Kitchen remodel: paint or refinish?

11 years ago

We are about 3-5 years away from downsizing and want to update our kitchen. Should I refinish my cabinets or have them painted white? I also want to change the countertops and backsplash. I'm afraid the floor and cabinets are too much of the same color. I was thinking about painting them white to match all of the trim in the house. If I do paint them white, should I do a dark countertop? Or should I do a light countertop and add color in a backsplash? I do want to keep our costs down as we will be downsizing in a few years. Appreciate your thoughts.

Featured Answer

hayleydaniels

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

The first thing I'd do is repaint. That red paint isn't doing the room any favors nor is the brown as they're too close to the color of the floor and cabinets. A grayish blue or green would look wonderful with your cabinets that appear to be in great shape as does your floor.

Replace the countertop, sink, faucet and add a backsplash and you'll have an updated kitchen. If you don't want to spend much, go with laminate. It's not nearly as awful as everyone on here makes it out to be! You can get it for $30 or less a square foot, and you can get acrylic undermount sinks from Karran.com that have a 50 year warranty. We went with laminate and a Karran sink. I think our countertop, sink, faucet, backsplash and related costs were less than $3,500. My husband did the plumbing so that saved a couple hundred dollars. He also did the backsplash. You should be able to get yours done for around $5,000 if you went with laminate.

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Comments (9)

PRO
Will Yolanda
11 years ago
Your kitchen cabinets look like they are in great shape. Everything looks very nice. As much as I do like a white kitchen, I would keep the cabinets just the way they are. The finish is beautiful and a neutral color that will appeal to most home buyers. Painting the cabinets or refinishing them is a very time consuming job and if not done precisely, you will see every flaw. My suggestion would to change the floor. Look into "Allure" made by DuPont. It is very durable and easy to install. No saw needed. Or a durable vinyl tile that has the hues of the brown wall and the burgundy wall tones. I would do a stone looking vinyl tile and then a rich brown grout in between. You can change up the hardware too. That in a low cost attraction as well. As for the countertop, when the floor is picked out, take a door sample along with the floor sample and then pick the countertop color. I would look into Granite. Home buyers are attracted to granite countertops and you will get your money back on the house sale. The Home Depot has some really nice granite to pick from and they install all at a reasonable price too. Hope they helps you out.

Any other questions, feel free to ask

Have a blessed day
jlales
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Yolanda. The floors are hardwood and are the same throughout the downstairs except the great room. They are a bit worn in the kitchen area, bit in great shape everywhere else. Perhaps I should refinish all of them in a darker finish in lieu of painting/refinishing cabinets? I agree about the granite, even though I'm not a big fan. Thank you for your thoughts.
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Darzy
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I'd leave the cabinets alone and sand/stain the floor a complementary, tad darker throughout the home. Medium wood tone floor is popular. I'd go with a simple white quartz counter and backsplash to lighten the kitchen (along with a fresh wall color). Quartz has been gaining in popularity - especially with wood grain cabinets. Freshen the cabinets with a good cleaning and murphy's oil soap and the cabinets will look great. Painting cabinets with visible hinges is also a pain and an issue.
mrskain1
11 years ago
I respectfully disagree with Yolanda regarding the flooring. Most people who are purchasing homes want hardwood throughout. Covering it up could hurt you at resale. I think your wall paint color is some of the problem. The red and brown are not complimentary to the cupboards. I think you could get away without painting the cupboards if you install a new countertop in quartz or granite, add a great backslash and a lighter wall color.
Najeebah
11 years ago
I agree with mrskain and hayley about the paint. The reason it all seems overwhelming is that there is way too much red in everything. repaint, the closest I'd go to red tones is light brown/beige. then change the rug; it has too many warm colours as well. If you do this, reassess the situation to decide if you still need to change the cabinets, flooring, etc.
jlales
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks everyone. I like the idea of repainting and assessing after. It definitely needs new countertops and backsplash as there is some minor buckling and a few loose tiles in the backsplash. And I hate the wood edging of the countertop as the dirt accumulates on it. Would like a nice clean edge and an undermount sink.
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Unydesign
11 years ago
By changing the wall color and floor dark wood floor, and add some pedant light, you'll get a better result
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Ironwood Renovation LLC
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