Kitchen and bathroom cabinets are always expensive and often there is nothing wrong with the cabinets, except that they are outdated. In today’s market when we are looking to save money and the planet, you can re-use your older cabinets if they are in good shape.

First you might consider painting them or using a heavy bodied stain to give them a more updated look.

If the cabinets have a center panel, you can remove it with a router; again, if this is beyond your talents, call a professional. In place of the old wood center, you can have glass cut to fit. You will need to have narrow wood pieces cut to fit on top of the glass and allow for staples to hold the glass in place. There are many choices of glass styles available. Consider what is being stored, as even ‘sanded’ glass is somewhat transparent and you might not want to see the cereal box labels. Naturally, if you have pretty items to display, you can use something more decorative and transparent.

If you have solid doors without any ornamentation, you can add some moldings for more interest, then just paint or stain them and add some new hardware.

New hardware will make a world of difference in updating your cabinets and will be the easiest change of all. Most places that sell hardware also sell inexpensive templates to help you get the hardware positioned equally on all your cabinets. If you are painting or staining and need to reposition the hardware or if the new hardware doesn’t fit the old positions, just fill and paint, then re-drill the new positions.