Well, I liked them 15 years ago.....but what do I do with them now? I don't really feel like replacing them - don't want to make that investment at this point. Is there anything that can be done to bring them into the 21st century? I also have formica counters that I would like to replace.....if I update the counters to granite or something like that, will the oak cabinets bother me less or more??? HELP!

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

You can always paint them either black or white and then put new hardware on? If they're still in good shape? Or just get the refacing done, that must be cheaper than all new?

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

Can you strip them and restain them?

I would not go with white, or any painted type, really, since the paint tends to chip.

Talk a walk around Home Depot or Lowe's and see what is out now, and what your options are.

I think replacing the counters would be a nice change.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

The thing with oak is that it has high grain...I'm not sure it would look to good with paint....kwim?

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

how about a cherry colored stain?

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Painting them is always an option, but I would be afraid the paint would chip. Sanding them down and restaining them is another option. They both sound like a lot of work, LOL. Maybe take a look into buying some unfinished cabinetry, which is usually cheaper, and pick out a nice stain? At least it would cut out the job of sanding them down. I would be cautious to upgrade the countertops without upgrading the cabinets, what if you want to upgrade cabinets in a couple years but still want to keep your new countertops? Is there a way to change out the cabinets without wrecking the countertops? I'd hate for you to invest the money in an expensive countertop only to have it be unuse-able.

Could you maybe just change the doors out? Chances are, you could paint or stain the cabinets, sans the doors, and put new doors on. It would give your kitchen a totally different look and maybe you could do it in a different wood or a less woodgrainy oak?

Also, if you do get granite countertops, I would get it checked out for radiation: snopes.com: Granite Countertops and Radon

I can't imagine investing that much money into something and then finding out later that it was radioactive and perhaps causing someone in your family to get cancer.

Whatever you do, good luck! I was fortunate to build a new house and chose maple cabinets with a chocolate glaze and I LOVE THEM! I had oak before and they just seemed so tired and stuck in the eighties.

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I've had a Foreman Grill for about six years. I've done about 85% of my cooking on it, but I've never burnt myself. Probably because I don't use it as a pillow.

I'm glad you brought up oak cupboards. I'm just starting to plan my kitchen, and am leaning toward hickory. I was thinking that oak is kind of "out" right now, and frankly, I'm getting tired of oak. Sorry, but I really don't have any suggestions for you except what the others mentioned.

I was reading on another board about painting old laminate countertops to look like stone. Has anybody here tried it? I'd like to try that in the bathrooms.

I'm planning on remodeling my kitchen and using HD laminate. If you've never seen it, check it out.
Wilsonart Home Laminate Cart - Wilsonart® HD® High Definition®
It's really quite nice and a lot of it looks like stone.

Also, if you lean towards granite, that it's very heavy. You'll have to check your floor and lower cupboards for weight bearing.

Can you simply reface them its would safe so much on the costs and change the cabinets so much just a thought. While I loved my oak cabinets as well. I wanted to go for a more older tarnished look more worn and torn if you can understand and that what we did and it came out so great.. Also because I love the so called get ready french country cottage shabby chic look, I did not want granite counter tops, so we put in old all wood counter tops and painted them a pale yellow. Hth this helps sometimes we as women need a change in out kitchens to perhaps get us there to cook more lol... I also found old linens that line the counter tops and I collect old china and tea cups so it looks so old , yet so country and cozy.. Good luck and keep us posted... Peace... catherine

I opted for this in my laundry room and I love it. It looks great and doesn't require the upkeep that my Corian does.

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I've had a Foreman Grill for about six years. I've done about 85% of my cooking on it, but I've never burnt myself. Probably because I don't use it as a pillow.

Please whatever you decide to use make sure it is food friendly.

I say, call/apply to Trading Spaces and opt to have your kitchen done! !!!! Other than that, really, go to Lowes or Home Depot. Look around. Take the classes they offer to see what/if you can do much of the work yourself. Have fun!

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"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

Depending on how "grainy" your oak is, you can probably resurface them with a different stain and achieve a different look. It is cheaper to add new doors and keep the cabinets BUT if the grains do not match, it won't work. I hate oak. I had it for years and am glad I don't have it anymore. We have knotty alder with a medium stain. We do have hickory floors (which I love) but I like the darker shade on the cabinets

Here is a photo of our kitchen

We have painted the back wall a cool shade of teal blue and added a curtain over the window but it gives you an idea of our cabinets. If you do choose granite, go solid surface. Our house had 24" granite tile in it when we moved in and while I like it more than formica, I would have definitly preferred solid granite. I detest grout lines

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I have standard stock cabinets in my home from when the home was built in the 70's. They are white.

When I bought the house, I had crappy Formica white counters with the gold veining...YUCK.
I now have formica that looks like granite. I love it!

You would NEVER put granite in a house like mine though..the market couldn't hold it around here.

We have the oak cabinets- almost all the homes in my sub-division have them. Our homes are about 20 yrs old now. Some of the neighbors have redone their kitchens totally- ripped out their cabinets. Others have only upgraded the countertops to granite, and I have to tell you I am glad I was able to see the results before I do anything to my kitchen. I really do not like the look of granite on the grainy oak cabinets. The wood and the stone are very busy in their own way which clashes in my opinion.
I know oak is out, but I love my cabinets. They are extremely well made and I have a ton of them, also a built in hutch in the dining area. I really haven't seen any particular stle that I like better, and then it holds that all those styles will become dated eventually as well. By the time I am ready to sell, chances are any new cabinets I have installed will be outdated, so it wouldn't make sense to replace something I like. So when I do anything to my kitchen, my cabinets stay. DH lightly sanded them and refinished recently to get rid of any collecting gunk and dirt, and they came out great. I hate my countertops and want to redo them and replace my aging appliance which do not perform so well anymore. I am leaning towards the quartz countertops in a smooth, clean neutral look. The innovations in countertop materials are so great now, I am hesitant to make a choice right now for fear something I like better comes out very soon.

OP, you might want to check with some small cabinet shops in your area. I work for a very small commercial cabinet mfr and many of our shop guys do refacing or complete renovations at very reasonable prices on the side.

I have oak cabinetry in my kitchen at home and like Mailady's, everybody in the n/hood has the same style which is now approximately 20 years old. Personally, I wouldn't paint oak. My elderly neighbor across the street did and I could hardly stand to look at the wood after that. It looked absolutely horrible. Refacing might be your best bet and maybe some new laminate for the counters? That would be a lot cheaper than solid surface material, but not as durable.

Good luck to you.

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When we remodeled our kitchen a couple of years ago we found the smaller cabinet shops to be MUCh more reasonable in price than Home Depot/Lowes...I was quoted $7K more or cabinets alone rom Lowes & that didn't include all the bells & whistles I got with the semi custom we ended up doing, so yes...I agree with refacing & I agree try the smaller shops!

We are very glad we kept our oak cabinets. The granite on the parimeter is called cambrian black antique and it is great. We had the island made by a local carpenter and the granite on that is creama bourdeax. The cabinet hardware is stock from Lowes. New cabinets would have added 30K and wouldn't have been as well made as what we have. Hope this helps you some. There is also some great formica out there. One I looked at is by wilson and it looks like soapstone.

Before






After

OMG - Now I have HOPE!! Thank you for the pics - your kitchen turned out wonderful.

Of course, I forgot to mention that I have white tile with cobalt squares on the floor.....:ugh:

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I'm also working on my kitchen and decided to keep my oak cabinets. They are still in great shape, so we can't really justify spending so much on new ones. We have just worked with as we have made our decisions. My granite is being installed next week (creama bourdeax!). Once that is in, I am going to choose the tile for the floor and backsplashes. I plan to paint, update the lighting and add new cabinet hardware.

Nightowlrn, your kitchen looks fantastic!

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There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one!
-Harry Chapin

We redid our kitchen in the mid-90's and after shopping and shopping for new cabinetry, one day I said, "if I have to look at one more oak cabinet, I'm going to throw up!" A couple of days later we walked into a little kitchen place, I laid my eyes on this one particular kitchen display and said, "I don't know what kind of wood this is but it's exactly what I want!" Turned out to be Hickory.

It is beautiful and warm looking and easy to put things with. A new neighbor moved in about a year later and wanted to redo her kitchen and after she saw my Hickory, she went with it as well. Her kitchen cabinet style is all together different and so is the hardware but she also loves the hickory.

My cabinet guy said that on the west coast, hickory is considered junk wood. I say, "bring it all to the midwest, we'll take it."

I love hickory. That's what I have. I have a very tiny kitchen. As far as the oak cabinets, you'd be surprised what funky, new hardware alone might do!

[quote=sexysmurf;3084049]Depending on how "grainy" your oak is, you can probably resurface them with a different stain and achieve a different look. It is cheaper to add new doors and keep the cabinets BUT if the grains do not match, it won't work. I hate oak. I had it for years and am glad I don't have it anymore. We have knotty alder with a medium stain. We do have hickory floors (which I love) but I like the darker shade on the cabinets

Here is a photo of our kitchen

We have painted the back wall a cool shade of teal blue and added a curtain over the window but it gives you an idea of our cabinets. If you do choose granite, go solid surface. Our house had 24" granite tile in it when we moved in and while I like it more than formica, I would have definitly preferred solid granite. I detest grout lines[/QUOTE

I love your kitchen!!!! I like the knotty alder and hickory floors. Beautiful!