| I've seen many low budget kitchen upgrades in my | | | | joints and also to fill the nail holes. |
| thirty years of cabinet building. To succeed at | | | | Staining the Kitchen Cabinet Door Molding |
| remolding you just need a couple of ideas that will look | | | | When you choose to stain your molding, you are going |
| good, but don't cost a lot of money. I'm going to give | | | | to need to pick up a wood filler putty stick to match |
| you one proven to make an improvement to your | | | | the stain color. |
| cupboards without spending a ton of cash. | | | | You will need to measure for the amount of |
| If your kitchen has flat Formica cabinet doors or older | | | | decorative molding that you will need for your kitchen |
| painted wood, you can spruce them up by adding | | | | cabinet door improvement. Make sure to double and |
| some decorative molding around the edges. The only | | | | triple check your calculations and then add a little extra. |
| thing you really need to be cautions about is the | | | | Make a trip to your nearest home center (Home |
| positioning of the molding in relation to how they open. | | | | Depot) to purchase the materials and tools you need. If |
| It may be necessary to inset the fancy trim an inch or | | | | painting the trim, use your Formica sample color to |
| so from the edges of the doors so that they will open | | | | have your paint custom mixed to match it. While you |
| without any problem. You can paint or stain the | | | | are there, discuss the cabinet door remodeling project |
| molding prior to attaching it onto the cupboard doors. | | | | with the paint department expert so that you get all of |
| Adding Decorative Molding to Cabinet Doors | | | | the proper primer and paint that you will need. |
| Tools Needed: | | | | During your kitchen remodel, be patient. If you do not |
| * Miter Saw | | | | take your time, you will blow your budget by making |
| * Electric Drill With Small Bit | | | | mistakes. Allow plenty of time. You are trying to get |
| * Hammer | | | | professional results on an affordable budget. |
| * Nail Punch | | | | Prime, paint or stain the wood molding pieces for your |
| * Paint Brush | | | | cabinet remodel job while they are in full-length pieces. |
| * Pencil | | | | Allow them to thoroughly dry. |
| * Tape Measure | | | | After the final finish coat is painted on the door molding |
| Materials Needed: | | | | pieces, use your miter box or saw and start cutting |
| * Decorative Wood Trim | | | | your pieces. MAKE SURE YOUR MITERS ARE NICE |
| * Paint | | | | AND TIGHT. This will be a good time to get out the |
| * Colored Caulking | | | | calculator and figure the decorative trim piece sizes. |
| * 220 Sand Paper | | | | Work on one door at a time and always start with the |
| * Paint Brush | | | | largest and move to the smallest, getting the best use |
| * Small Finish Nails | | | | out of your materials. |
| * Wood Putty Stick | | | | Pre-drill the holes for the finish nails and attach the |
| You have two options for finishing your door trim. You | | | | molding onto the kitchen cabinet doors. Use the nail |
| can either paint it with a solid color or stain it and then | | | | punch to sink the nail heads deep enough so they can |
| put a clear coat over the stain | | | | be covered over with the caulking or wood putty. |
| Using Solid Color Paint on the Molding | | | | Now, you can add additional stain or paint if you need |
| First off, you can get colored caulking that will match | | | | to touch things up a bit. The final stage is to use the |
| Formica sample chip colors from a local cabinet supply | | | | colored caulking or wood putty stick to fill in all of the |
| company. I suggest that you choose the color that you | | | | flaws and nail holes. |
| want to paint the decorative door molding from a | | | | Even though this is a low budget kitchen cabinet |
| Formica plastic laminate chip chain. Then, order colored | | | | improvement, it can really add a rich look to your flat |
| caulking from the cabinet supply company to match | | | | kitchen cabinet doors. I do highly suggest that you take |
| your selection. The caulk will be used to fill-in the miter | | | | the time to remodel the drawer faces as well. |