Old Dog – New Tricks

Do I need to replace my old cupboards when I replace the countertops?

In a word, NO.

Design centers and kitchen renovators would love to up-sell you on a whole new kitchen complete with cabinetry resulting in needless expense and much inconvenience. If your cupboards are well designed and well-built, then laminate countertops can be changed out or updated to your hearts’ content. The flexibility of laminate combined with the lower cost and wide range of colour options makes it super easy and super cost-effective to upgrade your kitchen in a less painful way than demoing your kitchen to make room (and wait for) your new cupboards.

Needless to say, if your cupboards lack something in terms of layout or functionality then this may be an option you will want to explore prior to installing new countertops. Since laminated countertops are screwed to the frame of your cupboards, you’ll want to get your new cupboards in place and levelled prior to having your counters measured. It’s important. Somewhat akin to the old adage, ‘measure twice; cut once’ and ‘better to be safe than sorry’.

The beauty of well-built cupboards is that they are readily adaptable to new ideas. They’re sturdy, and a great building block if you’re looking to upgrade. For example, for a D-I-Y-er, upgrading good quality but outdated wooden cabinets to a newer look can be a matter of just ordering new door and drawer fronts from a reputable source and finding some nifty new hardware. A little bit of paint and you’re off to the races. Old dog; new tricks, right?

So the long and short of it is, that you can give your kitchen a really big lift with very few changes and minimal cost. The beauty of a laminate countertop too, is not only that they are more durable than they’ve ever been. The fact that the offering of colour and style changes, that move with the times and trends, make them more appealing than ever.