What would YOU do with these cabinets?

5 years ago

My husband is intent on updating a kitchen that I’m pretty fond of!

What is for sure:

New flooring is a dark/walnut wide plank hardwood.
New countertop - we like Taj Mahal, Fantasy Brown, or the like.
Full wall of cabinets will remain. It may have to be painted because I would like any new cabinets to be stained.
New custom island which will sit square. Nothing on top but a prep sink. Range will move to the perimeter.
Cabinetry around the fridge will probably be rebuilt to accommodate a larger more standard fridge. Could put a wall oven beside it OR a tall cabinet with pull outs for appliances.

Anyway - that leaves a lot of conflict about the cabinets on the perimeter. They are extremely solid maple - probably 30 years old. The designer says that the “arch” on the uppers and the fact that they do not touch the ceiling date the kitchen. There are minor scuffs that need refinishing on a few of the lowers, and the finish does appear a bit orangey at times.

An initial quote before supplies got so expensive was $10,000 for new custom cabinetry plus painting the full wall.

What would you do?

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Comments (5)

Suki Mom
5 years ago
What is your question? Is it whether to keep your old perimeter cabinets or replace them? Your designer says the arches are outdated but you are planning to keep the full wall of cabinets which have arches on the doors. Since you are moving the range to the perimeter you need to get new cabinets because there isn't space for it in the current configuration.
Rachel Cobb
Original Author
5 years ago
Yes, that’s my question. I guess I thought that maybe some of them could be salvaged or used as they are. The range will be on the back wall and I thought maybe just that one section could be reworked.
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AJCN
5 years ago
My Dad re-used many of his kitchen cabinets by installing them in his garage for storage.

My sister had a custom cabinet-maker come and reface (new face frames and shaker style doors), and install new cabinets above her existing ones that didn't go to the ceiling. Then new trim, hardware, and painting.

If you find that the extent of work means it makes more sense to replace your cabinets, you may be able to find a place to re-use them such as a garage, office, art or sewing room, etc. What you can't use can be given to Habitat for Humanity if it is carefully removed. If you get new cabinets, I'd recommend you get as many drawer bases as you can - way better than cabinet bases for storage and accessibility.
jo mu
5 years ago
I would definitely prioritize removing the arch in the uppers i dont really get why they were put in when the kitchen was first built. I guess it was trend but it looks super dated and I dont like that its mixed with some being square and the tops arched.

If you can find the same cabinet fronts and just replace the arched ones that seems very economical.

The kitchen seems dark and based on your floor and countertop colors dark walnut/ taj mahal i would see if I could have the arch fronts replaced with matching rectangular design and paint them some sort of light color maybe in the Greige family. change the knobs.

But how others mentioned if your replacing cabinetry by the fridge and the island maybe replacing them will be best since painting or changing fronts still is pretty pricey. Unless you diy it
Sigrid
5 years ago
You have lovely, solid wood cabinetry. So, the arch is "dated". Anything you replace it with will be dated in 10 years. The trends exist so people spend $10,000 every decade to avoid "dated" decor. o you like your cabinets? They look high end to me. Beautiful wood. Solid construction. Frankly, I'd keep them and paint the new island.