Paint the cabinets
If you have those dated oak cabinets and you want to change them, paint them. It's a great way to do a kitchen makeover without spending a fortune. It will do wonders for your space and save you a lot of money. And, importantly, it's a much faster process vs installing new cabinets and counter tops.
Colours such as creams and beiges can make a kitchen look elegant and expensive. If your kitchen is modern, you can use dark colours, such as blacks and greys, which can make it look lavish and extravagant. White reflects light and makes the space look bigger, so complement white with some wood and metallic highlights.
As mentioned earlier, cabinetry usually tends to be the most expensive part of a kitchen remodel. It can cost up to $15,000 even in a relatively minor remodel with a budget of about $30,000. In an upscale remodel, choosing kitchen cabinets can take up nearly 20 to 40 percent of the entire budget.
Change Fixtures and Hardware
If your kitchen features dated brass light fixtures and hardware, swapping them out for new pieces is an inexpensive way to update your kitchen. Look for fixtures and hardware with a finish that has a more classic look such as stainless steel, nickel or chrome.
Cabinet refacing is the process of replacing cabinet skin panels to give your kitchen a dramatic new look. Your cabinets may be scratched or cracked, or you may simply desire a change — much like replacing a perfectly good smartphone with the latest model.
Honey Oak Cabinets
A staple in kitchens of the 1980s and '90s, these golden-toned wood cabinets have fallen out of favor as white and gray cabinets have risen in popularity. If you don't like your light-stained cabinets, but they're in good shape, consider refinishing or painting what's there.
Melamine is a popular plastic material used in modern home cabinetry. It is very durable and has a wide variety of hue and pattern possibilities. Melamine fused with plywood is also the most sustainable option for cabinetry.
Installing flooring before your cabinets is the best choice for most hardwood floors. When professionals install floors then cabinets, it's easier to get everything to standard heights. It's also a safer installation process for your cabinets since you won't risk any damage to them as professionals install the floors.
The average homeowner will spend $3,200 to $8,500 to replace their kitchen cabinets of average quality in a standard size kitchen. The average cost of kitchen cabinets ranges between $160 and $380 per linear foot for stock or semi-custom styles, and up to $1,000 per linear foot for custom cabinetry.
The total average cost of installing cabinets is $5,050, while installing countertops costs $3,300. The material is the greatest cost factor, averaging less than $1,200 for laminate countertops and less than $3,250 for solid surfaces.
While plastic laminate costs a bit more than melamine, it is more resistant to moisture, chemicals, heat and force. Working with plastic laminate takes a fair bit of skill and more specialized machinery than building with melamine.
Melamine is cheaper than laminate as it is manufactured by a method which is not cost intensive. Laminate is more durable than melamine and more resistant to heat and chemicals. Melamine is produced with a pressure of just 300-500psi while to make a laminate a pressure of 1400psi is required.
Retailers usually carry melamine in white, almond, gray, black, and beige. If a store doesn't have a specific solid color of melamine in stock, ask if they can order it for you.
However, oak cabinets are currently in the middle of making a comeback. There are several possible reasons for this. First, homeowners are looking for warmth and authenticity in their kitchens. Natural wood checks all the boxes.
Honey would be closest to the natural wood color. The Golden has a yellowish/orange tint but still close to the natural wood color and Red oak is much darker and a brownish red.
So yes, refacing cabinets is almost always cheaper than replacing them entirely. The only exception would be if you wanted to replace your old kitchen cabinet with VERY basic and cheap cabinets rather than refacing them with a more luxurious front-facing design.