Kitchen Cabinets

The Kitchen Of Your Dreams

Stop and envision your kitchen as an empty slate. Remove all of the cabinets, the appliances, the furniture, even the floor – everything that's in the room – so that you can start over. If you had the money and the opportunity, what do you see your kitchen looking like? There are lots of photos online of gorgeous kitchens with beautiful cabinets, but which kind of look is it that you're wanting for your own home? Do you want something traditional like Mom used to have, a cozy country kitchen, or something sleek and modern? Are you the DIY type who wants to install new kithchen cabinets yourself and save a ton of money? Anything is possible when you're dreaming, so what is it that you can picture in your home?

I visited a new home in California a few months back, and it was designed with the most beautiful kitchen imaginable. Everything was rich, dark woods polished to a burnished sheen, and all the accessories matched so perfectly. I couldn't help but think about my own kitchen, which really isn't that  bad, but it isn't a showplace, either. Could I see the cabinets from the California house in my own kitchen? No, they just wouldn't be right for the space I have to put them. Although the design was beautiful, it would take a much more opulent home to make it look like it was a good fit. So much for that idea then.

What can you do to make your kitchen fit into your home décor and look more like the kitchen of your dreams?  Here are some suggestions:

You can try to match your cabinets with the woodwork in the rest of your home.
You can paint your cabinets to blend or contrast with your wall color.
You can refinish cabinets to give them a darker or lighter finish.
You can reface your cabinets or add new doors.
You can buy new cabinets that will better blend into your home.
You can replace old cabinets with unfinished cabinetry and then either stain or paint them.
You can replace cabinet hardware to give it a brand new look.

Just because your home came with a certain type of kitchen cabinets and a specific style, it doesn't mean that you're stuck with that decor forever. If your kitchen seems dark and dreary, painting cabinets white can go a long way towards brightening up the space. If you have too little storage space, you can install cabinet organizers. Try changing the fabric on your kitchen chair seat cushions to perk up the room. Even if you can't afford to gut your kitchen and start from scratch, there are a lot of things you can do to make your kitchen more like the kitchen of your dreams.