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How to reface kitchen cabinet


Can I Reface My Kitchen Cabinets Myself?

Refacing your kitchen cabinets is a homeowner-friendly project that can drastically improve the look of your kitchen. Refacing refers to the process of replacing your cabinet doors and drawers and refinishing your cabinet boxes. This can save a lot of time and money since you won’t have to worry about removing the old cabinet boxes and buying new ones.

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Kitchen Cabinets Refacing Materials

Before you start this DIY project, make sure you have the following tools:

Step-By-Step Guide To Refacing Kitchen Cabinets

Give your kitchen a new look by refacing cabinets. Not only is it a quick and easy makeover, but it is also cost-effective compared to remodeling. Refacing cabinets does require you to pay attention to details and have some experience working with tools. But you do not need to be a master carpenter to get refacing cabinets right. To help you get it right, here is our step-by-step guide to refacing cabinets.

In A Nutshell

Simply put, refacing kitchen cabinets can be done by the following:

  1. Remove the doors and drawers of each cabinet.
  2. Cover the front edges of the cabinets with peel and stick wood veneer.
  3. Hang the new cabinet doors with easy-to-install cup hinges.
  4. Attach the new drawer fronts to the existing drawers.
  5. Replace molding where needed.
  6. Add new hardware to all cabinets.

Step 1: Measuring Your Cabinets

You'll need to measure your cabinets to ensure that you get the correct size for new doors, drawers, and end panels. You'll need to measure the following:

We advise you to sketch a basic outline of your kitchen cabinets and write down the measurements - both width and height - next to them. Check out our measuring guide to help keep track of everything as you plan to reface your kitchen cabinets.

Step 2: Ordering Your New Cabinet Doors & Drawers

Before you order your new cabinet doors and drawers, you need to take precise measurements. Decide how much of the door and drawer you want to extend past the face frame opening to create an overlay. The amount of overlay is determined by the hinges you install into the cabinets. You can choose whatever overlay you want, but 1/2-inch is a good place to start.

Once you've decided on the overlay and have measured your doors and drawers, you need to calculate your new cabinets' size. To do this, you need to double the overlay distance and add this to the opening size. This will give you the size of the cabinet door.

For example: If the opening is 20x22 inches, the door size with a 1/2 inch overlay, the final measurement would be 21x23 inches. Drawers are calculated the same way. Be sure to double-check all your measurements and calculations before placing your final order.

For a professional finish, your refacing process also needs to include covering the face of the cabinet frames with veneer. Additionally, you need to cover the end panels with 1/4 inch plywood.

Step 3: Getting The Right Materials

Before heading out to purchase your materials, ensure that it includes the following:

You will need to figure out how many veneer stripes you'll need to cover the face frames. Don’t forget to measure the panels and make a note of the sizes you'll need to purchase.

Step 4: Prepare Your Cabinets

It is now time to prepare your cabinets for the refacing process, which includes doing the following:

Step 5: Install End Panels

Now that your cabinets are prepped and cleaned, you can start your kitchen's transformation. Start by adding the end panels, which can be done by attaching plywood with construction adhesive. Use a few 3/4-inch finishing nails to securely hold it in place. Next, you can measure and cut the end panel to size so that its front edge is flush with the face frame's surface. While holding the end panel in place, mark and then cut where the toe-kick should go. Once you are 100% sure of the placement, you can install the panel with construction adhesive.

Step 6: Cutting & Applying The Veneer

When you reface your kitchen cabinets, don’t forget about the cabinet face frames. Using a laminate cutter, you can cut your veneer strips to the exact width and length needed before applying them. If you do not have this tool available, you can cut oversize strips of veneer with a sharp razor knife and then trim them once in place. To get the strips perfect from your veneer, measure the stiles and rails' width so that the strips fit.

You can now start applying the veneer to the outer stiles in a run of cabinets. Carefully align the veneer and gently press it down to the surface. With a firm downward push, bond, and smooth the veneer by pressing it down with a veneer applicator tool. You can add the veneer to the remainder of the stiles. Touch up any unstained edges of the veneer with a matching stain pen.

Step 7: Hang The New Cabinet Doors

Before you can hang the doors, you'll need to mount the cup hinges on the doors. To do this, simply line up the hinge and push it into the larger round recess. You can then tighten the screws and anchor the hinge. Once the hinges are secured, mark the center of the top hinge on the face frame stiles. You can calculate this distance by measuring from the top of the new door to the hinge center. Once you have that number, you need to subtract the overlay.

To secure the door, you can now line up the hinge center with the mark you made earlier and drill a pilot hole. Screw the top hinge plate into the stile before doing the same to the bottom hinge.

Step 8: Adding The Drawers

Before adding the drawers, you need to measure the drawer front placement. You'll need to measure the distance from the drawer box to the face frame stile. Additionally, you'll need to measure from the drawer bottom to the face frame drawer rail. Don't forget to add the overlay distance to these measurements. Mark these dimensions on the back of the drawer front to align the drawer before attaching it with four screws.

And that's it. For a professional finish, replace molding where needed and add new hardware. That’s how you reface your kitchen cabinets like a pro.

Finishing Up

And just like that, in 8 easy steps, you have refaced your kitchen cabinets. Now you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. As an added bonus for those planning to sell their houses in the future, upgrading your kitchen can have a strong return on your investment! If you are wanting to upgrade your refacing project, you should consider adding glass cabinet doors to your design. These can be ordered pre-cut for glass, or you can modify your existing doors.  

If you are struggling with getting started, or you have a list and are ready to talk style and material, feel free to give us a call at 1-855-669-5222 or an email at [email protected]. Our well-trained sales staff can help you with everything from measuring to checking out.

How to Reface Kitchen Cabinets (DIY)

Get the look of new cabinets in one weekend for one-third the cost!

Sponsored By: The Home Depot
A portion of this piece was created in partnership with The Home Depot, the largest home improvement retailer in the United States.

Time

Multiple Days

Complexity

Intermediate

Cost

$501-1000

Introduction

Tired of your kitchen cabinets? Instead of replacing them, consider cabinet refacing. It's DIY-friendly, and you can save thousands of dollars.

Tools Required

Overview of Refacing Cabinets

Refacing cabinets is a quick and easy way to change the look of your kitchen without the mess and expense of a complete remodeling. You simply cover the cabinet face frame with self-sticking wood veneer and the end panels with 1/4-in. plywood. Then replace the old doors and drawer fronts with new ones. Refacing costs about one-third what new cabinets would cost, plus you can leave the countertop in place for even greater savings. And by doing the work yourself, you’ll also save at least $1,000 in labor for a small kitchen, and a lot more if your kitchen is large.

Refacing cabinets does require attention to detail and some experience working with tools, but you don’t have to be a master carpenter. If you can measure and cut accurately, you shouldn’t have any trouble.

Special Tools for Working with Veneer

We use a Virutex laminate slitter to cut strips of veneer. It’s the perfect tool for this project, but if you don’t want to spend the money, you can rent a laminate slitter. A table saw also works.

You’ll need a veneer tool to apply adequate pressure for a good bond.

For cutting veneer strips to length, we used a paper cutter modified slightly for more accurate cuts. We found that even an inexpensive paper cutter works great for cutting veneer.

Project step-by-step (20)

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Do It Right, Do It Yourself!

Step 6

How to Order New Doors and Drawers

Family Handyman

There are three standard types of cabinet doors: overlay, inset and 3/8-in. lip (Figure B). Regardless of what type of doors you currently have, in most cases, you can replace them with overlay doors that use modern, fully adjustable cup hinges. And that’s the situation we’re showing here.

To size the doors, you’ll need to decide how much of the door you want to extend past the face frame opening. This is called the overlay distance and is determined by the hinges you install. To keep it simple, our expert cabinet remodel builder gives his customers a choice between 1/2-in. overlay, which is the most common, or 1-1/4- in. overlay. Depending on the hinge, you can choose a different overlay if you like. The 1-1/4-in. overlay doors hide more of the face frame for a more contemporary look. But the extra door width can cause problems. You have to measure carefully at inside corners and between doors to make sure there’s enough room. And remember, the new drawer fronts will be the same width, so check at inside corners to make sure there’s clearance for the drawers to open without handle conflicts. Also, there’s usually not enough space to add the extra 1-1/4 in. to the top and bottom of both doors and drawer fronts, so you may have to customize these overlay distances.

For our kitchen, we ordered doors that overlay the cabinet 1-1/4 in. on the sides and bottom, but reduced the top overlay to 3/4 in. Then he reduced the top and bottom overlay of the drawers to 3/4 in. to avoid conflict with a built-in breadboard. If you decide to order an overlay greater than 1/2 in., you can check the fit by applying tape to the face frame to represent the outside edges of the doors and drawers. This allows you to visualize the doors installed and alert you to any problems.

The most critical part of the cabinet door refacing job is measuring for and ordering the new doors and drawers. Start by making a sketch of each wall of cabinets showing the doors and drawers. Then measure the openings and write down the measurements—width first, then height (Figure A). Double the overlay distance and add this to the opening size to get the size of the door or drawer. For example, if the opening is 18 x 20 in., the door size with a 1/2-in. overlay would be 19 x 21 in. If you want a pair of doors to cover one opening, add two times the overlay to the opening size as usual. Then subtract 1/4 in. for clearance and divide this number by two to get the size of each door.

Calculate drawer front sizes the same way. Add two times the overlay distance to the opening size to arrive at the drawer front size.

Inside corner cabinets with or without rotating shelves can be a little trickier. We found that we can replace most existing corner cabinet doors with a “scissors-hinged” door—that is, a pair of doors hinged together and hung from one pair of hinges (see below). Ask your cabinet door supplier for help figuring the size of corner cabinet resurface doors.

Double-check all your measurements and calculations before you place the order.

Step 7

Where to Get Your Materials

Family Handyman

In addition to new drawer and door fronts, a typical cabinet refacing job includes covering the face of the cabinet frames with veneer and the end panels with 1/4-in. plywood to match. While it’s optional, most cabinet door refacing projects also include a new cove molding at the top of the cabinets and a thin layer of matching plywood to cover the cabinet toe-kick.

We ordered doors, drawer fronts, veneer, plywood and moldings prefinished from the manufacturer, but our supplier only sells to professionals. You can search online for cabinet-refacing supplies to find companies that will provide all the parts prefinished, or you can buy unfinished parts and finish them yourself. A few sources for unfinished doors are Distinctivedoordesigns.com and Rawdoors.net. At Rockler.com, you’ll find doors and 2 x 8-ft. sheets of veneer with pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) on the back. Ask at your local lumberyard for 1/4-in. hardwood plywood and moldings.

Measure and make a list of the veneer strips you’ll need to cover the face frames. From this list, figure out how many 24 x 96-in. sheets of PSA-backed veneer sheets you’ll need. Allow extra material, though. There are a few inches on the outside edges of PSA veneer that are unusable. On average, one sheet will cover face frames for about 15 doors. Expect to spend about $90 per sheet for the veneer.

Then measure the end panels and make a list of the sizes you need. You can order the plywood cut to rough size from some online suppliers, or figure out how many 4 x 8-ft. sheets of 1/4- in. plywood to buy from the lumberyard. The face frames on most modern cabinets overhang the end panel slightly. Rather than cut off this overhang, which is messy and time-consuming, We created a flush surface by gluing a filler panel to the end first. Most cabinets have either a 1/8-in. or a 1/4-in. overhang, so check yours and buy the appropriate thickness of plywood or hardboard to fill the space. Finally, make a list of the moldings you’ll need, including the toe-kick cover.

You’ll also need denatured alcohol, rags, medium-grit sanding sponge, construction adhesive, 3/4-in. brad nails and a stain pen and colored wood putty, not wood filler to match the new stain color.

Originally Published: January 23, 2019

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12 ways to update the kitchen set

Natalia | 02/26/2019 | Updated | Kitchen furniture | 81 412 views | 2 comments

Contents of the article

For a domestic person, the kitchen is not only a place where food is prepared. This is a place for family lunches and dinners, a place to meet friends and family. All this means only one thing - the kitchen should not only be comfortable for the hostess, but also attractive in appearance. Every piece of furniture and decor matters, and even more so the kitchen set. When cracks and stains appear on it, or when it no longer matches the style of the kitchen and the tastes of the owners, many people think about buying a new headset. But is it always advisable to spend money on new furniture if you can ennoble the existing one? If the headset is still strong, outdated in size and layout, then you can transform it with your own hands. Consider the most popular and effective ways to update the kitchen set.

Self-adhesive film

This method of restoring a kitchen set has become truly popular, and all thanks to its many advantages :

The minus is the low durability of the film, only 3-4 years, but the cheapness and ease of replacement smooth out this drawback.

Pasting kitchen facades is quite simple. Most importantly, follow the following recommendations:

If the shelves are soiled to such an extent that no detergent can take them, they can also be pasted over with foil. The principle of operation is the same. The film can be chosen close to the original color of the shelves.

Replacing the fronts

Many people think that the fronts covered with film look somehow too modest. This is all, of course, a matter of taste and personal preferences, but it is difficult to radically change the kitchen with a vinyl film, because glass inserts or panels will not be added to the doors. To make serious changes to the interior of the kitchen, it is better to act radically and completely replace the facades. Yes, it will turn out more expensive than with a film, but still much cheaper than when buying a new headset. The method is great if the frame of the furniture is still strong enough and durable.

The easiest way will be for owners of modular furniture , which was bought relatively recently. Then it will be possible to buy facades of the required size and replace them with your own hands. But this is not often so lucky, because usually you have to make facades to order. It is not at all necessary to change wooden doors to wooden ones, and chipboard to chipboard. The uniqueness of this method of restoration lies precisely in the fact that the appearance of the headset can be dramatically changed using completely different materials.

The cheapest option is chipboard or plastic facades. MDF and wood will cost more. You can choose accessories and decorations, for example, use glass inserts, but all this will affect the price. Masters with hands, of course, can make all the facades on their own. If you have woodworking skills, then why not? But it is much easier and faster to turn to a specialized company , which will make facades for your headset.

Repair of kitchen facades in Moscow

For residents of Moscow and the region, we recommend the company "Kitchen Repair", which has been operating for over 20 years and specializes in the repair of kitchen facades. Experienced specialists can replace facades or repair existing ones by painting, enameling or sticking a film. Among the services of the company are also repair of accessories and replacement of countertops. All work is carried out at the facility, measurements are preliminarily carried out, the design and estimate are agreed, the required elements of the headset are made from the desired material. All work is guaranteed. You can see detailed information and examples of work on the page https://remont-kuhni.com/service/remont-kuhonnyh-fasadov/.

An example of the work of specialists from the company "Kitchen Repair"

Painting

The method is quite simple, but requires careful surface preparation. The main advantage of the method is the ability to paint the facade in any color. If you want to make your kitchen more daring, you can choose a bright shade, such as blue, green or orange. A win-win color is white, as well as many light shades, incl. beige, grey, cream, etc. Imagine in advance what the kitchen will look like, and get creative.

Simultaneously with painting the facades, they can be slightly transformed using moldings , special strips that are glued to the surface and give it an interesting relief.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

If coloring seems too banal to you, then use glisal , a translucent glossy paint, in your work. It is applied in exactly the same way as acrylic paint, but while the coating dries, an interesting texture can be created on the surface. With a sponge, a bag or other improvised items, you can make a geometric pattern or an ornate pattern. If anything, part of the pattern can be removed with a roller. The result is an unusual result that will appeal to fans of ethnic style.

Lacquered

The variant is only suitable for fronts made of solid wood . The varnish allows you to reliably protect the wood and at the same time does not hide its chic natural look. When it comes to furniture, nitrocellulose, alkyd-carbamide, polyurethane, epoxy and polyester varnishes are used. It is important that the varnish protects the wood from moisture and high temperatures. Varnishes have a not very pleasant smell, therefore it is better to carry out all work on the street. If this is not possible, then it is better to take a water-based material, it has almost no smell.

It is very important to decide in advance on the gloss level of . The varnish can be glossy, which will add visual volume to the headset, or it can be matte, which will emphasize the wood pattern. The degree of gloss is indicated on the packaging as a percentage of reflected light: a glossy varnish will reflect up to 90% of the light, matte - only 10%, there are many intermediate options. Which is better depends on your preferences.

The procedure is as follows:

To create the effect of aging , several layers of stain can be applied.

Hardware update

We all have heard about the great impact of small things, but many, however, refuse to believe in the truth of this statement. Designers, without hesitation, convince us that sometimes changing handles on a kitchen set can transform a kitchen space. Most often, however, the replacement of fittings is carried out along with the renewal or replacement of facades.

It happens that the kitchen set itself is perfectly preserved, and the handles from constant interaction with them have become flaky, dull, or completely deformed in places. Take off your old hardware and head to a specialty store, where you can choose from a wide variety of handles. The main thing is that the size matches and you do not have to drill new holes.

If the old handles fit perfectly into the style of the kitchen, then you can find new ones that are as similar as possible to them. If you want something fresh, or if the kitchen facade has become completely unrecognizable after simple manipulations, then pick up handles in a new style. The range of manufacturers includes handles in modern and classic style, smooth chrome-plated and carved antique. There are handles with imitation of leaves and animals, there are inlaid glass and stones. There are wooden, plastic and metal, transparent and colored - everyone can choose the right one.

Possibly hinges and pull-out shelf mechanisms need to be replaced. Before going to the store, these elements should be dismantled and taken with you as a sample. New loops are selected according to the size of the previous ones. It happens that the existing holes are very loose, and it is impossible to attach new loops to them. Then they will have to be puttied with an acrylic-based composition in the color of the facade, sanded, varnished or painted, and only then drill new holes and install purchased hinges. Old roller mechanisms can be replaced with ball ones. All these actions give a huge result - using the headset becomes more pleasant and comfortable.

Replacing glass

As a rule, glass inserts in facades are simply washed well to restore their original perfect appearance. But what if you want something new? You can replace the existing transparent glass with frosted or colored glass, then the kitchen will noticeably change. True, glass will have to be made to order, and not everyone can handle the replacement itself.

A more budget option is to buy a self-adhesive film. With its help, you can give the glass the desired shade without depriving them of transparency. It will help create a matte effect or imitate a real stained glass window. Anyone who knows how to use a tape measure or centimeter tape, scissors and is able to accurately glue the film can definitely cope with gluing the film.

There is also the old-fashioned method, which involves applying a mixture of chalk powder and silicate glue to the glass. In two layers, this material is applied to the glass, after which they become dull.

Decoupage of kitchen fronts

Decoupage is a great way to update your kitchen set and give it a touch of Provence style. After the transformation, the facades will look as if talented artists painted them for you, but you will know that you made all this beauty with your own hands. Absolutely any pattern can be applied to cabinets and shelves, but usually they choose something related to plant and kitchen themes: images of fruits and vegetables, coffee, jars of spices and cereals, flowers, etc. Decoupage will help decorate the facades with ornaments in the style of Gzhel or Petrikovskaya painting. The main thing is to find a suitable drawing - no one limits your imagination.

Everyone will be able to cope with the restoration of facades on their own:

If this is not your first work in the decoupage technique, then you can use not only special napkins. Experienced craftsmen know that fragments of wallpaper with a suitable pattern, and even maple for the kitchen table, will do, not to mention the fact that the image you like can be printed on a printer.

Decoration with ceramic tiles

Almost everyone has leftover tiles after repairs. A lot of material for this method will not be needed, because even buying a new tile will not hit the budget. Naturally, not all facades are laid out with tiles. A fragment with a beautiful pattern can be glued in the center. It can be one tile or four smaller tiles laid out in a square or diamond shape. Small tiles can lay out the contours of the cabinets. Often such decoration is used to decorate the lower or upper edge of the headset. The image on the tile should match the overall style of the kitchen.

The principle of operation is as follows:

Decoration with rattan inserts

The principle is the same as with ceramic tiles. Rattan inserts will look appropriate with ethnic and eco-style. Rattan perfectly copes with the effects of moisture, therefore it is well suited for the kitchen. It can be used to replace glass inserts along with large-scale restoration of facades. Rattan inserts can be glued over blind cabinets. A variety of weaves and the presence of several shades will allow you to choose the appropriate insert option.

It is easy to work with rattan:

Use of chintz

Fabric decoration is rarely used, because this is your chance to make the kitchen unique. You will need a piece of fabric with a suitable pattern, and then everything is simple:

What else is used to update kitchen facades?

The fantasy of home craftsmen knows no bounds, and folk ingenuity has generated a lot of interesting non-trivial ideas on how else to ennoble an old kitchen facade. The following materials are used for this:

How do I update my kitchen worktop?

Renewing facades and leaving the countertop unattended means not finishing what you started. The countertop is the most vulnerable point of the kitchen set, because its surface constantly encounters drops of water and fat, mechanical stress, and high temperature. Chipboard countertops are usually the first to suffer, and when the facade looks even more or less normal, the work surface leaves much to be desired.

What can you do to update your kitchen worktop? Several options:

If the worktop is still in good condition, but has only one or two noticeable flaws (for example, burns or stab spots), you can carry out local repair. The defective place is carefully processed with a cutter to end up with a quarry-type depression. It is filled with putty on wood in the color of the countertop, the material is added in portions, well tamped, the excess is removed with a knife. The treated area is sanded, polished and painted. If you can accurately repeat the color or pattern of the countertop, then the place of repair will be invisible. When everything is really bad with the countertop, it is better to make its complete replacement by contacting professionals.

By combining the methods described above, you can transform your kitchen set in such a way that all guests will think that you have bought new furniture. If you combine this transformation with a redecoration in the kitchen, then the result will be impressive at all.

The article was written for remstroiblog.ru.

Tags:Kitchen

how to repair facades and other elements with your own hands set

To change or update the kitchen, it is not at all necessary to change the set, especially since such expenses significantly affect the budget. One of the advantages of modern furniture is high maintainability, and the kitchen is no exception.

Restoration of a kitchen set is actually a very interesting job, although not an easy one.

Restoration of coating

Restoration of kitchen facades depends on both the base material and the finishing layer. In most cases, if the main material is damaged, then the entire facade will have to be replaced. The exception is small scratches and chips, which can be repaired with a special wood putty or wax pencil.

Damage to the finish is not so simple.

In case of small defects, the PVC film is simply glued: PVA glue, Moment, is drawn into the syringe from the needle and the area under the film is filled. Then the coating is smoothed and fixed with adhesive tape for 4 hours. If the damage is great, you can remove the entire old film from the facade by heating it with a hairdryer, and stick a new one in the same way. In this case, it is better to use liquid nails.

Renovation with PVC foil

Restoration is not always understood only as the return of facades to their original appearance and replacement of fittings. Modern methods of decorating allow you to change the look of the kitchen beyond recognition, using quite affordable means.

One of these options is a vinyl film, or rather a sticker with an image on a PVC film. Moreover, the image can be anything - from a wood pattern to an ornament of any complexity or landscape.

Quite often, this technique is used to change the style of the kitchen or just diversify the design. To do this, decorate a zone or two sashes with a sticker. If you want to update your entire suite, all facades are pasted over with vinyl film. The choice is entirely determined by the style of the room.

Panel fronts are very suitable for such kitchen renovation. At the same time, the frames are painted or also pasted over with a film of a different color, and the inner plane is decorated with a self-adhesive film.

In the photo - a good solution in the Art Nouveau style.

Staining

Restoration of kitchen facades with staining is the second most popular method. It is worth noting that it is far from being as simple as it seems at first glance. All facades are painted with the exception of MDF doors with acrylic panels.

Polyurethane enamels are preferred for kitchen materials. They are resistant to moisture and temperature extremes, are not afraid of light, dry quickly and are safe. In addition, the palette of colors includes all sorts of shades and textures - from matte to high-gloss, literally with a mirror finish.

How to restore a kitchen set with paint?

  1. Remove all fittings from the sashes, then remove the facades themselves.
  2. The finishing layer is completely removed, the surface is cleaned with sandpaper.
  3. The material is primed - a water-based polyurethane primer is recommended. The procedure should be repeated and wait for the primer to dry completely.
  4. Apply the paint using a roller and brushes of various sizes. The paint must be applied in several layers, after allowing each layer to dry completely. The carved parts of the product are especially carefully painted. Using a stencil, you can form a pattern, ornament or image on the sash.
  5. When restoring the facade, do not forget about the final stage - varnishing. No matter how good the enamel is, the varnish will prevent its mechanical damage.

Staining techniques are different. Depending on your own skill, you can simply paint the facade in one color, you can paint it, you can paint the kitchen set with “metallic” paint - it includes aluminum powder.

A fashionable aging effect is obtained in this way: the facade is covered in two layers of paint of different shades, and after drying, a solvent is applied to the surface. In this case, the top layer is covered with cracks. With proper skill, you can also get the “chameleon” effect: this will also require painting in two colors, but after drying, the facades are covered with glossy varnish.

Decoupage

To restore the facades of kitchen furniture, sometimes they resort to not quite traditional methods. Decoupage has become a trendy retro kitchen touch. But in practice it is used quite rarely, as it requires taste and accuracy in execution.

Decoupage material is special napkins with bright original images. In fact, in this capacity, you can use newspaper clippings, pieces of fabric, fragments of lace, your own old photos, a finished image from albums or books. In the kitchen, decoupage using small items will be very useful: coffee beans, herb stalks and spikelets, dried flowers, and the like.

The decoupage technique is quite simple: do-it-yourself kitchen set is sanded with large and then fine sandpaper. Painted with a background color - acrylic paint is used, and then with the help of stationery glue, the image or objects are fixed on the surface. Be sure to cover the craft with several layers of transparent furniture varnish after the glue has dried.

In the photo - "vegetable" decoupage of the kitchen.

Lacquering

Repairing a kitchen set made of wood comes down to restoration, especially if the material is quite expensive wood. Yes, and old wooden furniture today, and centuries ago, is perceived as a symbol of solidity. In addition, wooden kitchen sets are not that difficult to update.

Varnishing and toning are the most popular techniques, and they are often combined. The varnish can be used as a matte transparent, glossy or even colored. It does not radically change the color palette of furniture, but gives a shade. Stain is used in cases where they really want to change the color of the facade by a couple of tones.

The technology of both processes is similar.

  1. Facades are removed from hinges, fittings are removed.
  2. The surface is cleaned of old varnish or other finishes, treated with sandpaper, coarse and fine, and then carefully sanded.
  3. The cleaned surface is primed.
  4. After the primer has completely dried, a layer of varnish is applied to the facade with a brush. After the varnish has dried, the procedure is repeated at least twice.

The stain is applied in the same way, after the primer has dried. Depending on how much they want to change the color of the furniture, tinting is carried out from 1 to 4 times. Then the product is varnished at least twice.

Molding will help to diversify the look of the updated furniture - a furniture plinth of various shapes. It is very diverse in size and configuration. The molding is glued to the facade surface and can be painted and varnished together with the sash.

Unusual solutions

The fantasy of home craftsmen literally has no limits, so completely unexpected things can serve as material for a kitchen renovation.