Kitchen Renovations

DIY Cabinets for Your Kitchen

Written by JamieK on July 30th, 2010

Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Cabinets

The kitchen genuinely is the heart of a home. It is where the family gathers, wonderful meals are shared, and beautiful stories are told around the dinner table. Naturally, then, the kitchen is the perfect place to start redecorating your house. But, where do you begin with this task? Ever think about redoing your kitchen cabinets yourself?

You could hire a professional; but, having a professional come and redo your kitchen cabinets can be a hassle, and often very costly. Consider, instead, doing the project on your own. Do-it-yourself kitchen cabinets are a snap with ready made and prefabricated cabinet kits. In fact, it can turn into a great venture for the entire family.

The first thing to do, is consider the type of kitchen cabinets you would like, and then plan them out. Many internet resources can be found for this, especially online virtualization software, which can give you a wonderful idea how of your kitchen might look when designed. Some such sites include Merillat, GE Virtual Kitchen Designer, and finally Applet 3d Showroom. All of these tools will help you to obtain a virtual view of your new kitchen. The GE toolkit and Merillat toolkit will also let you customize and print out some design lists as well.

After you have a solid plan, head on over with your design list, or picture, to the nearby home improvement store. You can show them the list, or picture, and they will show you some great ready-made do it yourself kitchen cabinets that meet your design requirements. Some may need special order, or the design might have to be shipped in, but many improvement stores can order what you need without difficulty.

Some do-it-yourself, ready to assemble, cabinet companies that you can look into are:  Mei Kitchens, The ATA Store, RTA Cabinet Store, Kitchen Pro Cabinetry, and Domain Cabinets Direct, INC. Each of the previous manufacturers provide great shipping services, customization options and many different styles for you to select from.

From tall, floor to ceiling pantries, lazy susans, and wonderful multi-tiered organizational cabinets, many of the above companies offer what you need. Keep it affordable, and remember: While the plan may seem hard to achieve, as long as you have some time, a level, drill and screwdriver, you can accomplish this task.

One important tip: Cabinets tend to be heavy; they usually call for at least two people to hold them up as you measure, level and drill. So, you want to have at least three people to assist you with this task. This is a good weekend project for your family, or a good friend project.

This project can be completed in a weekend, and once done, you will have a gorgeous and well-designed kitchen. It will take time, dedication, and some good craft skills, but if you follow the instructions, prepare the area, and measure properly, you will not come across many problems.

One final tip to remember: Extracting your old cabinets can be tricky; many years of use can cause the cabinets to stick, and be hard to remove. A good crowbar and sledge hammer are wonderful tools to have handy. Remember to use protective goggles, and masks when you are conducting the demolition work, and lastly, get rid of your household waste in the proper garbage location.

If you remember to design, plan and stay within your spending budget, your kitchen will look not only professionally done, but beautiful as well. Have fun!