Simple Techniques That You Can Use To Distress Your Kitchen Cabinets

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If you favor a shabby-chic style in your home, you may wish to tackle some projects around your kitchen that will convert the space to this style. There are a number of ways that you can achieve this look in your kitchen, but if you don't address your cabinets, they won't suit the new style. It's possible to distress your kitchen cabinets with a variety of easily obtainable tools that can give them a shabby-chic finish. It's often easier to remove the cabinet doors from the hinges; for that, you'll need a screwdriver. Otherwise, here are some steps on how you can proceed.

Paint Them And Wipe Them

Depending on the exact look you're going for, you might wish to paint your kitchen cabinets. Pick your preferred color and paint the cabinets with a roller or brush. The key to making them look distressed is to address them before the paint dries. Take a cloth and wipe some of the paint away to give each cabinet door a worn look. You may wish to do so on the front edges of the doors, as this is where the paint might naturally wear from contact with your hands over time. Some people use a contrasting lighter or darker color in these areas, too, to achieve a distressed look.

Add Some Dents

Another key element of distressing wooden items in your home is to add some dents; this mimics the dents that things may gather over time, giving a true shabby-chic appearance. You can add dents to the fronts of your cabinets in many ways. Use a heavy tool, such as a slotted screwdriver or an adjustable wrench, to bang the cabinets lightly. Don't overdo this process; you can always add more dents later, but taking away dents by filling and repainting them is a hassle. You may also wish to add some scratches with the above tools.

Deal With The Handles

Assess whether the handles of your kitchen cabinet doors support the shabby-chic motif. If not, you can typically remove them with a screwdriver. Then, head to an antique store to look for suitable replacements. If you want to really get shabby, you may wish to buy a few different handles to give your cabinets a mismatched look. Otherwise, just find a style of handle that suits the overall look that you're trying to achieve and install them into the cabinet doors before mounting the doors back to the hinges.

Talk to a place like Cabinet Cottage LLC to see if they can provide your with already distressed cabinets or more tips for getting the look your want. 


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