Can you update a kitchen keeping the same cupboard carcasses?

[ItsDangerousInKingsmarkham]

The word carcasses gives me the willies but that aside, has anyone updated a kitchen by replacing doors, floor and worktop?

We have a reasonably large kitchen/diner which was put in 15 years ago and although it's inoffensive it's showing signs of age. It's cream gloss with long silver handles, wood effect worktop and black/grey slate tiled floor. It looks ok from afar but is definitely past it's best with some peeling gloss, cracked tiles etc.

We're considering what to do with it and we had thought about trying to just change a few bits to make it a bit tidier and more modern.

Any ideas?

Yes. We had intended to do this before we did an extension and changed the layout of the kitchen. Lots of companies keep the carcasses and supply new worktops and doors. It makes sense to me to do so Have a Google of companies in your area who do this.

You can even get the cupboard doors refurbished with vinyl wraps and new handles etc

Yep you can just change the doors.

B&Q are advertising 20% off cupboard doors and drawer fronts atm so yes it is possible. You could alternatively opt to have existing doors resprayed - lots of adverts for that now too. You can change door/drawer handles at the same time. Replacing worktop possible too - we replaced ours last year due to a leaking tap having damaged the existing worktop. So yes, lots if alternatives to completely refitting a kitchen.

Yes, if the cupboards are standard sizes you should be able to get the doors from a few places, wickes, b and q etc. Loads of places do counter tops these days, order samples online if you're not sure what you want, and take careful measurements before you order.

Thank you - good to know it can be done. I'll have a look, I'm not too sure exactly what we would want to change it to!

Possibly made more difficult by the fact the cupboards have an end - I'll need to look into how to change that.

Photo of the end of the cupboards. Suspect it has a proper name!

You can get new doors, and your countertops professionally wrapped.

Or you can spray your cupboard doors if they are still good.
I painted mine myself, and they look great

We did this, changed them all to white and I painted the end white to match, you can’t tell. However you can buy new ends but I think they come with the rest of the carcass too so you may have to buy 1 new carcass but still cheaper than replacing them all

I transformed my inherited kitchen by spraying, changing worktop, handles and floor. This was 4 years ago and I've since replaced wall cupboards and colour matched it to new cupboards which my painter has done and did a better job than the sprayer. I just touch up when necessary. I couldn't be more pleased with it.

Having looked into this over a long period of time, I would get a company in to spray the fronts and end panels. Buying new fronts really adds up and then you have the complication of coloured end panels. By the time you've priced it up, professional spraying works out much more economical and you have more freedom on colour choice.

You can if they are in good condition

I've done this in my kitchen - we had new wall tiles, new counter top, and then units professionally painted (doors / ends / insides of those units with glass fronted doors).

I'm really pleased, we had a lot of work done on the kitchen (back half knocked down & rebuilt, ceilings down, solid wall insulation everywhere) so the kitchen units were taken down as part of the work. It seemed kind of silly to put them back, but I've got a lot of units (big l-shaped kitchen), and there was nothing wrong with them other than being very old fashioned looking and a bit tired. My builders also re-jigged the layout a bit to suit us better.

Overall I think the result looks great, and obviously it saved ££s compared to new units which I was able to put into other aspects of the work. In retrospect I would perhaps have replaced the sink as well though.

Or you could cover your existing doors in wrap

Dream Doors are a nationwide company that change doors, worktops, sinks. Cheaper than a new kitchen but obviously cheaper if you do it yourself.

OP, as PPs have said this is very possible - get a professional in to re-spray the cupboards, get your new handles first so you can fill in any extra drilled holes for the long handles before the spraying :)

Probably wise to start with the new floor so that the re-sprayed plinths can go straight over your new floor without having to move them! If you're re-tiling that should probably happen before the re-spray too.

The worktops will likely be the last thing. The good fitters have special gear for this, it's not an easy job!

BUT, word of caution: you need to check out the soundness of the carcasses before you go ahead with this plan. After 15 years are the hinges, drawer runners and pull-outs still working as they should be? Any sticky drawers, wonky hinges etc need to be addressed. Depending on the quality of the carcasses you may find that the material around the hinges is degraded and the fixings have nothing solid to hold on to. If this is the case then you'd be wise to just replace the kitchen - or you'll be putting a lot of work into polishing it when it might fall apart in a couple of years!

Best of luck :)

We did it in a B2L that needed updating. It had old brown fronts with mock ironwork handles (1980s)? We bought new high gloss white doors with small handles from B&Q.

However we employed a kitchen fitter, he squared up the carcases first. It made a difference. Looked great and modern after.

I bought my kitchen units on ebay from an old farmhouse, painted what I needed blue instead of a dirty cream colour. The units were expensive to start with so very well made. 5 years later its still solid. So if your carcasses arent that good have a look for second hand,

I've just employed a kitchen makeover company to change my doors, worktops, sink, taps and extractor. It's a fraction of the cost of a new kitchen.There are plenty of companies out there that can change as little or as much as you require. Your end panels can be supplied to match your doors too. They are fitting mine for me but also do supply only.