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How to Update Your Kitchen On a Budget: DIY
28
items How to update your outdated kitchen with a reasonable amount of work for a limited budget.
Sections
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Process
Products
Process
Helpful articles and demonstrations for going about your kitchen update
Helpful page to remove and install cabinet hardware
How to Replace Kitchen Cabinet Hardware Yourself
This step is key to have good primer and paint adhesion. Good adhesion will make your update last and keep it looking great year after year.
How to Clean Cabinets Before Painting: Ultimate Guide with ...
Sanding before you paint is not “necessary” step but we highly recommended it to improve your paint adhesion and to give your update a more professional appearance. To really elevate your project, follow sanding with applications of AquaCoat cabinet ...
How To Sand A Cabinet Door - Ace Hardware
For our kitchen update, we went for a timeless white look- prepping and painting our old well worn oak cabinets, replacing handles/pulls and hinges with timeless stainless steal to match our appliances, and changing out our old dingy tan Formica coun...
Ideas for Updating Outdated Kitchen Cabinets
Tips for planning your kitchen update
How to Coordinate Kitchen Flooring & Cabinets With Countertops
Products
These are the products we used to complete our kitchen transformation
TSP or TSP substitute is a great degreaser and heavy duty cleaner to use to clean your cabinets. After using you will probably be grossed out to find what you never knew was stuck to your cabinets. Make sure to wipe down with water after washing with...
TSP Cleaning & Prep
A painters tool was the one tool we didn't know we needed until we were given one. It is a true multi-tool and can do so, so many things. We won't start another project without it.
15-in-1 Painter's Tool
This sanding block makes it easy to get into the tight places, like cabinet corners or small edges on your cabinet facings.
Dual Density Angled Sanding Block With 5 Assorted SandNET Sheets
This electric palm sander made quick work of sanding the bulk of the cabinets. You just need to be careful not to sand too hard or too long in one spot.
DEWALT 3-Amp Corded Orbital Sander with Dust ... - Lowe's
This primer dries quick and is shellac based so you don't have to sand only degrease and heavy clean. It is still highly recommended to sand though.
1 gal. B-I-N Shellac-Based White Interior Primer and Sealer
After much research this was determined to be the best paint for the job.
Benjamin Moore Paint - Advance
Quartz is not going to be your most economical choice for updating counter tops to go with your freshly updated cabinets, but there is a wide range of options, colors, and prices available at Lowes. We ended up choosing a “dove white” Caesarstone Qua...
Caesarstone Quartz
If you don't want to spend as much on a stone counter top update like quartz, Laminate can give you a nice aesthetic on a tighter budget.
Stone look alike- Laminate counter tops
Browse sinks to fit your look, budget, counter top choice, and space available- If updating the sink/drain you can choose to DIY the plumbing installation (we consulted youtube) or hire a plumbing professional.
Kitchen Sinks at Lowes.com
You should protective gloves when cleaning Kitchen cabinets with TSP or TSP substitute- I chose vinyl gloves as Nitrile and Latex are irritating to my sensitive skin.
Vinyl Gloves in First Aid(1000+)
Always have a good pair of work gloves on hand when sanding, doing cabinet/counter top demo, or installation.
Work Gloves - Workwear
120 grit sandpaper for your initial pass of sanding the wood
120 grit - Sandpaper - Sanding Supplies
320 grit sandpaper for sanding between applications of aquacoat grain filler
320 grit - Sandpaper - Sanding Supplies
Aquacoat cabinet grain filler can take your painting project from looking like it was DIY to looking like you paid thousands to have your cabinets professionally done. One tub goes a long way. You can apply AquaCoat to the wood surface with the speci...
AquaCoat Cabinet Grain Filler
Use painters tape to protect your appliances or anything else you don't want painted during your update process! Taping everything off takes a little extra time but it is worth it to have those clean-crisp edges on your project!
Painters Tape at Lowes.com
When selecting your cabinet hardware, you can customize your choices to meet your budget, aesthetic, and the needs of your family. If you have small children we'd recommend a soft close hinge update to help protect little fingers.
Cabinet Hinges - Hardware - The Home Depot
If nothing else in your kitchen is updated, selecting new handles and pulls can make a difference with very little work involved.
Drawer pulls and cabinet handles
We used a pop-up paint booth and a paint sprayer to speed up the painting process of cabinet doors and drawers, and to help ensure a smooth finish. Totally doable to go without and use just brushes or rollers for your project
Pop up Spray Booths
Using a handheld sprayer took a little bit of practice to get an even coating on the edges of cabinet doors, but we believe it was well worth it for the results of our smooth, even finish. We could not have used a sprayer for this project without get...
Paint Sprayers - Paint Applicators
These rollers made paint application on the cabinet boxes go super quickly. No messy globs or bad coverage areas.
High density foam roller
1.5inch angle brush- purdy brand for getting the corners and edges
1.0-1.5 inch Purdy Paint Brush
Mineral Spirits to clean brushes used with BIN Primer
Mineral Spirit
Lowes gift card
Lowes gift card