The cost of upgrading your kitchen can be high, and because of that, many homeowners choose to live with outdated cabinets like the ones below. Often, people think that their only option for upgrading the look of their kitchen is to buy new cabinets, but that’s simply not true. If you like the layout of your kitchen and your cabinets are in good shape, updating old cabinets can be done by simply replacing the doors.
In this kitchen, I replaced the old doors with new doors using a hidden hinge, also known as a European hinge. This eliminates any issues with new doors trying to fit into the old door’s “slots”.
As you can see, the older styled hinges leave a big hole, which can still be seen with the new door.
Obviously if you go to the trouble of updating old cabinets, you don’t want those ugly holes left behind. Here’s how to fill the spaces so you can have hidden hinges.
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Supplies needed to fill the holes when updating old cabinets:
- Paint sticks, shims or thin strips of wood
- Gorilla Glue
- Plastic Wood
- 220 grit sandpaper
- Krud Kutter
- mitre saw
step 1) Using a mitre saw, cut paint sticks to match the size of the old hinge. This will be the same size as the hole.
Step 2) Wet the paint sticks.
Step 3) Apply a small amount of gorilla glue to one side of the paint stick. Note: Gorilla glue swells as it dries, so a little goes a long way.
Step 4) Place paint stick in cabinet hardware hole with glue side facing the solid edge. Let dry.
Step 5) Using your finger or a putty knife, apply Plastic Wood in the hole. Let dry.
Step 6) Lightly sand and repeat step 5 until the hole is completely flush with the cabinet frame.
Sand with 220 grit sand paper for a smooth finish.
Finally, prime and paint. In case you missed it, here is a great tutorial on painting cabinets like a pro.
Check out these related posts if you’re looking for more kitchen cabinet inspiration:
Easy Painting Project For Your Kitchen Cabinets | Dark Cabinets to White Cabinets
How to Put a Useful Memo Chalkboard on a Cabinet Door
Easy Kitchen Updates You Can Do This Weekend
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