Melamine cupboards get a revamp
Amanda Craddock loves pretty things and she’s a whiz with a paintbrush – so the ugly brown cupboards in her kitchen simply
had to go!
If you remove cupboard doors, mark each one carefully so you can replace it in the right spot , as
each door is dif ferent. – Amanda
The costs
This kitchen in the Cape Town suburb of Pinehurst got its new look for just R5 100, most of which – about R4 500 – was spent on new ashwood countertops.
The project cost so little because Amanda and her husband Bobby (a very capable carpenter) did all the work themselves. Bobby cut the grooves in the melamine cupboard doors and made the countertops. The paint cost only R600 and because the original door handles were still in good condition, they were able to use them again.
The project
“I love cooking,” says Amanda. “The soulless kitchen with its brown melamine cabinets and Formica countertops didn’t work for me at all. We’d been living here for barely three months when I decided to get busy with the paintbrushes.”
Bobby first unscrewed the doors and removed the handles and then cut grooves in the doors with his table saw to give them a bit of texture. It’s not a difficult job but to cut all the grooves at the same depth requires a reasonable knowledge of carpentry, says Bobby. Ask someone who knows what they’re doing to help you with this if necessary, he advises. Amanda ( left) has been painting furniture for the past 10 years – initially for her own shop and these days as a hobby. She spent about three days painting the doors.
“I first cleaned the cupboard doors with household detergent and warm water and then I sanded them lightly before coating them with a primer. Then I applied three coats of the blue paint with a roller.
“Now I adore my kitchen with its farm feeling so much that I spend hours in it!” says Amanda proudly.