Are you saying the sides have contact paper on them? If the sides are already solid, could you cover them with 1/4 inch oak plywood? It would be cheaper and easier than replacing the sides.

I redid our bathroom cabinets which were the golden oak and I used Old Masters gel on them. Since they were '80s, I wanted to update them a bit too and added crown molding and frame around the mirror. The new wood didn't take the stain the same. I wonder if I had stained it the color of the cabinets and put on a coat of urethane before applying the gel if it would have turned out the same though.

Thanks for the ideas! I am not sure exactly what it is, it is original to the cabinets, but it sure resembles contact paper. I could actually peel it off if I wanted to. I didn't realize that the sides were like this when I picked out the cabinets, yuck! It looks the same as the fronts and doors, until you get up close.

That was what I was afraid of with the new wood. Hmm, that is a good idea about staining it the original color first.

My cabinets have that stuff on the sides too. I'm having them painted and several painters confirmed that it is a vinyl product similar to contact paper. Stain is not going to stick to that, I think marti8a's idea is good, more work but better match. I think you can get an even thinner veneer on there, but you may have the edge showing unless you put some kind of trim over it on the front.

Had you thought of painting them instead? I'm told if you rough it up and prepare it well enough, it will take the paint. That's what I'm going to do.

If I can't stain them, I may paint them. I would just have to go a different decorating route. Where can you buy veneer? Would they have it at a Home Depot/Lowes/Menards store, or is it something that would have to be special ordered? Is it hard to put on? Thanks so much for the feedback!

Check out woodveneer.com, order it unfinished and you can paint it or stain it. We use contact cement to adhere and then trim with a veneer knife.

I had some areas in my bathroom with that fake veneer. The General Finishes Gel colored them nicely.

If you wipe it off unevenly you can get a vaguely wood appearance.

Thank you so much for the info! I think I am going to try to stain the sides and see what happens. :) Hopefully my results are like yours, lazygardens. If it doesn't work, then I can go the veneer/plywood route.

We have that same stuff on the sides of our cabinets. One cabinet had some rips from something I had hanging on it. We matched the color of the cabinets (light oak) with a vertical grade formica, and covered all of the sides. It looks great.
You could probably match your new color to a laminate and do the same.