Cabinets: Antiquing

If your kitchen cabinets look a bit out dated and in need of a change, why not outdate them even more.

By simply using a glaze to antique your cabinets, you can bring a world vintage beauty to your kitchen. Genuine vintage cabinets may look beautiful but they are very expensive and can be hard to come by that is why antiquing ahs become such as popular DIY alternative.

Now you can have the uneven rustic texture of a country antique for a fraction of the price. Plus, you can easily add modern design elements and conveniences that simply weren’t available when most antiques were brand new.

One of the easiest ways to antique your cabinets is by glazing them. Glazing liquids are designed to thin paint and stain as well as slowing there drying times giving you a translucent finish that you can manipulate to create a beautiful antique look on even the newest cabinets.

Start by giving the cabinets a light color base coat of paint or stain. Then, mix together a dark paint or stain color with glazing liquid. Make sure to follow the instructions on the label to figure out the right mixture.

Once your base coat is dry, apply your glaze to the cabinet with a brush. Then, take a cloth, sponge or paper towel and wipe off the excess glaze revealing a lighter color underneath.

Feel free to play around with this glazing coat. Create vertical strips down the panel of the cabinet doors, highlight the design details and leave some of the dark color in the recessed areas and corners for contrast. All of this will help give your cabinet’s real character.

Once you achieved the look you desire, add a final protective coat of sealer and finish it all of knobs, poles and other decorative touches.

This can be a really fun project and anyone could do it with a little hands-on experience so it is good to practice on a small part of the cabinet or scrap piece of wood to test you colors and try out your technique.

Glazing your cabinets is a great way to take your kitchen back in time to the ease and artistry of yesteryear.