Okay, so I already know what you’re going to say:

You should paint them!

Well guess what…

You’re right — you should paint these! But...

We can make them look even better if we spend a bit more money.

That’s right — we can make dated, bulky, unwanted, ugly cabinets look great by simply adding a bit more. They’ll surprise you with their new, refreshed look. I promise!

Here’s the culprit:

Those cabinets. My client did not like them — not one bit.

She didn’t like the oak, the shiny finish, or the bulky mouldings (especially the ones at the bottom of the cabinets). We needed this kitchen to look lighter, brighter, taller, and more open.

What I wanted most for these homeowners were new cabinets or, perhaps, new cabinet doors with Euro hinges, etc. Unfortunately, they weren’t in the budget.

So what did we wind up doing?

Well, we certainly didn’t add extra cabinets at the top. With a 9’ ceiling, we didn’t have enough room.

Instead, we added a plywood box, with panels framed with moulding to match the doors. This helped extend the height of the cabinetry, making the space feel taller and more spacious.

We could also remove the bulky mouldings top and bottom and trim the cabinets out with something smaller and finer. And, yes, we could paint them, too; because paint is capable of covering all kinds of sins. ;-)

Here are the cabinets under construction:

And here they are painted:

*Painted kitchen cabinets with new paneled box above| Interior Designer: Carla Aston*

We changed out the ugly old hinges to these knife hinges, as these were the only type that would be more concealed and still work with their existing doors.