Updating a kitchen with oak cabinets can be a daunting task. The thought of spending days sanding, priming and painting cabinets may have you overwhelmed before you even begin but don’t worry! There are plenty of easy alternatives to give your kitchen cabinets a facelift without any messy paint jobs.
From adding new hardware to under-cabinet lighting, there are several simple ways to transform the look of your kitchen cabinets in no time at all. In this blog post, we will explore some creative and cost-effective ideas for updating your oak kitchen cabinets without having to break out the paint cans or power tools.
1.) Paint The Walls
If you have a kitchen with oak cabinets and you’re looking to give your kitchen a modern makeover, start by searching for features that accentuate the existing wood tone of the oak cabinets. You don’t need to do a complete kitchen remodel in order to give it a more contemporary look; often all it takes is accenting what’s already there and that’s why applying a fresh coat of paint to your kitchen walls is a great way to instantly modernize any kitchen with oak cabinets.
Choosing a good wall paint color not only makes your kitchen appear cleaner, but also gives off vibes of newness and vitality! The combination of fresh painted walls and oak cabinets can create a modern, stylish look for your kitchen. The contrast between the warm tones of the wood cabinets and the right paint color can really help bring your kitchen to life. Plus, with different shades of oak cabinets, like honey oak cabinets or a dark wood, you can have even more fun with color palettes. Experiment with different colors to create a unique look that will be sure to impress all your guests when they come to visit.
How to choose the perfect wall color
Choosing the perfect wall color to highlight or complement your oak cabinets is key when painting your walls. There’s an art and science to picking colors that blend with oak cabinets, so make sure you take a look at our other blog post where we give you 13 awesome colors that look great with oak cabinets. We are confident that these colors will bring out the best in your oak cabinets—making your kitchen feel warm, inviting and stylish all year round.
Here are a few awesome colors from that blog post to get you started:
Perfect Greige – If you’re looking for a warm, inviting atmosphere in your kitchen, try this rich mid-tone gray with subtle red undertones.
Sea Salt – This calm, muted green shade with subtle blue hues adds a calming atmosphere to any home space. Add white trim for an even more tranquil feel.
2.) Change Your Hardware
When it comes to selecting modern cabinet hardware that complements oak wood cabinets in a kitchen, there are a few key things to consider.
A few things to consider
1.) First, think about the overall design of your kitchen cabinets and which styles will fit with the more modern feel that you’re trying to accomplish.
2.) You’ll also want to consider what finish to use for your cabinet hardware.
3.) Consider the color of your kitchen cabinets.
Dark sleek style pulls or round knobs with a matte finish looks really nice when paired with lighter colored wood cabinets. There’s something about the matte finish that adds a luxurious feel to the overall look of a cabinet door. Check out this post to see how updated drawer pulls look on shaker style cabinets.
If you have darker cabinets, hardware with a brighter finish looks great. Antique Brass colored hardware or even gold-ish color hardware will be great options for adding a pop to your kitchen cabinets.
If your oak cabinets have a distressed look, you might want to lean towards more rustic hardware that can add texture to the look of your kitchen cabinets and make them stand out.
Don’t be afraid to explore all the different options that you have available when it comes to updating the hardware on your oak kitchen cabinets. There is a huge variety of styles and finishes to choose from so finding something that fits your taste and style shouldn’t be a problem. Just look around and have fun with it! We’re sure you’ll find something that you love and that fits your style.
3.) Add Lighting
LED Light Strips
Features
• Energy efficient
• Long Life-span
• Looks great with a backsplash
• Needs a power source
• Adjustable colors and works with a phone
• Can be difficult to set up correctly depending on the structure of your cabinets
• Can be used on upper cabinets and lower cabinets
Puck Lights
Not only will they look great, but you don’t have to worry about wires or having to drill holes into your cabinets because they run on batteries. Plus, with their adjustable brightness settings, you can get the look and feel of a custom lighting system without having to worry about complicated wiring. So if you’re ready to give your oak cabinets an easy modern makeover, puck lights are the way to go!
Features
• Great for adding light to cooking areas
• Very easy install
• Cheap
• Less color options
• Operated by a remote or Touch/Tap
• Battery Powered
• Normally used underneath only the upper cabinets
4.) Add Open Shelving
This option isn’t suited for all kitchen styles but if your kitchen style complements it, open shelving is definitely worth considering. You can create open shelving by simply taking off the doors of your cabinets. Use them for displaying artful pieces, cooking tools or ingredients; whatever suits you best and revel in the newfound beauty of bare wood shelves!
5.) Refinish Your Cabinets
If you’re looking to refinish your stained cabinets, here are some cost effective products that can help you get the results you want.
Gel Stain
Polyshades
Update Your Countertops (Bonus)
This is definitely a more expensive option but if you are in the market for upgrading your countertops then it’s worth considering. The combination of oak cabinets and modernized counters can make a huge difference in the look and feel of your kitchen. There are lots of new countertop materials on the market now and all offer different advantages and disadvantages so be sure to do ample research before deciding. Laminate, Granite and Quartz are the most popular choices but there are also many other options out there.
Updating your countertops can be a pretty big job so we don’t view this option as a money-saver but this is definitely an option that could work wonders to update wood cabinets. Here are a few of the most popular countertop styles.
Laminate Countertop
Features
• Fairly Cheap option
• Can mimic patterns to look exactly like marble or quartz
• Looks great with a backsplash
• Very versatile design colors and styles
• Relatively quick installation
Quartz Countertop
Features
• Expensive option
• Very durable
• Very versatile design colors and styles
• Relatively quick installation
Granite Countertop
Features
• Moderately priced
• Resistant to scratches and heat
• Very versatile design colors and styles
• Mold resistant
