Three Ways to Revitalize Your Old Cabinets

Most kitchen and bathroom cabinets are made of hardwoods. They can be solid hardwood or engineered hardwood. An engineered cabinet is one that is made of a thin veneer of hardwood and several layers of pressboard or plywood underneath it. A solid hardwood cabinet is made from single pieces of solid hardwood. Either type of cabinet should last for a very long time if you take care of it. However, However, the bathroom and the kitchen are two of the harshest rooms in your home. The temperature and the humidity in the bathroom or kitchen can change dramatically. That can cause wood to swell or contract and damage the wood ultimately. That’s one of the reasons wooden cabinets are painted. However, you might need to revitalize them after a while. You can paint it, refinish it, or strip it. Either one is a great choice.

Refinishing Your Cabinets

To refinish your cabinets, you’ll first need to remove the existing surface of the cabinets. If your cabinets are painted, they likely don’t have another top coat. You will use a paint stripper to remove the paint from the cabinets. Many people prefer a paint stripper gel because it does not splash the way a liquid might; it’s a very caustic chemical, and you should be very careful when you use it.

Once you’ve stripped off the old paint, you have the option to either stain it, paint it, or just put a finish on it. If you like the way the bare wood looks, you should consider just applying a polyurethane coating to the wood. You’ll need to use a few coats to get the right thickness to the clear coat.

Stripping Your Cabinets

One current trend in cabinetry is a rustic or distressed look. These are cabinets that are designed to look like antique cabinets that have been through rough treatment. The aging leaves a patina that many find very attractive. One way to mimic that is with paint stripper. The same paint stripping formula that you could use to remove all of the paint can be used to remove only some of the paint. Apply the stripper in a random manner and remove parts of the stripper at different intervals. This will create inconsistent paint removal and mimic the patina of aged wood.

Painting Your Cabinets

Finally, you can choose to simply repaint your cabinets. In most cases, you’ll be able to sand the original surface and then paint over the existing paint. You should use a medium-grit sandpaper to rough up the paint and give the new paint something to which it can adhere.

Any of these three options can turn old cabinets into exciting new additions to your home.

The post Three Ways to Revitalize Your Old Cabinets appeared first on hardwood marketing.

How to Make Old Cabinets Look New by Making Them Look Old

If you’ve paid attention to interior design at all in the last few years, you will have noticed the increased focus on distressed wood. Distressed wood is wood that looks as if it has been aged and weathered. Often, it will develop a patina of age that comes from years of moisture and handling that leads to uneven paint. Furthermore, paint will often chip and flake. The wood might bear scars and dings from years of use. When this occurs naturally, the wood is aged or antique. When it is done artificially, it is typically known as distressed. If you want to make your old cabinets look new and trendy, you should consider distressing them. One of the benefits of distressing your cabinets is that you can’t mess it up; the idea is to mess up your cabinets.

1 – Remove the Cabinets

You should remove the cabinet doors and take them outside. Prepare them to be distressed by cleaning them with a mild detergent and a cloth. If they’re exceptionally dirty, you might need to brush them.

2 – Paint Stripper

Paint stripper will remove paint from almost any surface. To remove all of the paint from the wood, you can apply an even coat of stripper according to the directions. Follow the instructions on the packaging to do it safely. Be careful with stripper; it is generally very caustic. If you want to distress the paint but leave some in place, apply the stripper deliberately unevenly. You might also want to remove it sooner than the packaging suggests. That will remove lots of paint but likely leave traces of it in spots.

3 – Wire Brush

A wire brush is a great way to distress your cabinets. Running the wire brush over the cabinets will scratch and scar the wood. It will also remove some of the paint but leave it in the places between the bristles.

4 – Sander

A sander is another great way to remove paint and distress wood. A very coarse grit sandpaper will remove a lot of paint and wood. Make sure not to remove too much from the edges of the cabinet door or else it will no longer fit properly.

Once you’ve done all of these things, you can seal your cabinets with a polyurethane or a coat of varnish if you want to preserve the finish. You could also leave them unsealed and watch as they continue to weather.

What Cabinet Trends Are on the Horizon?

Kitchen design goes through trends and phases as with any other type of design. One of the most trendy elements is the cabinetry. Your kitchen cabinets are obviously very useful for storing and organizing your items; they’re also usually right at eye level or just above it. That means that they catch the eye of anyone who walks into your kitchen and help to create the design look. For these reasons, the right cabinets can make all of the difference. Here are a few trends in kitchen cabinetry to keep an eye on in the coming months.

1 – Simplicity

Simple cabinets have been growing in popularity for years. Oftentimes, these are cabinets built in the shaker style. The shakers are a religious sect founded in the 18th century. They emphasized simplicity in their designs. Therefore, their designs are not very ornate or embellished. That simplicity can be very striking and appealing.

2 – Light Colors

Light colors are neutrals and pastels that help a room seem brighter and more open. If you have windows in your kitchen, light coming into the room will bounce off your cabinets and help brighten the entire room. Furthermore, it will make a room seem larger.

3 – Customized Drawers

In the past, a cabinet or drawer was typically just an empty box. If you wanted to store your silverware or something specific, you needed a special insert. Now, kitchen cabinets and drawers are often built with the specialization in mind. Cabinets are being built with cubbies for silverware, racks for plates, and narrow pockets for cookie sheets. There are other elements that have become popular as well. These elements are popular because they reduce the amount of things you need to buy.

4 – Appliance Cabinets

Another popular trend is to hide your appliances. As they become more modern and useful, appliances tend to look more attractive as well. However, if you don’t want your refrigerator and your dishwasher to stand out against your design scheme, you could hide them being cabinet doors. That will create a more unified look to your kitchen.

5 – Floor to Ceiling Cabinetry

Floor to ceiling cabinets are popular as well. As stated earlier, cabinets are typically at or above eye level. However, if you install floor to ceiling cabinets, you’ll be able to utilize wall space that is normally wasted. You’ll be able to store more items, get more things off the floor, and hide more of your kitchen items behind doors.