Refacing With Style

by John Tuthill
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

Refacing your kitchen cabinets does not necessarily mean that you have to stick with the current style of your cabinets. Keep in mind these contemporary trends in kitchen cabinet refinishing to embellish the flavor of your kitchen cabinets.

The Antique Look

Give your refinished cabinets that rustic, aged look by having your refaced wood kitchen cabinets distressed and heavily glazed. You can have your cabinet finish hand wiped, dry-brushed, or pockmarked with various implements that give the impression that the cabinet has withstood the test of time. Older materials, such as salvaged barn wood, are also a popular, but more expensive, option.

Less is More

Strange as it may seem, one of the most popular contemporary trends is to cut down on the wall space occupied by your kitchen cabinets. If you are refacing your kitchen cabinets, consider removing those upper kitchen cabinets that are currently filled with worthless stuff you never use. Create a sensation of free, open space that accentuates windows and natural light by getting rid of those pesky uppers.

Mission-style Cabinets

Mission-style kitchen cabinets share a set of characteristics that utilize simple, wide unadorned surfaces and clean, square, decorative lines. The Mission style provides a warm, geometric look that is simultaneously modern and accessible. Wood kitchen cabinets of quarter-sawn oak or dark walnut make beautiful Mission-style cabinets.

Go With Cherry

It may seem like cherry has always been a popular material for wood kitchen cabinets, but there is a reason for this: Cherry's beautiful and varied grain lends itself to a variety of cabinet finishes, and will surely outlast all the other trends in wood kitchen cabinet design.

About the Author
John Tuthill is a cabinet maker and a regular FaceYourKitchen columnist. He lives in Missoula, Montana.