Do you ever wish you could do a Kitchen Renovation, but not sure where to start?

2011-05-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

You’ve worked hard all day and when you go into your Kitchen, it just doesn’t inspire you like the Kitchens you see on T.V. or in those Remodelling Magazines.

One of the first thoughts of remodeling a Kitchen usually is about cost. Looking at brand new Kitchens can be very discouraging with costs ranging from a very low of $25,000 and up!

Especially now during these uncertain economic times, all of us are looking for ways to keep our costs down.

Hi again. Margery Smith here from The Strippers Furniture Refinishing. Having redone my own Kitchen 3 years ago, I did a lot of leg work visiting stores, and time spent with renovators looking at different ideas and adding up the costs.

Well, I have a nice surprise for you – here’s how to have you existing Kitchen upgraded for less than half of new.

Here are 4 low cost, low disruptions to your everyday routine:

Have your Kitchen cupboards refinished.
While you are having the cupboards redone, you may want to upgrade the sink and counter top
Perhaps even convert hard to reach storage space in the lower cupboard areas, to pull out cupboards.
Change the hardware.

There are other features that can be looked at also, such as floors and appliances, but they have similar costs from various suppliers. It would be best to add them after the Kitchen Renovations were completed on your cupboards.

Let’s look at #1 – Kitchen Cupboards refinished:

How much of the work you want to do yourself will depend on your available time and your skills. Most of us can use a screw driver and take hardware off, kitchen cupboard doors off and drawers out. If not, that service can be provided also.

Before you get to that step, take pictures of your kitchen, measure the size of the doors and drawers and how many you have in each size. Then make a trip our store - The Strippers on Gage Ave, with your camera and list of sizes and a sample drawer or door.

Our expert on Kitchen refinishing – Rita, will then assess what can be done with the cupboards. If you have good quality wooden doors, and would like to keep the look of the wood, but want a light to dark colour or same colour or medium colour stain – whatever you dream kitchen looks like to you – even painted, just ask Rita.

Even if your cupboards are average quality, many times you can get a high end look with a fresh coat of paint, professionally primed and spray painted.

It can be hard to visualize what the finished product will look like in your Kitchen, with floors and wall colours, so Rita can provide you with a sample door in the stain colour you are thinking of, which you can take home. Look at the sample in the morning light and evening light.

If you are upgrading your hardware, now is the time to pick out the new hardware. If any of the screw nail holes need to be filled or new ones drilled, now is the time to do it before the new finish is applied.

You can save a lot of leg work by looking at different web sites of the local retailers who offer hardware. Note the size of your existing hardware by measuring the distance from the centre of the two holes for a handle. If you are converting from handles to knobs, then take a knob into The Strippers, along with the back plate if there is one.

For items #2 and # 3 I have asked Dmitri from Demas Woodworx to explain the steps and tips on these types of Kitchen Renovations, in our next post.

Dmitri is a skilled cabinet builder, with lots of great Remodeling ideas to help you pull the ideas you have together. Maybe it’s just installing a new counter top and sink that you’ve already picked out. Or maybe you need the cabinets altered, crown moulding added, or pull out drawers installed. Whatever you have in mind, Dmitri can create for you.

I hired Dmitri to do work at my house, and the first items that came through the door were his broom and dust pan! Not only does Dmitri and his crew do top notch work, everything is left, neat and tidy and clean at the end of each day.

Call The Strippers for help with your Kitchen Renovation .

Furniture Refinishing in Kitchener Waterloo

Do you ever wish you could do a Kitchen Renovation, but not sure where to start?