Transform Your Space with these Creative Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Cabinet Update Ideas

If you’re planning to revamp your kitchen and think you need to discard your old cabinetry for it, then we’ve got good news for you - you don’t need to put your old cabinets away to renew your kitchen’s look! With some easy DIY ideas, you can update your old kitchen cabinetry without replacing it.

All you’ll need are paint, inserts, molding, and new hardware.

So, here are some creative do-it-yourself kitchen cabinet update ideas that give a professional look to your cabinetry, as well as refresh the overall look and feel of the heart of your home.

Creative Do-it-Yourself Kitchen Cabinet Update Ideas

#1. Decorative Edge

For this update, the things required are a cabinet door with an inset panel and 1-inch wooden ball knobs. Lay the balls on the panel’s inner edge, placing as many as possible along each side, spaced evenly. Secure the balls in place using a strong adhesive. When the adhesive dries, prime and paint your cabinet with the desired color, and then reattach the hardware.

#2. Glass Cabinet Door

You can add a glass panel to an old cabinet door to update its look. For a distinctive look, choose between ribbed, seeded, frosted, or clear glass. Remove the center panel with a router, and then, if desired, sand and paint it.

Cut the glass to size, having an extra half-inch on each side. Lay the glass on the frame’s back and secure it using clips. Then, reattach the hardware.

#3. Star Stenciled Door

Revamp an ordinary cabinet door with a beautiful painted design. Firstly, paint the cabinet with your preferred background color and allow it to dry. Next, tape a stencil on the door.

In case the door you’re working with consists of a recessed panel, the stencil might need to be cut to fit.

Then, paint the stencil’s open areas with a tapping motion with the help of a stencil paint brush. Finally, peel off the stencil and see your pretty painted pattern.

#4. Farmhouse Cabinets

Update your cabinetry with a barn-door-inspired design across the front of your Shaker-style cabinets. Cut a piece of wood trim that fits within the recessed panel lengthwise.

Then, secure it with wood glue. Next, to create a cross design, add two more wood trim pieces perpendicular to the first piece, and secure them in place with glue.

Cut angled wood trim pieces and secure them from corner to corner, making diagonal lines forming an X. Fill up any gaps between the trim pieces using wood filler. Then, sand, prime, and apply paint to the cabinet door.

#5. Refreshing Cabinet Look

Another interesting do-it-yourself kitchen cabinet update, this project involves the use of adhesive wallpaper to give your cabinetry a fresh look and feel.

Cut the wallpaper such that it fits inside the recessed panel of the cabinet. Peel off the backing of the adhesive about 2 inches down, and then line up the edge with the panel’s inner corner.

Pull back the adhesive backing slowly as you continue to attach the rest of the wallpaper.

#6. Copper Panel Cabinetry

To revamp your outdated kitchen cabinetry, all you need is a simple copper metal sheet.

Cut the copper sheet to the size of the raised panel of the door. Then, cut narrow wood trim pieces and make a frame around the sheet of copper.

Attach the wood trim pieces as well as the copper sheet to the panel of the cabinet using a pin nailer.

Next, create a printed design on the copper panel. For this, use a hammer and an awl for punching holes that are equally spaced, according to the design, into the copper sheet.

#7. Buffalo Check Painted Cabinetry

This farmhouse-inspired upgrade is another creative do-it-yourself kitchen cabinet update, which involves painting cabinet doors with buffalo check patterns.

Firstly, paint a recessed cabinet panel door white.

Next, with a ruler and pencil, create a grid of 2-inch squares on the surface of the inset panel.

Start with the vertical column on the far-right, and tape around every square using painter's tape.

Then, paint the exposed squares black while covering every row. Remove the tape once the paint has dried.

Then, tape the squares lying between the black squares on the same row, and paint them in gray.

Repeat the painting process for the second vertical column from the left side. 

For the rest of the rows, tape around each square, lining up horizontally with a black square, and paint the exposed squares in gray.

Once the paint is dry, remove the tape to see the buffalo check design.

#8. Cottage-Style Cabinets

This do-it-yourself kitchen cabinet update can present a beautiful cottage-like look and feel to your kitchen.

All you need is a little paint and simple embellishments. Get some wooden appliques from craft stores or home improvement centers.

Paint and attach them to the cabinet doors using wood glue. To get an antiqued look, mix a paint wash to lend a distressed finish.

Closing Thoughts

Typically, refacing kitchen cabinets is much less expensive than replacing them.

As refacing involves updating only the exterior of your cabinetry without altering the cabinet boxes, this process usually costs around 30 to 50 percent less than buying replacements.

So, it’s a smart idea to go for do-it-yourself kitchen cabinet update projects to give a unique appeal to your kitchen space within budget.