the lowers unless the new stain is very, very dark. Prime the uppers well and paint them white, then do whatever color you want for the lowers. Gray or blue is nice.
posted by amber_dale at 3:35 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by amber_dale at 3:35 PM on October 6, 2015
IKEA kitchen cabinets (unlike much of their other stuff) gets good reviews, from what I've heard, and they're a good value.
posted by cnc at 4:47 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by cnc at 4:47 PM on October 6, 2015
Go with different colours.
If you want really budget, buy a second hand kitchen on ebay. I was so surprised at all the gorgeous, new/almost new, top of the line kitchens people were pulling out. Including expensive taps and counter tops and appliances. This is really easy if you've got a simple layout, like a galley or L shape.
Seconding Ikea cabinets but the hardware is not so good apparently. But I think cabinets are pretty much the same once you get past a certain threshold.
posted by stellathon at 5:23 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you want really budget, buy a second hand kitchen on ebay. I was so surprised at all the gorgeous, new/almost new, top of the line kitchens people were pulling out. Including expensive taps and counter tops and appliances. This is really easy if you've got a simple layout, like a galley or L shape.
Seconding Ikea cabinets but the hardware is not so good apparently. But I think cabinets are pretty much the same once you get past a certain threshold.
posted by stellathon at 5:23 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'd try to buy pre-finished cabinets that look okay with your uppers. There are cheaper options than HD, at least in Oakland -- places like Granite Expo and Sincere Hardware. Ikea came in more expensive for me and had irregular size options that didn't match my last kitchen.
I bought and painted second hand cabinets, and I strongly recommend against this approach. It took us forever (six months?) of shopping the used and seconds and salvage sales fairly regularly to find a set that matched our (very, very basic) layout. Painting likewise took forever.* The blogs make it look easy, but that wasn't my experience. And what I saved by buying used, I probably spent 60% back on sanding, primer, and paint supplies.
* Cabinets come with a stain proof coating that keeps paint from sticking. We tried to chemically strip that, but still, our primer started to peel. (We'd at least been smart enough to do one as a test.) That led to sanding the coating off, and with the curved edges of the doors, that took a while (some was done by hand). Then, we had to apply a coat or two of primer, maybe 2 coats of paint, and 2-3 coats of clear coating to make it stain-proof. Keep in mind, every coat has to be done both for the front and for the back. In between coats, you have to let it dry for 1-4 hours or more, then lightly sand it, then wipe off all the dust created by sanding. It took forever. You might be able to accelerate this if you used a high-VOC spray primer (I heard some are sticky enough that you could skip the first sanding).
posted by slidell at 6:29 PM on October 6, 2015
I bought and painted second hand cabinets, and I strongly recommend against this approach. It took us forever (six months?) of shopping the used and seconds and salvage sales fairly regularly to find a set that matched our (very, very basic) layout. Painting likewise took forever.* The blogs make it look easy, but that wasn't my experience. And what I saved by buying used, I probably spent 60% back on sanding, primer, and paint supplies.
* Cabinets come with a stain proof coating that keeps paint from sticking. We tried to chemically strip that, but still, our primer started to peel. (We'd at least been smart enough to do one as a test.) That led to sanding the coating off, and with the curved edges of the doors, that took a while (some was done by hand). Then, we had to apply a coat or two of primer, maybe 2 coats of paint, and 2-3 coats of clear coating to make it stain-proof. Keep in mind, every coat has to be done both for the front and for the back. In between coats, you have to let it dry for 1-4 hours or more, then lightly sand it, then wipe off all the dust created by sanding. It took forever. You might be able to accelerate this if you used a high-VOC spray primer (I heard some are sticky enough that you could skip the first sanding).
posted by slidell at 6:29 PM on October 6, 2015
We furnished our house twelve years ago with the cabinets that came from the chemistry lab of a university that was remodeling. They are solid maple and have craftsmanship you cannot buy for less than $_OBSCENE today. It took a light refinish (stripped the varnish and stained them) and a little bit of planning to get them to fit in our kitchen. Bonus: we bought the cabinets as a lot and the balance furnish our lower bookshelves, bathroom, shop and pottery room.
posted by jet_silver at 6:57 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jet_silver at 6:57 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
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Although the other thing that's very in is all cabinets being painted white, so the easiest thing to do might be to just get lowers in white (or unfinished lowers that you paint white, which is probably cheaper), and paint the uppers to match, and call it a day with your chic white kitchen.
posted by brainmouse at 2:08 PM on October 6, 2015 [3 favorites]