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Design Dilemma
ohehmeyer

Help update 1990s oak cabinets in a kitchen w/ dark quartz counters

12 years ago
We close on this house March 7. Please, how can we update this kitchen? Even though the house was built in 2002, they still used the ugly 1990s honey oak cabinets -- and there are over 50 cabinet doors here! The countertop is a modern Silestone (quartz) and we will keep it of course. The wall has a very light colored wallpaper. In the scenario where the tile stays we were thinking of painting the upper cabinets white and the lower ones a cool color (blue, green), adding modern pulls, and removing the wallpaper and painting a cool color. In the scenario where we pull the tile and run modern dark hardwood into the kitchen from the living, we would just paint all the cabinets white. Keep the tile on junk it? Lay new tile or extend the hardwood? And the backsplash? Can it stay?
Featured Answer
  • 12 years ago
    I owe to all of you to show the final result. Here is our lived-in, final kitchen. No new fridge yet, but we will het there.

    Comments (24)

    • 12 years ago
      I like the tile backsplash. How about painting the lower cabs gray. You can put glass in several of the upper cabs and perhaps a beefier crown on top. Hardware will add interest
      ohehmeyer thanked Patricia Kent
    • PRO
      12 years ago
      Keep the backsplash for now. That is something that is fairly easy to change down the road without inconveniencing you too much. Replace the tile floor with the matching hardwood. Definitely hardware on the cabinets and then paint or refinish them. I would do all of the wall and base cabinets one color, and then you could put a different color on the island. If the budget allows, update the appliances, but that is something else that could be done later. Good luck with the closing and move!
      ohehmeyer thanked Julie Smart Koob, REALTOR

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    • 12 years ago
      I like the idea of adding glass to some of the cabinets. some new hardware would also improve the look.
    • 12 years ago
      We are building a house and used oak throughout. I wanted to avoid the 90's oak so I stained it dark. I used a dark walnut and Spanish oak mix from sherwin William's.
      ohehmeyer thanked melhill08
    • 12 years ago
      Here is a view of the kitchen. Please ignore all the dust! Going dark on the cabinets and floors would help bring out the countertops.
      ohehmeyer thanked melhill08
    • 12 years ago
      Thanks for the idea about the glass in the uppers. There are so many cabinets -- a couple with glass would add some visual interest and break it up a bit. There is no undercabinet lighting and we will add that for sure, too. Thanks Julie, I think we'll keep the backsplash -- it is a one day job and can be done later if we don't like it. The budget allows for whatever is needed (within reason and keeping with the neighborhood). Fridge is immediate replacement and all others will be replaced as they break. All appliances are white right now. Glad to hear some support for painting the island a unique color.
    • 12 years ago
      We had thought about staining the cabinets instead of painting but eliminated that option because we thought the darker stain (you can't stain cabinets lighter I think) would not go well with the dark gray quartz. But we could be wrong of course! Could stain to match hardwood if we went that route. . .
    • 12 years ago
      You can stain the cabinets lighter if you sand them down to their natural wood color. I prefer to do that or stain them darker rather than painting them. You have a nice space to work with.
      ohehmeyer thanked vjs12
    • PRO
      12 years ago
      Would a more modern look pique your interest?
    • 12 years ago
      Keep cabinet doors natural oak. May have to sand off any ugly finish (can't tell from pic) and apply poly to bring out wood beauty. Paint cabinets black. Add hardware e.g. oil rubbed bronze. New floor appliances and light fixtures.
      ohehmeyer thanked 600threadcount
    • 12 years ago
      Specs: 280 square feet of 12 by 24 porcelain, rectified tile laid with 1/8 inch grout, FIVE coats of paint to cover grain on cabinets, brushed nickel pulls, brushed nickel pendant lights, frosted white under cabinet LED lighting, six LED recessed lighting, conversion of cabinet to six lite glass front, crown molding, sky blue paint on walls, paint of center island, and of course a huge demo that including floors, ceiling, and lighting. Price was is in neighborhood of $10,000 maybe, but I didn't really add it up.
    • 12 years ago
      Daytime view with mother and child.
    • 12 years ago
      last modified: 12 years ago
      It looks very nice!
    • 11 years ago
      WOW!!!!! I just posted a similar type project with lots of oak. It was so fantastic to see your finished kitchen!! PLEASE tell me your experience with painting your oak cabinets. What brand of paint and finish did you use? I have been talking with several different companies and really want to hear from people like you who have first hand experience. Did you paint them yourself or use a painter? Did you take all the doors off to paint them? ANY tips would be helpful!! If you have a minute to read through my project and give me some advice I would REALLY appreciate it! Your kitchen looks awesome!!!!!!!
      ohehmeyer thanked keevie
    • 11 years ago
      Costs were:
      Kitchen Remodeling $6,471.22 (Of which the cabinets were about $2800 and the electrical was about $2800)
      Retile Kitchen and Breakfast $2,653.60
      The painting was a major effort. All doors and hardware must removed. It had to be sanded, painted with primer, sanded, painted with primer again, and then painted in two coats of oil-based paint. My contractor says he lost money on the cabinet painting. But it looks awesome and that's what it took to get rid of the grain and glaze. You cannot do it yourself. Your contractor may offer an option for shellac over the oil-based paint. We didn't do it. Oil-based paint resists water pretty well already.
    • 10 years ago

      ohehmeyer you are now over a year in with the paint job. Is it holding up fine?

    • 9 years ago

      Hoping to revive an old thread. I'm currently helping my parents renovate their 90s-tastic kitchen. This was the house I grew up in and to this day it has had one coat of interior paint and no other work. My wife and I were looking to propel this design time capsule into the current century.

      My parents have the exact same oak cabinets as ohehmeyer and I absolutely agree that they're horrid. I thought about putting hardware on them, but they are built for opening by grabbing the sides of the door. This means that the sides of the cabinet do not sit flush with the frame behind it and instead have a ridged edge. I'm afraid adding hardware to doors made obviously for non hardware opening action would clash with its design.

      Is it just me? Please tell me I'm wrong--it would make my life much easier. If anyone has close up pictures of similar cabinets with hardware installed, please do post some. I would love for this to work, as my other option is the daunting task of building out 23 different doors and 13 drawer faces in raised-panel style.

    • 9 years ago

      David, you are hopeful with this old thread. :) good 'luck'

    • 9 years ago

      Ha tell me about it. It took me hours just to find anything on these old style doors alone.

    • 9 years ago
      last modified: 9 years ago

      Idk myself, but here's part of an article [called Stories]: 7. Consider refacing. New cabinet fronts and doors can provide a welcome facelift if the layout already works and the cabinetry boxes are solid.

      [https://www.houzz.com/magazine/11-ways-to-update-your-kitchen-without-a-sledgehammer-stsetivw-vs~22232313[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/11-ways-to-update-your-kitchen-without-a-sledgehammer-stsetivw-vs~22232313)

    • 9 years ago

      If you post your photos, just start a new thread of your own.

    • 9 years ago
      last modified: 9 years ago

      Didn't see anything about the self-tab opening cabs.

      [https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-reface-your-old-kitchen-cabinets-stsetivw-vs~21506444[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-reface-your-old-kitchen-cabinets-stsetivw-vs~21506444)

    • 9 years ago

      Thanks for the help. Sorry I was a little late to respond. I was also looking up recessed lighting to replace the giant fluorescent light box on the ceiling. There is much work to be done, but I think you're right about starting my own thread for this.

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