Oak kitchen cabinets are beautiful, and can easily create the feel of a luxury kitchen in your home. They are versatile, durable, and available in a variety of options for homeowners to choose from. As such, it is easy to understand why they are the preferred cabinet material for most Montreal and Toronto homeowners. Though you may want them to maintain their gorgeous looks forever, their beauty may start fading away after a couple of years of use. So then what do you do when that happens? Upgrade them. Here are a few tips you may consider.
Think about restraining the cabinets
One way of bringing back the original flair of your oak cabinets is to consider working on their color. With time, their original oak color may start fading which may give your cabinets a not-so-pleasing look, but with the proper stain, they can spring back to life. When considering the right stain, think of neutral wood tones since they don’t usually deviate far from the original oak color and it will not be easy for an untrained eye to see that they have been re-stained. Remember, the wrong choice of stain may create a very sharp contrast that may work against your original desire of revamping the looks of the cabinets.
While considering re-staining your cabinets, think about the following for better results:
If you want a lighter color than the original stain or color of the oak – this is recommended, only that it will be a lot of work.
Do you want to stain them with a darker color – this will also involve a lot of work, but it may be easier compared to going with a lighter color.
Don’t go for red, orange and yellow tones. These tones will make the oak cabinets look dated.
Always stick to lighter and darker tones without any dominant undertones.
Before you start the staining process, be sure to sand the cabinets down entirely.
Get new hardware for your oak cabinets
For most homeowners looking to upgrade their oak kitchen cabinets in Toronto, a change of kitchen hardware is usually one of the common approaches adopted. In most cases, if your kitchen cabinets were installed during the 80s and 90s, it is highly likely that they will not have any hardware in the form of knobs and handles. Functionally, this is not a big deal because you can still decorate them, open and close them with no trouble and they don’t appear to miss anything. But with the changing times, these cabinets are slowly getting replaced with modern ones that have the proper hardware.
Therefore, one trick for upgrading your oak kitchen cabinets is to simply consider new hardware. You can think of a transitional style of hardware if your cabinetry is of the shaker or cathedral style profile. If they are of the cathedral profile, it is recommended that you consider hardware that has slightly softer lines. Avoid anything that is sleek or has a tubular design. This is vital for creating a nice contrast to further add to the aesthetic appeal of the cabinetry.
How about adding crown molding and a valance?
Crown molding is simply the “crown” that you will normally find sitting at the top of the oak cabinets. Be careful not to confuse it with the molding that usually runs up to or close to the ceiling line. The valance, on the other hand, refers to the strip of wood that attaches to the bottom part of the cabinets. The work of the valance is simply to increase the visual height of the cabinets. They can also be used to give the cabinets a custom profile as well as a concealment for the under-cabinet lighting.
Adding crown molding and valance may not be an easy task if you don’t know what you are doing, but if you have the determination or basic carpentry skills, you can fumble your way into installing them. These two will greatly increase the aesthetic appeal of the cabinets.
Give the oak cabinets a facelift with new paint
Most people don’t believe that wood should be painted and this is where they go wrong because painting your wall-mounted cabinets is one of the simplest upgrades you can make to improve the look of your kitchen. An alternative to re-staining is to simply paint them, and with the number of colors to choose from, there are endless opportunities for transforming the look of your kitchen.
You may be reluctant to paint your oak cabinets, but there are a few things you need to know about painting which can change your mind. Apart from the beauty, if you are thinking of selling your house, then painting your old oak cabinets will do wonders during the evaluation. This is because most oak kitchen cabinets tend to appeal to people over the age of seventy.
If you want anyone outside of this demographic to buy the house as soon as possible, then the painting would be the way to go.
The above tips should be sufficient to bring new life to your kitchen. Some of them are upgrades you can do on your own if you don’t doubt your handyman skills, while others may require the services of a professional carpenter or handyman. If you know you don’t have the skills or the tools to make the upgrades, then don’t hesitate to seek the services of a professional.
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