[caddyb]

Hello everyone!



I got your link from Thegardenplace. A few members said IKEA doors are the best to go with when you can't afford new cabinets. I certainly cannot. My budget on cabinets/drawers has to be right around 600 or 700. I did look at the links to cabinet doors that was given, so I just have a few questions about what I didn't understand.

My cabinets are pretty big (see picture). I didin't really see my size over there?!!? Secondly, are all the doors at Ikea just slabs/veneers (with no moldings or frames on the them, i.e. sqaure, cathedral, etc). Is Ikea a better bargain than say, Maplecraft or Newdoor, which seem to be the best places I've seen so far.

Finally, and thanks for your patience, what is included in this door? Does it come with holes for hinges? Do I have to drill those myself (never used a drill before, lol). How to I make sure it fits my old hinges? thanks so much!

[GardenOfDarwin]

Hi! I've seen your posts over at THS. I believe IKEA was recommended for replacement of cabinets, not just the doors. There are a couple of people here looking to replace doors only, but the verdict (about whether it will work) is not yet in. At least, not that I'm aware of.

The main problem with replacing just doors is that you have framed cabinets. IKEA is frameless. IKEA's hinges (made by Blum) are designed to work with frameless cabinets. I don't think you'd be able to reuse your hinges as they look to be designed for partial overlay doors. There are some hinges available through Rockler that may work (see above). I'll see if I can find the link if you're interested.

As to the meat of your problem: you need to decide if your current cabinets are worth saving for new doors, and/or if the layout is servicable. If not, then you're just putting a band-aid on a gusher. You don't say what size your cabinets are, so I can't answer your question on whether or not they have your size. They have 12", 15", 18", 21", 24", 30", and 36". What do you need?

If you stick with the basic cabinets, no pull-outs for now, maybe one bank of drawers, say 3 36" base cabinets with 2 doors, 2 drawers and a 36" sink base, you're looking at $715. Wall cabinets would be $217 for 3 30" x 36" cabinet, plus a 24" x 36" fan cabinet for over your sink. That's just a rough guess based on your pictures, and not very acurrate at that. You need to provide alot more information for an accurate estimate.

It seems as though you have a large kitchen, with lots of cabinet space. My reccommendation would be to first evaluate your current cabinets, and see if they're worth the effort and investment. Putting granite on top of bad cabinets just doesn't make sense. If you decide they're worth it, I'd just paint them and call it a day. If not, then replace the cabinets wholesale. Buy an inexpensive door for now and put a nice laminate top on. But, of course, that's just my .02. You have to decide what's right for you.

Hope that helps!
Susan

[caddyb]

thanks so much for your input. I think I am going to just buy an inexpensive door from either newdoor or maplecraft. I don't think I want to sink that much money into my kitchen! As you have read, my budget is pretty low, so I might just change the counters and the flooring.

[fisheggs]

Have you seen celticmoon's posts on the garden site? She did an amazing job re-staining her existing cabinets for an entirely new look. When I look at your kitchen the main thing that I wasn't crazy about was the fact that the doors and face frames seemed to be a different color. You could fix that and get new knobs that would give you a completely new look for a bit under what your budget is. Doors are often pretty expensive and it looks like you have a lot of them. Do you have any "inspiration" photos you've been keeping around that show what you'd like to achieve?

[kate1234]

Are your doors structurally in good shape? I think if they are you might consider painting them white. And, if you want to get fancy, think about getting a bit of moulding to tack on each one to mimic an inset. Then just paint everything.


I agree that one of the difficulties in your old kitchen is that the doors aren't the same as the frames - paint would fix that.

[caddyb]

What do you guys think of painting laminate though? I am not even sure they are laminate! But the people at the other site suggested that they might be. If that is teh case, does that mean paint is totally not an option any more?



I don't care if it doesn't look "the greatest." I have seen Celtic Moon's house and it is really an inspriation. I have been reading on paint gun techniques too.



This is what I had in mind:

Throw on a molding.

Paint them sage/winter moss

Get new hardward

Through on a matching counter

changing floors.



Believe it or not, I'd like to keep my project below3000.

[Lisa]

caddyb, I don't know where you are located, but I just researched a paint called cabinet coat that is supposedly capable of successfully painting laminate. It can only be tinted in lighter shades, but it sounded very promising.

[fisheggs]

Oooh..sage green with some sort of simple, brushed aluminum pulls would be really cool. If you do molding, I'd keep it simple, maybe a flat strip around the sides to make it look like a shaker door. You have a lot of doors, so I think any fancy molding might look overshelming.

[jen_va]

The right width of molding could cover holes left from the old pulls, if you were thinking of switching to either knobs or a different size pull (then you wouldn't have to mess with patching the old holes).

[kate1234]

I agree - very simple. It would be cheap AND fabulous!