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Hi. I'm new to posting in forums but I need help! =)

I inherited a beautiful solid wood wall unit - it was in the house when we purchased it. I believe it is hand made. It is a little outdated for our style - which is more modern. I was wondering if anyone had any design tips? I am thinking of repainting and also changing the knobs. Not sure what else I can do.

Thanks

What makes it look dated are the arch top doors. The unit itself looks quite useful and painting it a different colour would be worthwhile. Check with a local cabinet shop because it may not be that costly to replace the doors.

Before you paint it, could you take off the doors on the top part and just have open shelves? You could get new doors for just the bottom or what are the back of the doors like? If they are flat, maybe you could turn them around. New handles/knobs would be great too.

Welcome. I'm glad you posted a pic. I'd remove the doors and replace all or some w/ more contemporary styles...even frosted glass panels along w/ changing the hardware and repainting in a black, gray or white depending on your decor. The existing cathedral paneled door style screams traditional circa 80s to me. Leaving some open shelves and displaying handsome dishware is an option for some or all of the upper cabinets.

quote:

If they are flat, maybe you could turn them around.

This sounds like a good idea. Paint the color of your choice and new knobs or pulls should update this beautiful piece to your preferred style.

It's difficult to tell from the pictures but I have a feeling the outside edge of the doors is beveled. It would look strange if you turned the doors inside out if that's the case. In addition, you will have the holes made by screws holding the hinges to fill. Since you will be painting the unit, even MDF would be a suitable material for doors.

If you plan painting anyways, what about filling in the doors before painting. I don't know how well it would hold up in the long run but at least you'd get rid of the arch design.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'm going to play around with a few ideas and will post updated pictures once I start this project. Thank you all again. I appreciate it!

I agree that repainting and new hardware will help immensely.

Replacing the doors will help and removing some of the upper ones might be an option.
If you have any Habitat for Humanity stores near you, they are a source for inexpensive doors.

If you don't want to change out the doors, you could cover them with a thin sheet of veneer, or mirrors, or fabric, or thin MDF or plywood since you will be painting them.

It looks like a very nice and useful unit, so good luck with whatever you choose.

Candy

I would consider covering the door fronts with sheets of luann. You can check it out and purchase a sample to test at your local big box store or lumber yard.

BTW, luann's available in many different grain patterns and wood tones/colors so you might want to shop around.

JMHO and good luck with your project -

Doors are inset but drawer fronts are not.

Which means any addition to the top surface of the doors will interfere with their operation, especially on the pull down desk area. The one good thing is that if you replace them, you can take the doors (number them to find where they go) and take them to make new doors that are flat. You would need to replace the drawer fronts as well since they have a routed edge which gives them a Traditional to colonial style.

The front of the shelf you have will need to have a small molding (straight, no style) added to the bottom edge of the front of the shelf to make it more beefy in appearance.

Nice unit, looks like it does its job well, a new look is certainly better than an expensive replacement.

I was going to suggest a 1/4" face applied to the front of the cabinet coming in about 1/4 inch, but that would not look so modern, and that is why I mentioned the desk pull down would not work properly if this application was done, Formica fronts would do the same for off-setting the hinges and operation of the doors, this is why I suggested replacing.

IF you decide to change out the doors, and have a friend (or you are familiar) with wood fillers and putties, you can fill in the space, cover the whole door with grain filler, and sand smooth. This takes patience (cheapest solution but not the easiest). Then prime and paint using Penetrol or Flowtrol (water based) to thin the paint and not have brush strokes (applied with sponge type roller meant for cabinet painting). There are a few different types of paint that are meant for kitchen cabinets and you could check those out at the HD or Lowe's type stores.

The doors look routed (the arch design), IF they are just routed, then that is not wood but MDF and CNC machining done, but if they are separate pieces, then they are made of wood... then the above treatment might not work because of the movement of the wood with use and over time (wood is a natural material and expands and shrinks over use and time).

With refinished doors and drawer fronts you can reposition your new hardware (larger styles). Pick all horizontal or vertical placements knobs or pulls... of your liking.

Photo shows example of an unpainted MDF door, one piece with routing machine done. Also an inset door style (inside the side panels) This was for our built-ins in our Virginia house.

Good luck with your project! Will be watching for photos!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

This shows the same cabinet with all door and drawer fronts in MDF, painted. And the mullion doors (with glass panels) are wood (MDF does not hold up to cut outs like this with weight).

We made the cabinets from wood and then ordered the doors. DH made the drawer fronts and counter as well as installing the moldings. He also did the cut out for the legs, and installed the hardwood flooring, columns, etc.
You can't tell the difference between MDF and wood once painted. MDF has no grain so it appears smoother when painted than Oak for example which has a deep grain.

You have an option of making some of your doors removed to add a place to showcase modern accessories.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

I can't believe I forgot to mention the crown molding. This should be tacked on and easily removed, you can change it out to be more modern and a bit larger if you want, can also be straight or more than one piece, you can also add rope lighting inside behind the molding space to add a nice glow at night (you have the room for it).