Oak Cabinets we hate and great granite
We bought a new semi-custom home that is about 2 years old. It has a great kitchen, but we are not fond of the oak cabinets. They are builder grade but have nice European hardware and there are a lot of them. Drawer depths are not deep enough for our tastes, etc. We have some great slab granite countertops currently in the kitchen. What are our options for dealing with the oak cabinets. We could paint them, but I hesitate to do that. They are currently treated with a stain or similar finish. Would it be possible to use a black wash or black stain? I have seen that treatment for oak. Short of painting or staining suggestions, how feasible would it be for us to have the granite taken off without it being damaged and have the cabinets replaced (not leaning in this direction) but want to look at all the options. It is a great house and we plan on staying a long time! Thanks for the feedback. I have attached a photo for your reference.
Thanks,
Castle King in Colorado
Replies
They can be recolored. It's not a quick and simple fix, but it's possible. The incomplete story is you can either finish directly over what you already have with something like glazing or shellac & dyes, or strip them in place and refinish.
You could have them refaced. This costs less than new cabinets, will change the look, not disturb the granite, but does not solve any layout / depth issues you might have.
Pulling the granite should actually be the easiest of what you propose. Any granite installer could have those off and in a truck pretty quick. Which leaves you with changing cabinets, and the hitch there is you have to get identical sized units (or each run has to be an identical length) to what you have now for the granite to drop in again. You have sink cutouts that can't move, for example.
Any of them are possible. The first option I put the least stock in. The last costs more but you would have what you want, the way you want it, and at least be happy at the end.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
Years ago FHB had an article about a bank (in france?) where the oak was finished wrong - too light. The master whatever sealed off the room and let ammonia vapors fill it for a long time, creating a fumed oak darkening of the oak under the finial finish.
How well that might work with modern, industrial age, better living through chemistry type finishes is open to quetion, I'd say.
I second what RW said. Tone with pigmented clear coat like lacquer or conversion varnish. Depending on % of clear to toner this will tend to obscure grain, which sounds like it might be a plus if you don't like the pronounced grain in oak. Cases sprayed in place, doors off and maybe done in shop.
Refacing is certainly viable and you could change door style and wood species if that's your thing. It could be a whole new look. Watch out for schlocks, this particular line of work seems to attract them.
Painting would be a travesty. My opinion? Barf!
There might be room in existing cabs to install longer (and sometimes deeper) drawers to accomodate your needs. If you refaced, you could change any drawer stack to three instead or four for increased depth. Chances are you could add drawer stacks where there are drawer/door combos as well. I do this kind of mod more and more.
PJ
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.
King
I dont like oak either so I'd opt for the refaceing.
I think your looking for trouble if you remove the granite and try to get new cabinets to go back in the same place. JMO but I wouldnt do that.
As far as the drawers are concerned, I've seen a lot of cabinets that are 24" deep yet they only used 20" deep drawers, and to top it off they used the epoxy 3/4 extension drawer guides.
You could remake the drawers to 22" deep, or more if you have the room, then add full extension guides if you dont already have them.
Doug
sand 150 grit..recoat pigmented pre-cat lacquer..a chocolate glaze topcoated with a dull pre-cat clear lacquer. Save those big doors don't chuck em. Nice kitchen, get some color combination going and find someone who can use a hvlp(not many). stinky
That kictern looks great, i wish mine was that good. I got plywood for counter tops.. 2+3=7
Where you from chum? No personal info!
Trigger, its the Lexington Kentucky area. Don't post much,will update my info soon. stinky
Paint the cabinets with black laquer. It looks bitchen with the oak grain showing. Looks good with stainless too.
i say replace the cabinets. if you're going to be there a long time you can either have a long time to hate the oak and the drawers, or a long time to love your maple/cherry cabinets with deep drawers and custom touches that make the kitchen personal to you. if you don't want to shell out the $ now, put up with them for a couple years and then get new ones. in 5 years you are going to hate the refinish you put on the oak anyway. remember, those oak cabinets will make great garage storage, so you're not completely losing out. my whole box truck is outfitted storagewise with other people's 10 year old oak cabinets.
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"the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. one should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."- f. scott fitzgerald
I don't think it's necessarily the oak species but the homogenous look of your kitchen that is so boring. You have these large walls of cabinetry that are overwhelming. The granite blends in to the same color scheme that is also repeated in the floor so it just looks bland. I think it would look the same with any natural wood. You need some variety. This can be done in a number of ways. When you look at the better designer kitchens today, they have moved away from walls full of cabinetry that are all the same. One area may be painted, others will have furniture like pieces, the walls are broken up into different levels and depths, often accentuated with moldings and architectural details.
It's difficult to get a real feeling of your space from a single picture but these are a couple ideas that come to mind without changing the cabinets significantly. The knobs do nothing for the cabinets, the white paint on the door and trim doesn't work and the small crown molding does nothing to accentuate. Maybe something could be done over the range to pull out or eliminate the cabinet for a hood enclosure. Some of the upper cabinet doors could be replaced with glass panel doors. A fascia with some contrasting and larger moldings could replace the small crown. An under cabinet molding could be added to match the above. Perhaps the area by the ref. could be painted, milk paint?, distressing?, glazing?. Tied in to the molding change
When I meet with a kitchen customer, I give them some kitchen design magazines to look at. I have them choose elements, colors and details that appeal to them. It's then a matter of trying to incorporate some of these elements into their space and fit their budget. I'd recommend going to the book store and getting a few kitchen magazines, find things that you like. Once you have some ideas, you may want to find an interior decorator. Many folks don't know anything about design and a designer can come up with ideas and solutions that you would not think of. The money would be well spent compared to a new kitchen, especially if it just repeats what you already have.
You can always have new drawer boxes made and/or full extension slides installed. Cabinets can easily be refaced and new drawer fronts and doors put on. I don't think this alone will improve your look. It will take a multi level change to bring your kitchen up to date.
You say that the place is 2 years old, but you don't say whether you've been there for 2 years. If not, first live with it a while and make sure it matters as much as you think it does.
The cabs look like builders. You can make them darker, lighter, whatever, and they will still look like builders cabs. It's not clear what you really want them to be, but if you're looking for something specific, the only real way to change them is to change them. If you're there for the long haul, then it's worth it, and make the kitchen what you really want. But this is expensive and time-consuming, so be sure it matters enough before you start. It's not a bad looking kitchen by any stretch, and the building didn't do badly, but you're never going to get exactly what you want unless you pick it out yourself. Whatever you do, don't start tweaking it if it isn't going to end up making you happy. You can be just as unhappy doing nothing as you can doing plenty of work and still not getting what you want.
SHG
For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong.
-H.L. Mencken
The common problem with many kinds of grainy hardwoods is that they confuse the eye, almost like a herd of zebra. One solution is to break up the wood with color. My kitchen is all oak doors and drawer fronts with the cabinet frame painted semi-gloss white, the same as the kitchen ceiling and walls. So my suggested simple fix, one that you can do in a few hours a couple of evenings, is to remove the doors and drawers, sand the frames lightly with a palm sander, then prime and paint the frames in the same white as the rest of the kitchen.
As others have suggested, you can have deeper drawers made, keeping the same fronts.
Consider this:
Remove doors and replace or refinish to your liking
Paint face frames (e.g. black or a dark color matching the granite) or use iron-on veneer to cover the oak.
Check to see how the face frames are mounted to the carcases. It they're pocket screwed, you may be able to remove them and the doors, and paint the carcases I/O the wall color. Have a cab shop fab new FF's and doors in a species you like.
Off yer azz and on yer feet,
Outta th' shade and into the heat.
Where in Colorado are you at CastleKing? I know a guy down in Parker that does some real interesting things with different colors and glazes that might meet your needs. Especially if you're doors and drawers are in good shape.
Another option is refacing, Even though I'm currently working for a refacing company here in Denver, I'm not always a big fan of refacing. Situations like this though are where refacing pays off, when you want to update cabs without disturbing existing countertops, walls, tile or floors. It's also very easy to change drawer sizes when we do reface. Some companies use laminates and some use 1/4" solid face frames and ply panels, either should work for you. There's lots of species and colors to choose from too, but I've never seen any refaced finishes as nice or unique as the ones that I've seen refinished by a talented finisher.