Don’t think that a full-scale kitchen renovation is the only way to go; you
can have an updated look by simply changing the doors and drawer fronts and
refinishing the cabinets to match.
“It’s a little less intimidating to some clients to reface than gutting the
kitchen down to the floor,” says Tracy Maxwell of Granite Transformations.
According to Maxwell, leaving some fundamental elements as they are saves
money, time and disruption in your home. Working with the existing cabinets is
more cost effective coming in at about 40 per cent less than installing new
cabinets, she explains. Reusing the original cabinet shells is an
environmentally friendly approach as well, resulting in less material ending up
in the landfill, adds the business owner.
Customers have two options for this type of kitchen update. If they want to
update wooden cabinets, today’s wide variety of wood veneers make it easy to
match existing cabinets.
“Nothing matches the beauty and timelessness of a wood door,” Maxwell advises.
She says that cabinets built 50 years ago are made of solid wood that can be
sanded and re-stained. Newer cabinets incorporate laminate and other non-wood
products on edges, sides and interiors that can’t be stained. Veneers work
perfectly to cover man-made materials and are matched precisely with the stain
on the new doors. Replacing rather than re-staining doors allows you to change
the door style as well.
A durable and more modern option is doors and drawer fronts made of MDF or
fibre board. Maxwell suggests that this fabricated product is less susceptible
to changes in humidity and looks great when painted. MDF lends itself extremely
well to modern high gloss finishes. Colour choices are endless with this type
of refit.
“You wouldn’t paint over wood in a new cabinet door,” she says.
Consider how tough the Vinyl siding on a house is and then consider that kind
of resilience in kitchen cabinets. Vinyl is wrapped around and MDF core to
create a product called Thermafoil. Maxwell explains that his easy-to-maintain
cabinet material is now colour protected so it looks brand new for a long time.
Like outdoor siding, it can handle the elements as they relate to a kitchen –
steam, grease and fingerprints. Not only will they survive that harsh
environment, they wipe clean with a cloth.
Granite Transformations has a showroom that features 15 kitchens as well as
many sample door styles. Visitors to the Oakville showroom can take advantage
of expert advice from a design consultant who can assist in selecting a
suitable style.
To find out more about the offerings at Granite Transformations, visit
www.granitetransformations.com.
