I have yucky metal kitchen cabinets, is there a faux wood looking some
by
Norma
+49
Any suggestions are helpful!
wood look contact paper maybe
I would paint them with rustoleum in a new color I love. That would make them feel like new and brighten everything up.
I think you're lucky to have them. I recently painted my vintage metal sink base with Rust-Oleum and it looks terrific.
Wood Venere comes in sheets & rolls and is easily glued and trimmed with a utility blade. It can be stained and sealed with polyurethane.
There is also a painting technique where you paint a thick coating of the color you wish to use and with a woodgrained rubber tool you drag and roll it through the wet paint and it gives it a green like look. Once you get the look you want, let it dry and add a couple coats of polyurethane for protection. Some hardware stores sell this in a kit.
Good Luck!
I love metal cabinets! Paint them and remember they can hold magnets!!!
I saw an amazing treatment done to metal kitchen cabinets at a party I attended. The owner owned an auto body shop. He ground down the cabinets to bare metal and used a clear coat on top. Of course the whole room had industrial chic details and accessories. It was pretty well done.
I would not advise a "fake" wood look. Embrace the metal cabinets and paint them a bright color. There are beautiful turquoise shades available today or red would give you a real retro look. I would suggest you use a sprayer and not brush on color. Just be sure to prep the cabinets properly, so you get a good finish. Good Luck.
I would Go with Susan Bice and use a Rustoleum and you can get it in any color. but first try and get any rust or grease off of them, maybe a light sanding but make sure all grit is off before using rustoleum or any primer and paint . good luck wish I had them and you had my wood ones
I would paint them a bright new color and get new drawer pulls. Good advice from Martha!
There are paint tools to make it look like wood but personal I like the metal. You could paint some with chalkboard paint then it could be a "to do" or "grocery" list door, using the cabinets to hold spices in little containers with magnets attached to the containers.
Remember it's always greener on the other side of the mountain and then you find out they just painted it to look that way!
Good luck and have a colorful day!
You can do a faux wood look. First you sand the cabinets, then put on a primer for metal, then put on a base layer of paint. To get the wood grain, use a rubber woodgrain tool sold in paint stores with a Gel stain. You have to experiment a little to get the look you want. I helped a friend do this with white plastic. She wanted a dark oak look. We actually ended up using an orange paint for the base layer followed by a Jacobean gel stain. The grain tool is easy, you use a rocking motion as you drag it across the surface of the wet gel stain. That said, looking at your picture, I would use color on the cabinets. Perhaps a different color for the top cabinets.
I agree with the idea to paint them a color you love. Remember, it's just paint. I'd definitely spray paint them. If you are afraid of color, paint them a rich creamy color then you can accessorize with color and change often.
Wood look contact paper are nor indicated, especially in kitchens...!!! If you like wood, you can replace the doors by wood panels in the same size. Or, you can paint it as fake wood... You apply a first layer in a color, a second one in an ather color, and before this one dry, you pass a fake wood paint comb (it looks like a manual shaver with a larger and curved plate with curved lines engraved on it). With a littel experiment before, you'll have a great final look.
Then you apply a varnish finish. A bit long, but might be cheaper than wood panel, or safer and stronger than wood look contact paper.
I like the idea of painting with a high gloss in your favorite bright color. Another idea on the wood grain: paint in a bright color and use the wood graining tool after applying a muted shade of the base color or coordinating color for a fantasy wood grain.
gel stain can be used to make a faux wood surface and adheres to that type of surface well.
metal cabinets can be beautiful... i'd paint them (as others have said) and put new knobs and handles on.. i would re do the kitchen counter if i was going to spend the money on something right now. then again, once you paint the cabinets.. it may look great! i think your floor needs a update too. painting it or using the bag technique would look really nice. then save up for one project in your kitchen you really want to change or need to. good luck!
Contact paper in wood grain?
I had those great metal cupboards in my old house. I painted them and they came out beautifully!
How I'd love to have those vintage metal cabinets!! Paint them in your favorite color and keep those beautiful silver knobs on the bottom!!
I agree!! Paint them! A Retro color would be awesome!
I say paint them. Here's a picture of an updated kitchen with metal cabinets.
We have metal upper cabinets at our lake home and like them. They are a light gray and perfect! Fake wood will always look "fake".
You could paint them black and get those small glass knobs. That would look fantastic!
Hi Debbie, I reinvented my Mom's kitchen a few years back, the only thing left to do in a kitchen full of wood trim was the white metal door. A painter friend mixed some varnish and stain in the color we needed then with a 4" brush I painted long streaks from top to bottom, It's beautiful and looks just like a real wood door. I'm sure you could use this same method on your cabinets. Good Luck
You can easily bring some real wood accent elements to your cabinet doors by staining some wood trim in whatever color you desire & gluing that trim to edges of doors. Inside the trim, there's many options from paints, to wall paper, to contact paper to novelty signs & decorative inserts to fit your fav colors & decor styles. Have fun with it.
+1 on the idea of doing your floor or lighting instead, and really cleaning then painting your cupboards. You might even find that with a new floor and clean cupboards that you needn't do anything to them at all!
retro and vintage is definitely in! Go for a retro diner look or a retro kitchen look from the 50's. I would paint them with rustoleum, the paint really holds up well. Then paint your kitchen a complementary color or part of an old retro color scheme...white and black, white and red, turquoise and yellow... go to some vintage stores and look for old diner or food metal signs. And them go chrome with lighting fixtures and old chrome table and chairs even.
Properly prep all the cabinets and paint them with a good quality paint like rutoleum preferably a spray paint so there wouldn't be any brush marks. You could put some stenciling on them if you like to dress them up, new knobs or pulls and I think you could make them look gorgeous again. Contact paper would just peal so I wouldn't want to use that myself.
I HAD METAL CABINETS AT ONE TIME. I COVERED THEM IN WOOD GRAIN CONTACT PAPER. THEY REALLY LOOKED GOOD. LIK REAL WOOD CABINETS.
I used contact paper on a cabinet (wood grain) back in the 1970's
I remember martha stewart doing a faux wood technique.It looked really good. Maybe look that up - online and on you-tube. i can never get the bubbles out of contact paper- a wood grain wallpaper maybe, or a stencil and a pretty color .
No wood contact paper! Yuck! If you don't want to use rustolem~which is a great suggestion ~ then have you considered chalk paint? Beautiful colors, easy to apply, but I repeat~no wood contact paper ever!! wish I had my metal cabinets again.
First you would paint (make sure paint is good for metal) them the color you desire the grain to be, then put the top coat in the wood color you want, and drag over them using a wood grain tool. I would put a top coat on too.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1957318&KPID=1885392&cid=CAPLA:G:Shopping_-_Catch_All_-_DT_-_RLSA&pla=pla_1885392&k_clickid=33a595da-fe06-4e02-b3d4-9f982708a6a9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F12rzALu1EI
You could also use paintable wallpaper. It comes in different patterns and can be removed later if you want the metal look back. You can find it at Lowe's or most any other home store.
Thank you! Will definately look into it!
I would look for a picture that represents your taste. Depending on how big your kitchen is and what you keep in your upper cabinets, you might consider removing some and putting up shelves, as that seems to be a trend. This allows you to paint the remainder and add in some wood touches to get the look and feel you want. Beware....visualize any changes along with the things you do not want to change! Countertops can get expensive and your flooring is neutral, so that would be the last thing I worried about. Backsplashes, wall paint, and window covering are generally easy and can be inexpensive and will make a huge difference! Personally, I think metal cabinets sound exciting! But I like a clean, simple, calm colors, industrial minimalist look also.
Has anyone ever used wallpaper. I am a wallpaper fanatic with truly ugly metal cabinets. Have thought about an interesting wallpaper and maybe 'frame' it with thin veneer or something that would not impact opening or closing. I also drool over the magnetic 'covers' for frigs and dishwashers and wonder how much trouble these would be to trim or modify for cabinets and drawers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIZZfzCVmLo