Creative folks- Give me some ideas to refresh 90's kitchen

[Anonymous]

How would you refresh a 90's kitchen. Imagine whole nine yards including oak cabinets, dark granite counter tops, light tube box etc. AND we need to rescue it for a small budget on a weekend. We don't have time or budget to turn it into flavor of the day white and gray wonder. Thank you for volunteering!

[Anonymous]

How is anyone supposed to help you with 1) no pictures 2) no budget 3) idea of your capabilities (e.g. are you able to tile and replace the backsplash?) I mean really, what a lazy question.

[Anonymous]

These articles have some ideas :

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/real-reader-kitchens-5-dated-honey-oak-spaces-how-a-design-expert-would-make-them-better

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/5-color-palettes-to-freshen-up-a-tired-honey-oak-kitchen

[Anonymous]

And BTW white and gray has jumped the shark. Thank God.

[Anonymous]

In a weekend, without $$$$, I think you are probably limited to wall color and relatively easy light fixtures (eg where you can just swap one out— which you may not be able to do with a tube light box). And maybe handles/pulls if your cabinets have them.

DIY cabinet painting will take more than a weekend to do right. Getting rid of the tube lights would be great but will probably involve massive electical needs to put in can lights around the kitchen or some other kind of recessed overhead lighting— and then you’d need to fix and repaint the ceiling where you took it off.

Why does it bother you and why does it need to be done in a weekend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These articles have some ideas :

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/real-reader-kitchens-5-dated-honey-oak-spaces-how-a-design-expert-would-make-them-better

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/5-color-palettes-to-freshen-up-a-tired-honey-oak-kitchen

These links are very misleading. The issue with those honey oak kitchens that homebuyers now hate is not the color, as much as the style and quality of cabinets. In all her "inspo" pictures, the oak cabinets happen to be not the 1990s Home Depot special. If your oak cabinets are shaker or European style flat fronts, or it's the beautiful tiger oak, you have lots more space for maneuver.

OP, your only choices are really accessories, hardware, lighting, repainting the walls and adding floor coverings. I personally don't like rugs or floor mats in the kitchen, but some people say it's very practical. Depending on what's currently there, a new backsplash might be a possibility.

[Anonymous]

Take down some uppers and replace with open shelving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles have some ideas :

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/real-reader-kitchens-5-dated-honey-oak-spaces-how-a-design-expert-would-make-them-better

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/5-color-palettes-to-freshen-up-a-tired-honey-oak-kitchen

These links are very misleading. The issue with those honey oak kitchens that homebuyers now hate is not the color, as much as the style and quality of cabinets. In all her "inspo" pictures, the oak cabinets happen to be not the 1990s Home Depot special. If your oak cabinets are shaker or European style flat fronts, or it's the beautiful tiger oak, you have lots more space for maneuver.

OP, your only choices are really accessories, hardware, lighting, repainting the walls and adding floor coverings. I personally don't like rugs or floor mats in the kitchen, but some people say it's very practical. Depending on what's currently there, a new backsplash might be a possibility.

That’s a fair point re: the second link, but the first link that shows actual reader kitchens does include kitchens with oak cabinets with the outdated arched doors, etc., and includes suggestions like paint, hardware, floor coverings, etc. I agree that making the suggested changes won’t look like the “inspo” from the first link, unless doors are changed, but it would refresh and make them somewhat less dated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles have some ideas :

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/real-reader-kitchens-5-dated-honey-oak-spaces-how-a-design-expert-would-make-them-better

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/5-color-palettes-to-freshen-up-a-tired-honey-oak-kitchen

These links are very misleading. The issue with those honey oak kitchens that homebuyers now hate is not the color, as much as the style and quality of cabinets. In all her "inspo" pictures, the oak cabinets happen to be not the 1990s Home Depot special. If your oak cabinets are shaker or European style flat fronts, or it's the beautiful tiger oak, you have lots more space for maneuver.

OP, your only choices are really accessories, hardware, lighting, repainting the walls and adding floor coverings. I personally don't like rugs or floor mats in the kitchen, but some people say it's very practical. Depending on what's currently there, a new backsplash might be a possibility.

That’s a fair point re: the second link, but the first link that shows actual reader kitchens does include kitchens with oak cabinets with the outdated arched doors, etc., and includes suggestions like paint, hardware, floor coverings, etc. I agree that making the suggested changes won’t look like the “inspo” from the first link, unless doors are changed, but it would refresh and make them somewhat less dated.

Correction that won’t look like the “inspo” from the second link.

[Anonymous]

Have cabinets professionally painted and update the hardware. This takes some time. Replace countertops and change appliances unless the appliances are relatively new.

[Anonymous]

Change out the cabinet doors if outdated. Semihandmade does door fronts.

[Anonymous]

One issue with painting the old honey oak cabinets is that the grain on this oak is very prominent and will show through paint. To hide it it’s a very time intensive grain filling process. We are planning on painting them a dark matte finish without filling the grain and saving up to replace. We fortunately already have recessed lighting and our cabinets don’t have the curved top frame. But we’ve got the shiny dark green granite and beautiful tumbled tile backsplash! We are considering using smart tile temporarily to update the look.

[Anonymous]

You could consider gel staining the cabinets to change up the color, though you can’t go lighter with that. On the plus side a darker finish might make those arched doors less noticeable. It is to me more DIY-friendly especially if this is just an interim refresh while saving to do more. That is far cheaper than professionally painted (which would likely be better quality) but will take your time, still doable in a weekend.

Otherwise if keeping cabinets as-is I think your options are already covered above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take down some uppers and replace with open shelving.

Omg please do not do this op

[Anonymous]

We painted ours without doing any grain filling and it’s fine, better than nothing. You can see the grain in some lights but it’s not egregious. We also built them up to the ceiling with molding which I think makes the biggest difference. We added a simple, inexpensive subway tile backsplash and higher end polished nickel hardware and light fixtures. These changes took a little over a week. Still waiting on countertops and flooring but these improvements make it feel like a completely different space.