Paint hides character features.

Paint is a much thicker substance than stains. It sits on top of wood rather than being absorbed. This creates a flat, plain, surface, hiding the natural grain and knots of the wood.

Stains showcase character features.
Unlike paint, stains don’t steal the spotlight of the woods natural character. While paint sits on top, stain soaks in and enhances the beauty and uniqueness of each piece of wood.

Paint is harder to touch up.
We are rough on stuff. Between spills, messes, pets, damage is going to happen. Touching up paint is extremely hard. Over time, paint fades, stains, and chips away. Not only will painted chips show through because of different heights of paint, but color matching is tricky.

Stains are easy to touch up.

Touch up markers are a wonderful thing! Even if the exact match isn’t available, wood is so dimensional, finding a stain that is close will be easy and the imperfection will blend in as if it was never there to begin with.

Paint isn’t cost-effective compared to stains.

When comparing painted to stained, painted cabinets are always more costly. On average, painted cabinets are about 10% to 15% higher in price, which depending on the size of the kitchen, can be a lot of extra green.

All in all, stains and lacquer are more cost effective and durable. If you are looking to remodel your kitchen, do it the right way.

Consider remodeling in stages

Not everything needs to be done at the same time when remodeling. Spreading out the remodel in stages will help reduce the initial cost, and give you extra time to save for the next step in the remodel. Hardware, glass cabinet doors, and back splashes can all be done last in the renovation timeline. Take it slow if your budget is tight! 

Island Alternatives

If adding an island to your kitchen, consider an alternative. Kitchen Islands can be fairly expensive, and you have to add in the cost of extra counter top material. 

There are many awesome alternatives! Re-purposing an old piece of furniture, such as a dresser or table! If you don’t have something to re-purpose, keep an eye out on different re-sale websites such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist! Vintage pieces can bring a lot of charm and character into the space.

If your space is smaller, or you want something a bit more modular, there are many great island cart options available on any budget. If you’re crafty enough, there are plenty of ways to DIY a great island cart by re-purposing old furniture or doing a simple amount of word working! 

Keep existing cabinets and reface

Cabinet boxes and custom cabinetry are both very expensive. A great way to cut down a lot on costs is to reuse your existing boxes. Cabinet refacing is a small fraction of the cost compared to getting all new cabinetry. Your kitchen will look brand new and no one will know the difference. 

Open Shelving

A way to cut costs even more, is to utilize open shelving over traditional cabinets. While you have to be a tidy person to keep your kitchen looking nice all the time.

The cost savings are huge. If you don’t want to remove the existing upper cabinets, when done right, removing the doors entirely can give a great appearance to a trendy, beautiful, kitchen.

Don’t move appliances

Rerouting plumbing, gas lines, and electrical is very expensive. If you can, try to keep your appliances where they are, or at least most of them. Appliances can move a tiny bit with out too much effort, but only an inch or two at most. If moving them around is a must, make sure to factor in the cost before starting your project. 

Simple door design

There are some really neat door styles out there, but not all doors are created equal. Unfortunately, the more detailed the door, the more surface area there is to clean. And especially when accidents happen in the kitchen, there will be more crevasses that food can get stuck in.   The best way to keep your kitchen as low maintenance as possible, is to choose a simple door. Flat paneled for the modern lover, and shaker for someone just a bit more traditional. 

While this will cost a bit more initially, choose to inset your doors, rather than have them sit on top. Flush cabinets create an easy wiping surface, which can cut cleaning time in half.

For the daily cook, it is recommended to wipe down cabinets daily for proper maintenance. For those who don’t cook often, dust still accumulates quickly. Twice a month is a fair estimate for the bare minimum cabinets should be cleaned. Make this task go by quicker with less to scrub! 

Avoid the extra details

Corbels, crown molding and fancy hardware are all beautiful features in a kitchen, and are again, things that accumulate more dust. I can’t emphasize this enough, the simpler the better. There are other ways to add charm to a home without adding a bunch of add-ons to the kitchen. Kitchen cabinets collect a lot of grease and food particles, and unfortunately, crown molding actually makes it harder to clean the tops of your cabinets. 

Don’t paint your cabinets

There are many reasons why painting your cabinets is a bad idea, but maintenance is on the top of the list. Paint is porous and can collect extra particles. Poor paint jobs have a tacky feel, which can collect even more dust than “well” painted cabinets. On top of this, paint can easily chip, and it fades, so fixing any damage that may happen will be extremely hard to do.

If you plan on refinishing your cabinets, consider a lacquer or stain. 

Avoid glass front cabinet doors.

I know, I know, glass front cabinets are absolutely beautiful. But they require a lot of extra work! If you love the look, try to opt for open shelving instead. While there will still need to be dusting, for the few of up who don’t keep up on our weekly cleaning tasks, open shelving hides grease and grime much more than glass front cabinets. If you absolutely need to have glass front cabinets, try keeping them as far away from the cooking area as possible. The grease and food particles that ride from your stove take their final landing ground right on your cabinets. Glass doors show this much more quickly than regular cabinets. 

Start a routine and stick to it

Once you have your beautiful new kitchen, you’ll probably take extremely good care of it for about the first year. Over time, the love and excitement begins to fade, and it is just another chore. Stay diligent and take care of your beautiful kitchen. A kitchen you take care of, will take care of you for many years to come. 

Good layout

The layout is the number-one feature home buyers are looking at in a kitchen. While cabinets and appliances can be changed, changing the whole layout of a kitchen after buying a home may not be in the cards for new home buyers. Having a poor layout will alienate a lot of potential buyers who will pass up on your home because they are looking for a more functional kitchen. 

Quality cabinetry 

Whether you are upgrading for yourself, or to sell, quality cabinetry is extremely important. Decide on a style and quality that will age well and withstand trends and changing tastes. This means to not pick anything too trendy. Trendy styles can look dated quickly, and don’t appeal to the masses. 

Keep flow in design

If you have shaker cabinets in your bathrooms and laundry room, it is best to use the same style cabinets in your kitchen. Having a mis-matched home is unappealing to buyers. 

Choose light colors

Unfortunately dark kitchens are out. People are looking for “light and bright”, which makes sense! Lighter spaces appear larger and keep a space more illuminated. While dark kitchens can be gorgeous, the lighter the better in terms of resale. 

Incorporate color

Summer decor is bold, bright and cheerful. Incorporating fun colors and patterns can make your home feel like you’re actually on a cruise in the Bahamas! You don’t need to go ‘all out’ by painting your walls some bright color either! Accessories will always be your best friend no matter the season. While Spring is about pinks and pastels, Summer is about bold and bright.  Try adding a few bright accessories in your glass front cabinets and open shelving or plop that color right on your counter!  

Bring on the plants

House plants are becoming more and more popular in recent years. Decorative plants are great and bring a lot of life into the home, but functional plants are exciting as well! Aloe Vera and herbs are great for uses around the house! Another great option are Spider plants! These little palms are easy to care for, and are great at cleaning the air! You don’t need an outdoor space to grow these either! If you don’t have a windowsill that is adequate for planting, check out this DIY Mobile Garden Container.  Whether you want herbs or just some decoration, plants will always add a sense of life to a home and definitely brighten the mood!

Bring in natural materials

When decorating, think “beach house”. There is no need to add the shells and starfish decor (Unless you want to of course). Wicker, wood grain, and terracotta are all wonderful materials to blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living. 

Make it light and airy

Time to get rid of all the heavy winter materials. Integrate light and airy fabrics into your home’s design. This will give the space a light and airy feel, while keeping the space much cooler. If your home is filled with dark rugs and drapes, swap them out for the summer months. This will let more light in and keep your space feeling happy and free. 

Pick a decor style

What decor takes your breath away? Contemporary? Craftsman? Rustic Chic? Farmhouse? Start researching certain styles and finding out what all fits together with your tastes. Pay attention to which color pallets draw you in. Most of all, make sure it doesn’t clash with the rest of your home. 

Inspiration

If you are a “do it yourself-er”, you probably use inspiration for every project. Just like an artist, you use references and ideas from other art and the real world to create beautiful artword. Feel free to browse our website, Pinterest, Houzz or even Google images for some inspiration. It is very hard to make decisions from thin air and there is no shame from taking ideas from other kitchens, in fact, it is encouraged. 

Start with the most important piece

Whether it is beautiful floors, a specific cabinet door style and/or color, or those countertops you can’t get out of your head, start with whichever one you know you can’t live without. With a remodel, we all usually know at least one thing we want in our kitchen. If you have no real preference, I personally prefer to start with floors and work my way up. Floors cover the most surface area and can extend past just the kitchen, so they make the biggest impact. There is nothing wrong with starting with something else, however. 

Keep practicality in mind

Some materials may look gorgeous. However, if that material is hard to clean, does not hold up long term, or fades quickly, it may not be the best material for the job. You want your kitchen to last a long time, be function, and easy to clean. This goes for appliances as well. Choose something that looks good, but also includes features you will use and is a brand you trust. 

Have fun

Projects are supposed to be fun, but can get stressful quickly! If it does get too stressful, there is no shame in getting a second opinion. No matter if it is a friend, family member, or a professional, everyone just wants to see your vision come to life. 

Minimal door details

The more detailed the door, the more surfaces that need to be cleaned. Choosing flat or Shaker style cabinet doors will cut down on cleaning maintenance without sacrificing style. 

Avoid glass front doors

As trendy as glass door cabinets are, they are definitely not efficient for those of us who like clean homes. Glass attracts dust, dirt, and smudges. 

Flush Cabinets

Instead of having your cabinet doors sit on top of the box, have them inset. When your cabinet doors are flush, it cuts out a lot of the places dirt can settle and hide. This also creates a smooth surface which makes wiping down one big movement, rather than going around each separate door and drawer. 

Keep it simple

Cutting out designer details such as crown moldings, decorative legs and corbels may seem unappealing, but for low maintenance, it is ideal. To keep the kitchen looking like a designer kitchen, try bright colors, or eccentric lighting to add that desired pop.

Choose a stain

Painting cabinets may seem like the easy way out, but as we all know, easy way outs generally aren’t the ‘right’ way out. Paint can chip and gets stained easily, which means uneven surfaces and a lot of touch up. Stained cabinets are easier to maintain and are easier to clean without damaging the finish. 

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Cost

A bathroom remodel can be done on almost any budget. Costs vary greatly (Few hundred toward 100k) depending on what you are looking to remodel and how much you want to DIY. The main reason it can vary so much is that relocation of pipes can be extremely expensive. If the remodel is just cosmetic, the cost stays on the cheaper end. Also pay attention to quality of materials, this has a huge impact as well. Pick your budget before you start shopping.

Hardware

Hardware is the quickest and cheapest way to remodel. If you are happy with your current doors, or if you reface, hardware is just as important as the doors themselves! May attention to your finishes and make sure they all match.

Refacing Isn’t Just for Kitchens

Cabinet refacing is another awesome and cost effective solution for bathroom remodels. Refacing cabinets can completely change the look and feel of your bathroom, while staying on a budget. Cabinet refacing works even if you want to change the layout, just make sure to not damage your existing boxes when you relocate them! As long as you are happy with your amount of storage, saving your boxes from your previous cabinets and relocating them by incorporating them into the design is a huge money saver.

Throw on some new doors, a coat of paint on the walls, maybe a new mirror or lighting fixtures and your bathroom can feel 100% new.

What Door Style Should I Choose?

There is no right or wrong answer to “what door style” should be incorporated. As long as it fits your taste, you can go as bold or safe as you’d like. Just make sure it doesn’t clash with the rest of your home.

These few simple steps can create a beautiful remodel and add equity in your home in the blink of an eye.

As the trees start changing, some people start longing to add those warm reds, oranges, and yellows into their home. If this is you this Fall, we are here to help!

We don’t want to you have a Fall themed kitchen all year round, but it is possible to keep those warm tones in your home all year round, and have it change with the seasons.

If you are happy with your current layout, make sure to check out door styles and wood tones at Cabinet Cures. We have a plethora of styles to fit every taste.

Accessorizing a kitchen to change with the seasons is the best day to keep your home feeling cozy. This fall, making DIY decorations is not only a fun family project, but makes the home feel even more cozy. Impress your relatives this Thanksgiving with home-made decorations. My personal favorite is taking some twigs with beautiful leaves attached and making centerpieces. Place your twigs to a vase, add a few flowers and extra foliage, and your centerpiece will pop! If you’re afraid of bringing bugs into your home, your local craft store has plenty of fake leaf branches and other foliage to blend into a great piece. I’ve seen people do the same thing, but instead of a vase, using a pumpkin or foam pumpkin and placing the foliage in there! You can check that out here.

Reference Houzz.com

The key is warm tones! Cabinet Cures can answer any questions you may have. If you are looking to have a cozy kitchen all year round, they are here to help you with the process from start to finish. Go out there and get that dream kitchen before the holidays.