Sometimes when I see really dated spaces I can’t help but wonder how on earth we ever thought those finishes were ever in good taste?
Then I start to worry about what I’ll think about my own home in 20 years.
We will all just cringe over our white kitchens and think, “what were we thinking”? Fingers crossed no. Hopefully our white, timeless kitchens will be just that.
At any rate…I’m back with the latest kitchen redo/makeover that my cabinet magician Ryan Reeder just completed and I am flipping out!
No really people, this makeover is the equivalent to the invention of Cookie Butter. It’s just that good.
Ryan has figured out a way to save the landfills from perfectly good kitchens cabinets that are merely dated and re-use them by bringing them up to date.
First of all…remember this post where I talked about the three main styles of cabinets which are:
Inset: Cabinet drawer & doors are flush with frame of the cabinet opening.
Partial Overlay: Drawers and doors partially cover the cabinet box leaving part of the cabinet face exposed.
Full Overlay: Drawers and doors completely cover the cabinet box.
Typically inset cabinets are most popular and expensive because the cabinet maker must be so exact with measurements and fittings.
Ryan was recently hired to make over this kitchen:
He removed all the partial overlay doors and drawers. Next he filled the holes where the old doors were attached and sanded every surface down. He then custom made new doors and drawers that fit in to the existing openings of the old cabinet boxes so they were now inset cabinets. Lastly he sprayed everything white with his perfect cabinet paint formula. This is what it now looks like:
You would never guess that this used to be a dated, blonde-wood, partial-overlay cabinet kitchen! It looks like a perfect, custom inset kitchen.
Before:
After:
Are you dying?!
Hope on over to Ryan Reeder Cabinets to see more of his amazing work.
(Check out Ryan’s work in our own kitchen).
Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!
I am not a big fan of the look of inset cabinets but I think he did an AWESOME job on that kitchen! The man has skills, for sure!
Oh, and those swivel bar chairs in the before photo are KILLIN’ me! I bet the original owners thought they were so cool back in the day! haha!!
Ugh, can Ryan come to Texas and fix my cabinets??! Ours is that same stupid blonde pickled oak. We will take him fishing in exchange for his work 😉
I don’t think I’ve seen any insert cabinets in the houses I’ve been to, or maybe I just didn’t notice lol. I didn’t know there were this many choices. He did a great job on this renovation!
We just had our kitchen totally remodeled (down to the studs) last year and have partial overlay and love them. The AGA was best decision made in my new kitchen, though! I think white kitchens are timeless and we won’t regret it. 🙂
Is the inset popular because it’s so expensive and people want “the best.” I’d kill for full overlay because it would be so much easier and less expensive to change the whole look of your kitchen. (Think Ikea’s European model). Inset would be my last possible choice, esp in a house of kids and non-attentive people (that’d be me) who’d smash stuff in the drawers and ding the wood, per your experience.
I’m with Cindy, those swivel bar chairs. Oh man. They sure don’t make em like that any more! Back on the kitchen redo… WOW. They look like they are straight out of the box. Ryan certainly has skills! I’m even more intrigued to hear that they were sprayed with cabinet paint – the finish is flawless.
Hi,
Would you be oh so kind to share what your husband’s perfect cabinet paint formula is? I have a huge kitchen that I’m redoing as well and we’re going with white. Would you mind sharing the paint you used? I would greatly appreciate it so much. I love love love your kitchen.
Thanks 🙂
He’s actually not my husband. His name is Ryan Reeder: http://ryanreedercabinets.com/ 🙂
That turned out beautifully! I wonder, though, what he did about the upper cabinets only being 12″ deep. Most inset brands come standard 13 to 15″ deep to allow for the loss of the depth. An inset wall cabinet that’s 12″ deep won’t fit a standard dinner plate. I suppose the cost savings outweighed that. Still and amazing transformation!
Yes, our upper cabinets are only 12″ deep. Something that would have been too expensive to fix. Ryan does his deeper so they can accommodate dinner plates. Next time. Live and learn. 🙂
What kind of plates do you have? The standard dinner plate is 10 inches.
Beautiful! What is the wood that is used in kitchen in the “afters”
Thanks!
They are oak stained walnut. 🙂
Wood floors I mean? Thanks
I’m replacing my inset doors with new ones and they are a real challenge, especially for someone with limited carpentry skills.Since the openings were set up for inset and I didn’t know how to do it any other way, that’s the way I went It makes me realize why many cabinet makers have gone to overlay doors. They so much simpler and much more forgiving! To me, inset is not worth the special “look.” By the way, please stop using this light gray typeface. It’s very hard to read!
Thanks for the tip…I’ll change the font color right away.
Absolutely love this! Can this trick be done with full overlay cabinets or are the existing openings way too big?
It can be done on any cabinet but there could be challenges depending on the layout of your kitchen. A true full overlay cabinet has no face frame, it just has the plywood or particleboard carcass. The thickness ranges from 1/2-3/4 inch thick generally. So initially you wouldn’t achieve the look of a true inset cabinet as they have a 1 1/2 -2 inch face frame. You can easily build custom frames and attach them to your cabinets but that is a additional cost. You will want to choose a hardwood to prevent dings from over filled drawers. I would recommend painted or stained hard maple. Its very dense, somewhat economical and can look like any wood. I am a professional cabinet maker in the Pittsburgh area. I would get a few consultations from 3-4 local cabinet makers in your area. Expect to pay 150-400 per linear foot depending on the wood and door and drawer style choosen. Upgrades can be additional depending on what they are. I offer soft close hardware and dovetail drawers standard while most others up badge for them. Good luck on your project.