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Painted my kitchen cabinets instead of replacing them and changed my whole view on remodeling
I was dead set on ripping out these old oak cabinets from the 90s, thought they were dated and ugly. My wife convinced me to just try painting them with that chalk cabinet paint from the hardware store, cost me about $60 total. After 3 coats and some new handles from the clearance bin at Lowe's, they actually look better than anything I could have bought for $2,000. I learned that sometimes upgrading what you already have teaches you more than starting fresh, and for me it was about patience and seeing potential in stuff I normally trash. Has anyone else tried breathing new life into something they were ready to throw away, and did it change how you think about fixing vs buying?
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piperbailey7h ago
Read an article about how the average kitchen reno costs like 20 grand now and people go into debt for it, so honestly painting cabinets for 60 bucks is the most rebellious thing you can do. It's wild how much pressure there is to rip everything out and start over when a lot of the time the bones are perfectly fine. My neighbor did the same thing with her old bathroom tile, just painted it with a special kit, and it held up for years until she sold the place. You're right that the real win here is just proving to yourself you don't have to buy new to feel good about your space. Sometimes the best upgrade is just seeing what's already there.
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the_wendy7h ago
Oh come on, @wilson.joseph is being way too harsh here. Actually I get where you're coming from completely and I think you're underselling the lesson here. A $60 project that stopped you from dropping $2000 is not just "paint on wood." That's a mindset shift about what we think we need versus what we already have. Sure, paint might chip eventually but so do new cabinets after a couple years of use. The point isn't that paint is magic, it's that people toss perfectly good stuff because they're bored with the color or style. I replaced my bathroom vanity two years ago and I still kick myself for not just refinishing the old one. Sometimes replacing is the right call but not nearly as often as people think.
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wilson.joseph2d ago
Man you're making it sound like painting some cabinets was a spiritual awakening or something. It's just paint on wood, not exactly a life changing revelation about consumerism and patience. I mean sure, it's cool that you saved some money and they look decent now, but let's not act like you discovered the secret to happiness by avoiding a trip to IKEA. Most people paint their cabinets and realize six months later the paint is chipping and they wished they'd just replaced them anyway. But hey, if a $60 project made you feel like you unlocked some deep wisdom about fixing vs buying, more power to you. Just don't go around telling everyone they're wasting their money on renovations now, because sometimes replacing is actually the right call.
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