Getting a Handle on Quick Kitchen Makeovers

With the credit crunch biting and the housing market pretty stagnant, folks are turning towards a bit of DIY both to make their living environment more enjoyable and to potentially maximise the value of their property when the time does come to sell again.

John Lewis recently reported an uplift in sales of kitchen replacement and refurbishment products in lieu of investment in complete new kitchens - and several reliable sources in the DIY market reckon to have had an increase in sales too. So here are a few tips on giving your kitchen a bit of a makeover to help brighten your day.

Let's kick off with something simple like kitchen drawer and cabinet handles. These come in a huge variety of styles and sizes and can make a major difference to the look and feel of your kitchen. Traditional and cottage style kitchens can change personality with the use of a different door knob or handle. Replacing a simple wooden pine door knob (which come as standard in so many kitchen designs) with a finely crafted antique pewter style twisted bar handle will lift your room from the ordinary to the extra-ordinary - and believe me it really is quite extra-ordinary that something seemingly to small can make such a big difference. Kitchens require on average around 20 drawer and cupbard handles - so for about £40 you can cheer yourself up with a new twist on your existing style.

If you want to push the boat out when it comes to handles, then solid pewter handles can create a stunning effect. They are more pricey - at around £15 each they are definitely more of a luxury, but well worth it for a superb finish.

For those of you with a little more ambition in the DIY area, Replacement Doors are pretty much like having a completely new kitchen - and they are suprisingly easy to fit. They come in a myriad of styles and colours, contemporary replacement doors tend toward the more sleek and simple designs in a variety of colours and wood effect finishes. Classic doors have more detail but retain the simplicity that makes them timeless favourites and traditional replacement doors are more elaborate and tend towards the wooden effect finishes than colour.

So what's involved with fitting replacement doors? Well in most cases, it's really very simple. The vast majority of kitchen cabinet doors come in standard sizes in width and height and are secured using standard fittings. If you open your kitchen door, you will generally find two hinges on the inside; these will usually be concealed cabinet hinges (also often known by a well know brand, Blum hinges). The hinges fix via a small back plate that screws onto the wall of the cabinet plus the hinge itself which in most cases sits inside a 35mm drilled hole in the door, secured using a couple of small screws. The hinge part fixes to the back plate part either by sliding on and securing with a single screw, or by clipping on. To release the door from the cupboard, all you need do is either flip the clip or undo the screw.

Once you've removed the door (and please don't be worried about doing so, it's very easy to put back on!), then you can take a look a the condition of the hinges. As long as they are working ok and still nice and clean, then there's no need to replace them, just use them again on your new doors. If not, you'll need to buy the same style and quantity to refit with the new doors. You can see Clip on Concealed Cabinet Hinges here and download a more detailed guide to replacement doors and fittings by visiting this link and downloading the pdf on the link labelled Replacement Door Guide

So, the next step is to measure your doors, width and height. (Click the following link to see standard sizes for replacement kitchen doors are shown in the table on this page. Then you have a choice whether to have the 35mm holes for the hinges (mentioned above) pre-drilled into the doors when you order them. To do this you will need to provide the supplier with the exact locations of the holes by measuring the distance from the top and side of the door to the hole centers (this is covered in the guide you can download above). If you want to DIY it, then you can use a 35mm Forstner bit (pictured right) attached to your standard drill. There is some leeway for adjustment both vertically and horizontally in the concealed hinges, so get it as accurately centered as you can, but you can make adjustments if necessary.

So you've measured all your doors and drawer fronts and assessed how many cabinet hinges you might need - now you just place your order!. When the doors arrive, fix the hinge part of the concealed hinges into the 35mm holes in the door, and simply attach them to the back plates affixed to the inside of the cabinets.

That's it! New look, new feel kitchen in a few easy steps. Of course if you have any doubts at all, contact a local carpenter of joiner, or kitchen fitter for advice. And if you have a bespoke kitchen you may need to contact your supplier to discuss your requirements.

Please note! The above tips are provided for guidance only and I take no responsibility for the success or otherwise of your project (unless of course, you are truly ecstatic with your new look kitchen and want to express your undying gratitude!!)