speaking of kitchens...

[rnmom23]

Ours has cabinets that are quite ugly and kind of retro- doesn't go with my country decor at all! But, they are in good condition and so I am hesitant to replace them (wouldn't be ver "frugal" of me ) Any suggestions for perking these ugly things up? They are just regular wooden cabinets without molding, the facings are all covered in some sort of white hard plastic that seems glued on? Have tried to remove these facings with no luck. Also, there aren't any handles on any of them, they just swing open and closed. HELP!

[gleepish]

maybe refinish the wood and paint the fronts... they make some really nice aplicays (sp?) that you can use over the paint and under a clear glaze. Or you could buy/make new fronts all together...

[dale anne]

howdy....painting would be the least expensive way to re do them...or can always re stain them....sand them down around the edges so look ole and worn like would find in a country kitchen....i have tons of cabnets in my kitchen that are still good but kinda plain...we are going to strip them down and refinish them...a few will get a stencil applied...others on the ends will be cut out glass placed in them for diplays...and yet still others will have a hole cut and chicken wire put on the inside..these will hold all my cook books so can just look and find them without searching...hope this helps...dale anne

[mammabooh]

Paint them whatever color you'd like and put some porcelain knobs on if you want it to look country.

[MelissaW]

Some pretty pleated country fabric with moulding around would be cute, although it might not be a good idea near the stove. If you are handy, or have a handy friend, maybe you could just make new doors to replace the ones that are on. Good luck!

[susanneb]

You could always keep the cabinets but buy (or make) new doors, giving it an entirely new look.

[perennial]

Our small kitchen was filled with dark brown (almost black) cabinets with
medieval hinges and handles - even the floor to ceiling pantry.

So, we took doors off, hardware off. sanded, filled in nicks and dents,
primed with kilz or zinzer using a roller. Then we bought white enamel paint
in a can and rolled that on with a roller. We put new hardware on
and handles and we are going on year 12. It has survived all my kids
toys bumping into it and all. Only a couple of nicks in all that time!

We did all that for far less than new cabinets - it was about $50 - $75.