Updating Kitchen Cabinets: When And Why To Make The Change

Your cabinets play an important role in the look and function of your kitchen—knowing when and why to upgrade them can help you understand what you want from your cabinets, and what options you have.

You can get new doors—from wood doors to glass doors. You can refinish your existing doors. You can opt for new hardware or even new cabinet boxes to increase your kitchen storage. Before you think about all of your options, though—and there are a lot of options—let’s talk about why and when you should upgrade your cabinets. 

Why Upgrading Your Kitchen Cabinets Matters

There are basically three reasons why you might want to upgrade your kitchen cabinets:

• To improve the appearance of your kitchen

• To improve the functionality of your kitchen

• To increase storage space

The first one is pretty straightforward—if your kitchen is looking a bit drab, a cabinet refresh can breathe new life into it. 

As for functionality, there’s a lot that new cabinets can do, from giving you easy access to pots and pans with Lazy Susans and other storage functions to installing under-cabinet lighting to make it easier to find what you need.

Finally, increasing storage space isn’t just about increasing the size of your cabinets; it can also mean altering the layout of your cabinets to increase the overall space in your kitchen. 

Signs It’s Time To Upgrade Your Kitchen Cabinets

Visible Wear And Tear

There are a few different approaches to wear and tear on your cabinets. When your cabinet doors and drawer fronts are fading, scratched, or otherwise worn, you may be able to simply refinish your cabinets. Deep gashes, chips, and water damage may require more thorough work, like refacing, where the doors are replaced entirely.

In some circumstances, wear and tear can lead to poor functionality, which we’ll address in a moment—warping can make it hard to open doors, all while bringing down the aesthetics of your kitchen. 

Outdated Styling

When you’ve got cabinets from the ‘70s, it doesn’t matter if you try to update your kitchen to farmhouse, modern, contemporary, or coastal styles—you’re still going to wind up with a kitchen that looks like it hopped out of a time machine. Fortunately, refacing can often be enough to completely update the look of your cabinetry.

In many circumstances, however, you’ll want to opt to replace old, outdated cabinets entirely; new cabinets can boost the functionality of your kitchen, and you won’t have to worry about functional problems popping up because of the age of your cabinets. 

Poor Functionality

Drawers that don’t open and close properly, broken hinges, doors that don’t sit flush when they’re closed—these problems and more can plague old cabinets. In these circumstances, simple refacing or refinishing won’t do the trick—you’ll need more extensive repairs. Opting for new cabinets is usually a good idea when functionality is impaired, especially if the look of your cabinets is also outdated. 

Unpleasant Odour Or Damage

Unpleasant odours can come from things like spoiled food—but if you’ve thoroughly cleaned out your cabinets and there’s still an unpleasant odour coming from them, it’s likely you have mould, mildew, or another pernicious issue.

These problems can also be signs of warped, cracked wood—mould can grow in small gaps that are hard to see unless you’re actively looking for them. An unpleasant odour you can’t find the source of is a sign you may want to reface or replace your cabinets. 

Options For Upgrading Kitchen Cabinets

Broadly speaking, there are four different ways you can upgrade your kitchen cabinets:

• Repainting

• Refinishing

• Refacing

• Replacing

Repainting is exactly what it sounds like—applying a fresh coat of paint to your cabinets and drawers.

Refinishing involves removing existing stain or varnish from your cabinet doors and drawer fronts, sanding them down, fixing minor imperfections, and then resealing, varnishing, or staining your cabinets

Refacing involves replacing your cabinet drawers, doors, and the veneers on the front of your cabinet—it’s the restoration option if your cabinets are seriously damaged or in need of a dramatic change

Replacing your cabinets means removing them and installing new cabinets. This is a great option if the functionality of your cabinets has been impaired, if the cabinet boxes are damaged, if you’re looking to add storage space and functionality, and/or if you want to do a more drastic overhaul of your kitchen’s appearance. 

Tips For Choosing The Right Cabinet Design For Your Kitchen

Consider Your Kitchen’s Layout And Size

When you’re thinking about restoring or replacing your kitchen cabinets to upgrade your kitchen, the first thing to consider is your kitchen’s size and layout. Your existing cabinets probably fit relatively well, but if you’re considering restoring them, take a moment to think about whether or not new cabinets could improve the layout of your kitchen. Custom-made cabinets can increase the room in your kitchen all while increasing storage space and providing extra functionality. 

Think About Storage Needs

You may have moved into a place with cabinets already built in—it’s worth pausing and asking yourself if those cabinets are well-suited to your needs. Love wine? You might want cabinets with a wine rack. Love spices? You know what we’re thinking—a spice rack. Built-in garbage and recycling will help clean messes more quickly, Lazy Susans can help you access pots and pans—there are a whole slew of different storage options that can make cooking and hosting that much simpler. 

Match Your Home’s Aesthetic

Whether you’re repainting, refinishing, refacing, or replacing your cabinets, it’s a great time to think about your kitchen’s aesthetics—and find the perfect match. You can change the colour of your cabinets, as well as your cabinet hardware. Beyond that, if you’re replacing your cabinets, you can get a whole new style with decorative accents that match your aesthetics. 

How To Get Started With Your Kitchen Cabinet Upgrade

At True Millwork, we design, build, and install custom cabinets in Winnipeg and the surrounding area. We can replace your existing cabinets—or we can reface, refinish, or repaint your cabinets. It’s all up to you. 

In some circumstances, refreshing your existing cabinets will be the right choice. When your cabinet boxes are damaged or you need a more extensive renovation, however, replacement is often the best option.

Not sure which option is right for your cabinets? Contact us for cabinet woodworking in Winnipeg—we’ll help you decide!