My kitchen (in desperate need of a face lift!).
Every time I walk into my kitchen, I wince. No, it’s not the piles of dishes in the sink or the overflowing recycling bin that’s getting me down—it’s the sight of my drab, dated kitchen cabinets.
We moved into our home two years ago, but since we’ve had to do a lot of energy saving and liveability improvements in that time, a kitchen remodel has remained on the back burner. Remodelling is so far down on the budget and “To Do” list that I may retire before I get a new kitchen. In the meantime, I was determined to do something to make me smile when I walk in. After doing a bit of research, it turns out what I need are new cabinet doors.
As a home remodeling newbie, I wasn’t aware that you can just swap out your old doors for shiny new ones and instantly transform an out-of-date kitchen, without emptying your bank account. This year, my Christmas present to myself is to reface my kitchen cabinets. The unexpected benefit of this transformation, however, is all the exciting upcycling projects I’ll be able to do with the old cabinet doors. I’m something of an upcycling fanatic, and I love finding new uses for old things. The prospect of about 30 solid wood cabinet doors coming my way has sent me on an inspiration spree.
Below are my favorite five ideas for upcycling old cabinet doors into something beautiful and useful.
1. Stencilled Serving Tray
Trays are a useful addition to any home, especially if you have children. They are perfect for anything from homework and craft projects to quick meals and entertaining, and I plan on making at least three or four serving trays with my doors. I was particularly inspired by this stencilled design by the blogger at CraftyNest.com. With just a stencil and some drawer pulls, she transformed a cupboard door into a beautiful serving tray. Get the full tutorial here.
2. Cabinet Coat Rack
My mother always says you can never have enough hooks in your home. Inspired by this post from Gail at MyRepurposedLife.com, I plan on taking the longer cabinet doors from my old kitchen cabinets and turning them into coat racks for each of my children’s rooms. Yes, I hold out hope that they will actually use them!
3. Cupboard Drawer Caddy
I am something of a Mason jar junkie. I use Mason jars, as well as regular recycled jars, for all sorts of things in my house. Be it laundry detergent, spare change, flowers or paintbrushes, there’s not a lot you can’t put in a jar! I am definitely going to use Lindsay’s DIY Mason Jar Caddy tutorial from her blog, MyCreativeDays. She used pieces of an old organ, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to repurpose the drawer fronts from my kitchen into at least two of these charming, shabby chic caddies.
4. Crafty Children’s Work Station
This brilliant upcycling project from Mindi at MyLove2Create.com is definitely at the top of my list for reusing a big chunk of my cabinet doors. I have two children in desperate need of separate workspaces (my dining room table is not large enough to keep them at arms distance for much longer). Mindi created this masterpiece out of just six cabinet doors, a few shelves and some barn wood. Genius!
5. Picture/Artwork frame
This last one will be for my husband, who is constantly complaining about our children’s artwork cluttering up the fridge or taped to our kitchen wall. It’s not as if he doesn’t love their work, he just doesn’t like our kitchen “looking like a craft room.” Once we have our new cabinets, I’ll use a few old ones to create these clever artwork display holders for the wall, thanks to Jessie’s great directions over at dimplicity.com. I love how easy it will be to swap out the artwork, and there’s a little nameplate to make sure you give the correct artist recognition!
I think I’m actually more excited about my new upcycling projects than I am about my new kitchen cabinets right now, but I’m sure that will change once I get those shiny, new doors in place. However, it is really good to know I won’t be contributing to the landfill with my remodeling project and that I’ll be able to give new life to those dated, drab, wince-inducing cabinets.
Jennifer Tuohy is a self-proclaimed upcycle junkie and tries to re-use things that she no longer has uses for. Since Jennifer is looking to install new cabinet doors in her kitchen, she especially likes to provide ideas upcycling kitchen cabinets. If you too are looking to upgrade your kitchen cabinets, visit www.homedepot.com for a bunch of kitchen cabinet options.
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