Updating kitchen - cream doors on oak carcass?

Katzi

My oak colour kitchen is very dated, however, it is also still in very good condition and I love the layout. I do not have the money to replace it and instead am considering replacing the doors.

I would love to change it to a cream kitchen but am wondering if I replaced the existing doors with cream doors would these would look very strange with the oak coloured carcass (which would still be visible).

If anyone has any experience in this I would be most grateful. Or if anyone has other suggestions. For example, would I be mad to think about trying to paint the existing carcass to match any new cream doors?

Many thanks to anyone who could help me - and apologies if I am posting in the wrong section. This is my first post.

TequilaMockingBird

Hi Katzi

I would paint them if I were you. Give them a light sanding first, then an undercoat and finally a satin finish gloss.

Welcome to Boards!

Earth Balance

Hello Katzi,

It depends on the carcass material as to whether you decide to match this to the doors. In my opinion cream coloured door fronts with oak coloured carcasses would look a little disjointed. You may end up with something that doesn't look as good as you had imagined.

It's quite a contrast and could look like a chequerboard effect depending on how many exposed oak sufaces you can see (think side, base, top, internal etc). What style is the kitchen - traditional or contemporary?

Most probably the carcasses are not solid wood, they may be veneers or MFC etc. Typically hard to paint over for a professional finish.

Let me know what you think

Katzi

Thank you sueme and Earth Balance for your advise.

The kitchen is big and there are lots of cupboards with exposed shelves which are all finished in vinyl covered chipboard. (Sounds horrible but it is a Nolan kitchen and well finished). The 'oak' colour is quite pale, but I do appreciate that if I painted only the doors it might look a bit checkerboard. To paint the carcass and shelves etc. would be a huge job and I am not sure it is worth it.

Another option would be to change the doors to a simpler style. They are currently a traditional 'country' kitchen look with arched grooves in all the doors. A more Shaker style would be much better, but I feel this could be very expensive for not a huge difference.

However, Earth Balance, perhaps you have a view on this. Do you think changing to a much simpler style would have enough impact to justify the expense?

I really appreciate your comments and thank you for welcomine me on board!

(Have learnt a lot about attic insulation on here already!)

Earth Balance

Hello Katzi,

The best thing you could do is to go to a showroom and find a door you like - ask them to take it home to put against your existing units. You can make a better judgement when you see it in the flesh. If you can find a door front style that is much more contemporary/sleek for a relatively low cost - one that you could live with for a good few more years to come then, yes it could be worth the expense.

What you may find (and in my experience as a kitchen designer back in the UK) is that the majority cost is within the doors - so to replace the whole kitchen might be a fraction less than replacing all of the doors (excluding worktops).

It's worth getting some quotes for both to make a proper evaluation of your budget. You could find that your cream kitchen is achievable after all - will just take a little reseach.

Regards

TequilaMockingBird

Hi Earth Balance

You know alot more about it than me! You know the strips of vinyl edging you can get, would they do the job? Just leave the interiors as they are, paint the sides of the units where needed, and use the strips for the front edges?

Would that work?

Katzi

Thank you again Earth Balance for your advice.

I will indeed go to a showroom and take a door home - as you say I will then be able to evaluate better.

I want to do lots of things in the house - which after 12 years is just looking a bit tired. I will have to decide if the cost of replacing kitchen doors is worth it - or if I could use the same money to do LOTS of different things which would improve more rooms. I may simply decide to hold off replacing the kitchen until everything else has been done.

One thing is now certain - I will not attempt to paint the carcass or existing doors. So thank you again.

Ruu_Old

Maybe try some new hardware on the drawers and cabinets, what I done with mine anyway. Not sure if it applies to your situation.

Katzi

Hi sueme

I had thought about those strips of vinyl, but the kitchen is big and there is a lot of open shelving and facias etc. which would all either need to be painted or faced. You are right, it would make sense to leave the inside of the cupboards alone, but when I actually looked really hard at all the exposed 'oak' in the kitchen the thought of painting it made me weary!!

Another friend has suggested that in the meantime I should consider replacing the door handles, which might help make a little change.

Basically I need to win the Lotto and just replace it! But thanks again for your interest and help. I had no idea that people would be so responsive.

Earth Balance

sueme wrote: »

Hi Earth Balance

You know alot more about it than me! You know the strips of vinyl edging you can get, would they do the job? Just leave the interiors as they are, paint the sides of the units where needed, and use the strips for the front edges?

Would that work?

Hi Sueme,

The edges will already have vinyl edging on them, so save ripping that off and making a mess of the carcasses - you would need to fix them to the existing edging. All in all it wouldn't look great (adding extra mm to the profile) and would take quite some time & patience for a non professional to do them. I wouldn't recommend it. Wish it was all that easy, kitchen units are not made to be refurbished these days - all designed for disposal after a few years. Just terrible!

Regards

Earth Balance

Katzi wrote: »

Hi sueme

Another friend has suggested that in the meantime I should consider replacing the door handles, which might help make a little change.

Hi Katzi,

If you go ahead and replace the handles, just make sure the measurements for the drill holes are the same.

Regards

carpentoza

Hi there,
I have often used two tone effect oak with cream doors to good results, as has been said get a sample door from a supplier and "offer" it up to the kitchen. Dont paint the melamine carcasses it will look very tatty in short space of time.
Good luck.

Katzi

Thanks Carpentoza. I am glad to hear your comments about not painting the melamine. I had toyed with this, but then realised that once painted there would be no going back. If I make the wrong decision with the doors, then I always have the option of changing them in a few years. Once the carcasses are painted - and it didn't work, then I would have ruined a perfectly good kitchen.

By endlessly trawling the net, I realise a lot can also be done to give the kitchen a new look by removing some of the current doors and replacing with things like wine racks and shelves with wicker baskets. Also, removing the built-in extractor fan and replacing with a brushed steel hood will help make it more up-to-date. All of these things are minor costs compared to replacing the whole kitchen which would be very expensive.

I plan to get a couple of sample doors within the next couple of weeks and see how they look.

However, in the meantime if anyone else has ideas on small (ie. inexpensive) ways of up-dating it would be great!

lovelyjuvly

Hi Katzi

Try Danspray for professional respraying your units - I've seen some of their work and it looks like a brand new kitchen! They are really professional and I think they may change handles on the doors too if you want. They are based in Mountrath, but work all over as far as I know.

Lovelyjuvly

Katzi

Update on my kitchen remodelling.

I decided to go cream and used Roma doors from Panelling Centre. I painted the bits of the carcasses that were visible and updated all appliances to brushed/stainless steel ones. The existing white wall tiles were replaced with cream.

The result? Amazing. Looks like I have had a whole new kitchen put in - even though the floor and worksurfaces are the same as before.

So if anyone is wondering if painting old 'oak' carcasses is possible - yes it is. Use ESP product, 2-3 undercoats and 2 satin top coat.

misschipp

lovelyjuvly wrote: »

Hi Katzi

Try Danspray for professional respraying your units -
Lovelyjuvly

Apologies Katzi for muscling (is that a real word!!??) in on your thread but I would like to know more information about Danspray from Lovelyjuvly. I cannot find them in the phonebook and would appreciate if I could get some contact details.
Thanks in advance
Jac

Katzi

Hi. I did not use Danspray. Sorry but know nothing about them. As I outlined in my post I handpainted my cabinets.

misschipp

Thanks Katzi,
I am aware that you did the cabinets yourself. Well done!
The question was for Luvelyjuvy as outlined in my post