pine kitchen

[tobyw]

Our pine kitchen is starting to look a little "tired". My wife and I had a look at some new kitchens but we cannot afford a new one. Is there anything we can do to liven up our old one?
Any tips on stripping down and either painting or staining our old one?
Also one of the cupboard doors is a bit warped and doesn't close properly. Is there anything we can do to rectify this?
I would appreciate any suggestions.

[hc4361]

You can buy a replacement door, of take it off altogether and have an open unit with wicker baskets, a wine rack or even a curtain.
He'res an example of a seller of kitchen doors and drawers.
http://www.kitchenrefurbs.co.uk/

[DEN53]

Like hc has said - changing the doors can bring a whole new look to the kitchen. We have just done this to my Mum & Dad's kitchen. We got the doors from B & Q. We got 4 top cupboard doors - 6 bottom cupboard doors and 4 drawer fronts and this lot came to around just under £200.00.

I would steer clear of rubbing down and painting them - this is what my Dad did 4 years ago - hence the change of doors now. An absolute disaster.

[DaisyMae]

Actually repainting need not be so difficult or disastrous. Take the doors off, rub them down very thoroughly and then spray paint them. You may feel they would benefit from a second rub down and spray, if so, leave it a full 24 hours before attempting it. Good luck.

[tobyw]

thanks all

[fbg40]

Hi tobyw
If you decide on the replacement door route, take an old one with you, to ensure that the hinge holes marry up !! I bought some doors and the hinge holes were totally different. This resulted in buying a cutter and having to reposition the hinges - quite a labourious job. As far as a re-paint goes, I also tried this with quite a bit of success. After thoroughly washing all the doors/drawer fronts, I then applied some "ESP" - easy surface primer. If you follow their instructions to the letter, it does a great job. I then painted using a mini roller (4") and then laying off the paint with a very good quality brush - preferably made by Hamilton. The kitchen that I did with this method lasted 5 years and got lots of praise from visitors. Hope all above helps !!
Good luck
FBG40

[Lil O'lady]

I used that special primer - was it melamine primer or something? Got it from B&Q,and then painted over it and it made a really good job of cupboard doors and drawer fronts.