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You are here: Home / Decor Gone Easy and Projects / Cabinets Refinished without sandpaper

Cabinets Refinished without sandpaper

March 18, 2009 Lana

Update: Our home is in Total Remodel Mode since this post was written.  Everything has been expanded and changed.  This is still one of my most popular posts.  It revolutionized our thinking to: we CAN do it ourselves and not hire out.  We’ve made mistakes but still the costs have been minimal compared to hiring labor.

Please feel free to sign up for our RSS feeds or like our Facebook page.  We are constantly doing a new project!

I have shown this kitchen re-do before. So, many people are having a hard time financially I thought it would be worth to show it again. If you have seen it – “go on with your bad self”, as my three year old would say. If you haven’t, it is a cheap easy project to upgrade your cocina (Kitchen in Spanish – sorry the Homeschooling Mom came out).

My inspiration:  Kitchen Redone Cheap but Beautiful

First of all, I can’t believe I’m showing you our kitchen. But, it is an easy project if you would like a re-do that is inexpensive. I have more time than money so it works for me!

This was my inspiration! A friend did this to her kitchen and she is the one who gave me the instructions. Thank you J.!

My precious Crafty Sister-n-law!

This is one, of many, of my precious sister-in-laws. (She might hurt me if she finds out that she is on here. So, nobody tell!) She is the one who gave me the “idea” for my kitchen.

Here are the before pictures!
Kitchen who needed a maid

Apparently, the “before” pictures were taken on a day that the maid had off. I honestly can say that my kitchen hardly ever looks this bad. This is just for effects. 😉

Kitchen – sterile without the clean factor

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Don’t mind the bleach on the floor. Notice the white cabinets, white walls, white sink, white everything!!! Yuck, unless you are into that! We happened to have gotten rid of the white floors before we took the picture.

 

Are you ready?
Drum roll please!?!
Ta DA!!!!
Kitchen Cabinets Refinished without Sandpaper
Can you see the reformation? I still have a little touch ups to do i.e. getting a hood vent, double oven, and new stove top. (But, that takes $$$ and this was a inexpensive fix.)
Kitchen Cabinets without costing a lot of money

 

ANYONE can do this!!! We put the kids to bed and did this in one night.
(It was a late night, however.) But, totally worth every minute!

 

Okay really, I could have removed the dishes and hung up curtains but this is a “real” picture. Sorry, for the tiredness.  (Is that even a word?)
Want to know what we did? So easy!!!
We didn’t have enough money for new cabinets or really did not want to darken the cabinets too much, so this was a perfect solution.

 

 

You will need:
  • liquid sand paper (found at Hardware Store)
  • Minwax® Gel Stain (Walnut Color) I do wish we had gone a shade lighter.
  • Mineral Spirits

Instructions:

 

  1. Apply the liquid sand paper with rags. This makes me the paint sticky.
    We did NOT use sandpaper! We wanted it to stay white underneath.
  2. Apply the stain to the cabinets with foam brushes.
    You have to play around here to make it look the way you want.
  3. Use mineral spirits to remove anything you don’t want or to touch-up. We used a LOT of old T-shirts here. The idea is to get the gel into the crevices for effect.
Enjoy your new cabinets!
Be sure to tell me if you have done this…I like seeing different results.
My new back-splash!
Oh, we did tile the back splash, finding the tile half off at Lowes.
Isn’t it pretty plus sooo neutral? We also put in a new sink and new hardware.

The paint color is Fragrant Cloves (B24-6) from Lowes. It reminds me of University of Texas, orange. Even though we are Aggie fans – I still love it! It goes perfect with my cobalt blue.

Hope you enjoyed your tour of my kitchen today! I’m so embarrassed and must go find where the kids hid the maid.

Click on the link, Decor Gone Easy and other projects, to see some of our other works.

Square Foot Gardening

Tree House made out of old Fence

Chicken Coop made out of old Fence

How to Tile Backsplash


©www.ilovemy5kids.com

Related posts:

Building a Table with brotherly love

A fave gift – A Ceiling Fan

Remodeling the time away – literally! - Part 9

Decor Gone Easy and Projects, Works for Me Wed.

Comments

  1. SnoWhite says

    February 16, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    What a beautiful transformation! We just did this at our house – just painting the cabinets and adding a backsplash made such a difference. We found our tiles marked down at Lowe’s too! That was a HUGE blessing and meant big savings! Come take a peek if you’d like.

  2. Cozy Home Scenes says

    February 16, 2011 at 8:06 am

    I like your “new” kitchen, especially the tile. I really like white cabinets and wish I had them in my house, but I understand the need for change. Looks like what you did was easy, but I bet your arms were killing you after doing all that in one night!

  3. Michelle "Picklewart" says

    March 24, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    I just found your blog and this post. I’ve been wanting to do the same thing to my kitchen cabinets! Thanks for taking the time to post this for all of us!
    I love the rest of your blog too! You have some great ideas on here. I’m going to had you to my blog list on my blog so I can keep up with your posts each week!!!
    Thanks again!

  4. Crystal says

    December 28, 2009 at 4:21 am

    Looks great!!

  5. Dawn says

    December 25, 2009 at 1:49 am

    Your kitchen came out great!! Love the cabinets-wow-don’t know if I would have had the courage 🙂

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

  6. Honorablyfallen says

    November 25, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    I just found your blog through The secret is in the sauce ! This is beautiful and it is just more inspiration for me because I have been trying to get up the courage to do that to my kitchen cabinets thank you so much !!! Sarahlynn

  7. foxy says

    November 19, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    So cool – it looks great! Hmmmmm… my kitchen could sure use some work!!!

  8. Marie Cole says

    November 19, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    You really did a great job, congratulations! 🙂

  9. Morgan says

    November 19, 2009 at 6:44 pm

    The kitchen looks great! You did an amazing job! My husband and I are in the process of doing some things to ours.

    Visiting from SITS

  10. Brandi says

    November 19, 2009 at 4:19 pm

    I’m so impressed! What a fantastic job you did. Kitchens can be scary to tackle too…all those cabinets and what not.

  11. Caroline says

    November 19, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    Oh my goodness! This is (I think) almost the exact same paint color in my kitchen! Is it Terra Cotta? We have enjoyed it–a very cozy and warm color. Although, I have been thinking of repainting to light blue.
    I adore ht blue and white plates above the cabinets–that’s a nice touch!
    (I’m from SITS–thanks for letting me look around)

  12. 2busy says

    November 19, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    If I had painted white cabinets, I would so do this. It looks great!

  13. Gamma Sharon says

    November 19, 2009 at 2:51 pm

    Your kitchen looks great… all in 1 night… WOW!
    Hope your SITS day is great!

  14. sandy says

    November 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm

    That looks great! I love the tile back splash!

  15. Complicated Mama says

    November 19, 2009 at 1:52 pm

    I wish I could distress my cabinets… but mine are formica.. or something glossy lol… whatever they are… they arent wood.

    ((sigh)) I will wait probably 20 years.

  16. Cara and Jenn says

    November 19, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    HI dropping by from SITs (and Happy “Day by the way) We are thinking of painting our cabinets too but I think we are chicken. And my wall look almost the same color as yours…mine is BM Audubon Russet which I love. Enjoy looks great!
    Cara

  17. Yaya says

    November 10, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    That’s AWESOME!!!

  18. Jeannie Finelli, RN says

    November 10, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    PAINT EFFECTS GENIUS! 🙂

  19. Annie @ astonesthrowfrominsanity says

    November 10, 2009 at 3:31 pm

    I too am in the middle of a kitchen redo. I only have 3 kids but it is still crazy! yours looks great!

  20. AmericanTribal says

    November 10, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    Wow!! That was quite the re-do. It looks awesome! 🙂

  21. Christina says

    November 10, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    Great job!

    Happy SITS day!

  22. Kim @ Cheap Chic Home says

    November 10, 2009 at 1:19 pm

    I would like to do this to my cabinets, but they’d need to be painted first. I don’t know if I’ll have the “get-up-and-go” for that! Nice job.

  23. Ma What's 4 dinner says

    November 10, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    So impressive. Well done. Can you come over to my house and do that when my kids go to bed????

    Alex aka Ma Whats For Dinner?
    http://www.MaWhats4Dinner.com

  24. Creative Junkie says

    November 10, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    omgosh, that looks gorgeous! Well done!

  25. Angelia Sims says

    November 10, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    This looks great! What a difference. Excellent job!

  26. Kerri says

    November 10, 2009 at 12:28 pm

    BEAUTIFUL! Very nice job.

  27. singedwingangel says

    November 10, 2009 at 12:00 pm

    That is so beautiful.. I Love it unfortunately our cabinets are dark brown already.. Sighs fortunately my hubby works for a cabinet manufacturer sooo we get our cabinets at 1/4 of the cost of the stores price.. if we ever get the ability to redo them all..

  28. Sherri @ Luv a Bargain says

    November 10, 2009 at 11:59 am

    WOW…that looks awesome! I can’t believe you did that in one night! I am a total DIY’er too. Last Fall, we totally gutted our bathrooms. I am now a mad wet saw user and toilet installer. Who would have thought? Then we did a tile backsplash in the kitchen too. It feels so good to look at it knowing all the hard work that went into it. Boy, I’m glad I found your blog:)

  29. Elizabeth a.k.a. Type A Mommy says

    November 10, 2009 at 11:30 am

    Wow, that looks awesome! I wish my cabinets were white, that would be so much easier to work on – mine have a nasty faux wood laminate type cover to them, so I haven’t done much in the way of a kitchen redo yet, because we can’t afford to replace them. Thanks for sharing, and happy SITS Day to you!

  30. Fruitful Vine2 says

    November 10, 2009 at 10:10 am

    A labor of love and with your own hands gives a feeling of complete satisfaction. I’m glad you got to upgrade inexpensively.

  31. Cairo Typ0 says

    November 10, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Happy SITS day!

    The kitchen looks awesome! I’m so impressed at people who can DIY.

  32. Proper Prim says

    October 20, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    You did a fantastic job… looks so much richer now… love your colour choices too… give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.

  33. Funky Junk Interiors says

    October 19, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    I love the look of glazed cabinets!

    For the faint of heart, to get an idea on how a bigger area would look done up, I like going to thrifts and picking up old cabinet doors and doing up a sample.

    Looks fab! And thanks for linking up to the party!

    Funky Junk Donna

  34. Time For Beads says

    October 19, 2009 at 3:11 am

    Looks awesome! I’ve been sitting on the fence about doing my cabinets and I think I keep overanalyzing it! I may just be putting a new link about my new kitchen. Pray it happens!

  35. K @ Thrifty Teacher Blog says

    October 17, 2009 at 11:33 pm

    Your kitchen looks awesome! Your hard work paid off 🙂

  36. Teri says

    October 16, 2009 at 6:44 pm

    Wow! I can’t believe you did that in one night! Great job…it’s beautiful!
    Blessings,
    Teri

  37. { L } says

    October 15, 2009 at 4:00 am

    Wow! This must feel amazing. Very nice work! I think I’ve told you this before…but I home school too! <3

  38. Dragonfly Treasure says

    October 14, 2009 at 11:50 pm

    How awesome your kitchen looks now!! Great job!

  39. TRICIA @ The Zoo says

    October 14, 2009 at 3:58 pm

    Your kitchen looks fantastic! I really like the before pic for maximum effect. On the other hand, maybe that’s because mine ends up looking like that all too often. 😉

    XO*Tricia

  40. Lindsey@creativeattempts says

    October 14, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    That looks wonderful!! I love the distressing of the cabinets. GOod Job!

  41. Crazy Daisy says

    October 14, 2009 at 5:26 am

    Love the tiles! Very cool!

    My project is posted here: http://foreverdaisies.blogspot.com/2009/09/scrapbook-room-remodel-revealed.html

  42. The DIY Show Off says

    October 14, 2009 at 4:25 am

    Wow! What a beautiful transformation! I love the new look on the cabinets and the tutorial. Great job! It looks awesome!

    Thanks for joining the Show & Tell! if you hadn’t – I would’ve missed this! If you get a chance…add a link in your post today (and to the party) to show everyone, I bet others may have missed it and would LOVE to see it too. Not to mention – your tips are so helpful!

    Thanks!

    Roeshel

  43. Nicole @ BugaBoos says

    July 23, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    Love it! Beautifully done, it looks awesome!

  44. Kammy says

    July 23, 2009 at 11:42 am

    Great job , love the new color ! It is very polished looking now !
    Hugs ~ Kammy

  45. Julia says

    July 23, 2009 at 4:34 am

    Totally Gorgeous! Isn’t God good in how he gives a way to be content with what we’ve got!

  46. jskell911 says

    April 26, 2009 at 1:33 am

    Those look awesome! Great job!

  47. Bella Casa says

    March 23, 2009 at 2:44 pm

    Hi Lana,

    Thanks for visiting my blog from the Blog Party 🙂

    I love what you have done with your kitchen, it’s absolutely beautiful! I have a kitchen set that looks like that (cream paint with stain distressing) and I love it. I wish our cupboards matched, but they don’t. And my dh painted our cupboards in House #1 and I did it in House #2…so this is House #3 and I don’t think either one of us wants to tackle the job here, lol.

    Very pretty!!! Nice to meet you 🙂 I am having a giveaway on my blog for a $100 Lamp, so make sure to come by and enter 🙂

  48. Girly Stuff says

    March 23, 2009 at 1:23 am

    It turned out great!!! You should have gone with the maroon…but other than that…

  49. Living with Lindsay says

    March 20, 2009 at 1:31 am

    Wow! What a great transformation!

    And as a Longhorn, I think the paint color is just perfect! 😉

  50. Better Is Little says

    March 19, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! Amazing what a little paint and inspiration can do!

  51. Janel@Dandelion Dayz says

    March 19, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    Awesome! We are getting ready to re-do our kitchen. It is not cheap!!! But we have laminate everything! It is in need of some serious changes. Great job!

    I am thinking about painting my bathroom cabinet. I am going to bookmark this for sure.

  52. Kara says

    March 19, 2009 at 5:22 am

    You did a fabulous job, I love your “new” kitchen!!

  53. Joy says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:10 am

    Looks great, love how you did the cabinets and backsplash. Really like your blog background too.

  54. Lori@EnjoyThe Process says

    March 18, 2009 at 11:35 pm

    Your kitchen looks really nice! Great job!!!

  55. Kirby3131 says

    March 18, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    Whooo Hooo!! It looks fabulous! I’m so proud of you for making your kitchen into something that you love to be in – for a minimal amount of money.

    I just have to tell you – I don’t have 5 children – Heck I don’t have any children and my kitchen has looked like your before photo LOL

  56. Kristi says

    March 18, 2009 at 6:38 pm

    Gorgeous! Way to go!!!

  57. happylittlehouse says

    March 18, 2009 at 4:36 pm

    Lovely! What a nice turnaround!

  58. Jerralea says

    March 18, 2009 at 4:17 pm

    Great redo! My daughter’s favorite color is orange — she would totally love your walls.

  59. yestheyareallmine says

    March 18, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    Oh wow, that looks so nice! I really like the new wall color.

  60. Addy says

    March 18, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    Hey my kitchen is that exact same color! I love Fragrant Cloves so much I also painted my master bath with it! Ha ha! Great job!

    I repainted my cabinets a few months ago and I love love love it with the orange wall. here’s a link to a pic of my kitchen.
    http://x01.xanga.com/385825f575ca8221214911/z173526116.jpg

  61. The Blossoming Skillet says

    March 18, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    It looks so great. I love the orange on the walls.

  62. The Nester says

    March 18, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    VERY nice! It looks fantastic!

  63. Becky says

    March 18, 2009 at 9:28 am

    You did a great job! Thanks for sharing – it’s motivating me to do something. Have a great day 🙂

  64. Daiquiri says

    March 18, 2009 at 4:25 am

    Love this! We have plain oak cabinets…just like every single other house in this area. We’ve been searching for a way to make them a bit more unique. Maybe some twist on this trick….hmmm…

  65. Muthering Heights says

    March 18, 2009 at 4:11 am

    Your cabinets look GREAT!!

  66. Maya says

    March 18, 2009 at 4:02 am

    Great makeover. The cabinets look stunning and expensive! I also like the orange a lot…

  67. Holly says

    March 18, 2009 at 4:00 am

    Oh my goodness! The cabinets look fantastic! Seriously awesome! Great job! Love the backsplash too.

  68. Hi! It's me, Jen. says

    March 18, 2009 at 3:53 am

    It looks awesome! I love everything, great job!

May the LORD bless you and keep you; May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; May He turn His face toward you and give you peace. Feel free to leave a comment - we LOVE to hear your thoughts! ~Blessings to you!~ ~You are so loved!~ ~Lana (Like Banana)~

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