The Dreaded Kitchen Cabinet Project is Finally Done!

8 Materials
$30.00
3
Medium
My kitchen cabinets are the same shoddy ones as are in the bathroom that I posted here . I am so excited that they are finally finished.
About half way through I was starting to wonder "What the heck am I doing?!"
I'm sure you remember that painting directly on them was not possible.
These were in worse shape than I thought. Swollen edges, "paper" peeling, etc. Just pain unsightly and embarrassing. New cabinets weren't in the budget.
I knew they were really messed up around the edges....
But I didn't realize they also had little bubble/bumps throughout, under the "paper"
So after much scraping.....
And sanding, they were finally smooth enough....
for the next step.....
which involved...
you guessed it! more Mod Podge!!
So this was my idea....
I didn't want to copy what I did with the Bathroom Cabinets
And I've always wanted painted white kitchen cabinets...
not the pristine new looking type, but older looking cabinets with tons of coats of paint on them. You know the ones that have all that character!
Since the cabinets couldn't take paint directly.....


I decided to cover them in fabric then paint them.
I was on my way out the door to purchase fabric when
my light bulb finally flickered. 
I don't need to buy it, I have lots of sheets stored in the garage!
Whenever I see decent sheets at a yard sale I pick them up.
They are nice big pieces of fabric that come in handy for 
so many projects....yup like this one icon
So I proceeded to cover all my cabinets...
doors and frames.
It was a patch work of colors for a while icon
Once dry I moved onto the next step...
paint!


I decided to paint the inside too...
since it was bare particle board/or whatever these
were made of no fabric was necessary. Whew! 
I was able to just paint like normal.


The insides look so much nicer painted
At last they were all painted.
 Using paint I had from a previous project,
I applied 2 coats of paint, letting each dry thoroughly in between.
(It didn't matter to me that the paint was flat because I was using Mod Podge Gloss, so it would have a sheen no matter what finish the paint had.)


I installed drawer pulls and cabinet knobs and 
even little felt corners for the doors.
OK Here we go...the big reveal!
but we must have some before pictures....
Now the After
I truly am in LOVE with them!
They are perfectly imperfect.
There are boo boos here and there that gives them character...
like they've been around for a long while.
I added about 4-5 coats of Mod Podge over the paint,
so clean up is a breeze!


It's been about 5+ years and I have to say they are holding up great!
In fact I realized I didn't have a photo of the lower cabinets, so the last photo is of the cabinets today!
Suggested materials:
  • Fabric   (garage sale)
  • Paint   (from previous project)
  • Mod Podge   (Walmart)
See all materials
Debbie/Dragonfly Treasure
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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4 of 10 comments
  • Hillela G. Hillela G. on Apr 24, 2017

    Beautiful makeover!

  • Lisa Lisa on May 04, 2017

    These are my kitchen cabinets!!!! Thank you so much for the inspiration and hope. We don't have the money to get all new cabinets but this looks like I can try it. Same cabinets amazing!! I will send you pics once I get started.

    • So glad I gave you hope! I was beside myself as what to do with them. Is it that much more for builders to put decent cabinets in? so frustrating. Can't wait to see your photos! ♥
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