When you hear or read about kitchen doors, what they are most likely talking about are the doors that are on cabinets, cupboards, and kitchen pantries.  In terms of importance, kitchen cabinet doors are pretty important.  While the structural integrity of your cabinets is a key factor, the kitchen door is what is going to be seen, not the insides.  If you find yourself looking at your kitchen and thinking that it is time for a makeover or renovation, here is some information to help you make an informed choice.
One of the best ways to give your kitchen a new look without spending a king’s ransom is by doing what is called cabinet refacing.  What this means is you replace the kitchen cupboard doors with new ones, but you leave the rest of the cabinets intact.  Be aware that this method is really only viable if your cabinets are still in good shape inside.  If they are falling apart or have been eaten by termites too much, you will probably have to rip them out and replace them completely.
You can find your new replacement kitchen doors at any reputable cabinet maker or large home supply store such as the Home Depot or Lowes.  There are some companies that specialize in kitchen unit doors.  Choose one that has a large inventory of styles, colors, and types of wood to choose from.  Keep in mind that you are free to change the style to anything you want.  There is certainly no obligation to keep the same look as your old cabinets had.  Many people want to lighten up their kitchen by choosing new kitchen doors in a lighter wood color like oak or birch.  The cabinet manufacturer should provide you with kitchen door handles to match the cabinets as well.
Many people these days are choosing materials other than wood for their replacement kitchen cabinet doors.  Examples of these are glass kitchen cabinet doors, and those made of synthetic materials such as RTF’s, which is short for rigid thermofoils.  The good thing about kitchen doors made out of this material is that they can pretty much be molded into any shape you want.  In addition, RTF doors aren’t so susceptible to damage from termites or humidity like wood.  The are a good choice if you are looking for cheap kitchen doors and those made of solid wood scare you.  For more information about the kinds of doors and materials available, take a look at this website.

Tags: Kitchen Cabinets by Jeffrey
No Comments »

There comes a time in the life of every house where the kitchen just starts to look a bit run down.  Eventually, usually after decades of heavy use (or even no use at all!), the kitchen cabinets start looking dull and faded.  In addition to this, the small pieces of hardware that hold the kitchen cupboard doors and drawers together start to break as well.  Hinges don’t work properly, and kitchen drawers don’t slide out smoothly.  When this happens, you have a few choices.

• You can tear everything out and replace all of the cabinets.
• You can do what is called cabinet refacing, which involves putting new doors and drawer fronts on the cabinets, but leaving the rest intact.
• You can paint your existing kitchen cupboard doors so that they look nice again.

The list above is in order of cost and work involved.  As you might have guessed replacing all of the cabinets can cost a small fortune, depending on the type of material used and whether or not you are willing to do some or all of the work yourself.  Small tasks such as installing kitchen cupboard door handles are easy enough for most people to accomplish themselves, while mounting upper cabinets can be a daunting task best left to professionals if you don’t have any experience.  You may have no choice but to do a complete kitchen cupboard replacement if the interior of your cupboards are falling apart and in poor shape.
If the only thing that looks bad is the kitchen cupboard door, but the insides are still structurally sound, you can save yourself a large wad of money (I’m talking 10,000 or so) by refacing cabinets.  The work involved in this process consists mainly of removing the old ones and installing new kitchen cupboard doors and putting a thin layer of matching material on any other visible parts.  Doing only the kitchen cupboard doors replacement as opposed to a full cabinet replacement will usually cut your costs in half.  In addition to this, since there isn’t any heavy lifting or very precise measurements, it is a job that it is easier to do yourself if you are feeling up to it.

The final way to spruce up your home a bit is by painting kitchen cupboard doors.  It may sound like an easy task at first, but it is actually quite an elaborate process if you want to do it right and have the cupboards turn out looking great. It is usually recommended that you sand all of the doors first so the new paint will adhere to it.  Spending time on this step will save you from seeing your paint chip off later.  Take a look at this website here to get a feel for what is involved in this process.

Tags: Kitchen Cabinets by Jeffrey
No Comments »

While some people might be looking for an actual kitchen door, most kitchens in fact don’t even have doors.  What people are referring to are kitchen cabinet doors or doors for other kitchen storage units.  There are a few reasons why you might want to replace the doors on the cupboards in your kitchen.  The number one reason to replace these is when you want to reface your cabinets.  When your cabinets look worn out and ugly, you basically have two choices.  You can either rip out all of the cabinets and replace them with brand new ones, or you can simply replace the cabinet doors themselves and leave the cabinets intact.  Switching the kitchen cupboard doors is much, much cheaper than replacing the cupboards themselves and the job is a lot simpler as well.

Replacement Kitchen Doors

The best place to find kitchen cabinet doors is from a cabinet company.  Nearly all cabinet manufacturers or shops sell both the entire cabinets and the doors by themselves.  While you can order kitchen doors online, I find it is a lot better if you can take one of the doors into a shop yourself and match the color exactly.  Doing so will enable the shop owner to take a look at the kitchen unit doors in stock and tell you if he has what you are looking for.  When shopping for a replacement kitchen door, keep in mind that the most common types are wooden and PVC doors.

Wooden Kitchen Doors

Wooden doors come in many styles and wood types, with oak, maple, and cherry being the most popular.   In the past, kitchen cabinets were crafted entirely of solid wood.  These days, it is much more common to see the cabinets made of particle board and the kitchen cabinet door made of solid wood.  The reason why cabinets are made this way is because it is cheaper, and customers demand cheap products that can be manufactured quickly these days.  If you have one of the more common woods, such as oak kitchen doors, you can just get replacements in that same wood type.  If you can’t find a replacement easily, another way to do it is to get light colored wood cabinets and then stain them to whatever color you want.  There are a myriad of wood stains available to match all different types of exotic woods.

PVC Kitchen Doors

There is another option available besides wood.  PVC doors are designed to either look just like real wood or to be painted any color you want.  They are very versatile and are usually cheaper than solid wood.  They have another advantage as well, which is that they tend to last longer than wood, which is susceptible to moisture and termite damage.

Kitchen Door Handles

When you are replacing your kitchen doors and drawers, you need to think about what you are going to do with the door handles.  If you have wooden kitchen door handles, chances are that these are worn as well and will need replacing.  Compared to the doors, they are relatively cheap to buy.  However, if you have metal kitchen door handles that are still in good shape, you can simply unscrew them and use them on your new doors.  Giving them a simple buffing with some metal polish will usually bring them to a new-looking shine.

If you need more space to store kitchen items, you may want to look into closet organizer systems.  They are a good way of making the most of your limited storage space.  While cabinets are great, kitchen pantries and closets are great for keeping less frequently used appliances, cleaning supplies, and other items.

Tags: Kitchen Cabinets by Jeffrey
No Comments »