Hand Gathered Home

  • Our Home
    • Front Porch
    • Entryway
    • Living Room
    • Kitchen
    • Dining Room
    • Master Bedroom
    • Bathroom
    • Nursery
    • Kid Rooms
  • Shop Our Home
  • Shop My Favorite Things
  • Shop My Amazon Storefront
  • Virtual Design Services
    • Meet the Team
    • Portfolio
  • About
    • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
  • Videos

3 Ways to Make your Builder Grade Cabinets Look Custom

Kitchen· Our Home

23 Jun
907 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
While new builds can absolutely be gorgeous, sometimes builders finish houses with lower end materials in order to get it done faster and cheaper. Here are 3 ways to make your builder grade cabinets look custom.
How to make your builder grade cabinets look more expensive

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Before

Here’s what your kitchen looked like when we bought our house. Cute, but definitely lacking that custom look. The biggest part of it is that the cabinets have so much space above them. I’m a sucker for everything to look very built-in, like it was made specifically for that space.

How to make your builder grade cabinets look custom

#1 – Add “cabinets” on top of your cabinets

There are a few ways this can be done. First, you can actually buy (or build) cabinets to fit the space between the existing cabinets and the ceiling. This was an option, but definitely the pricier option.

I came to the conclusion (after a while of thinking it through), that all I really needed was the face frame of the cabinet, since no one would actually see the rest anyway. SO, what we did was design and build the face frame of a cabinet to be attached up there, in order to fill the space without breaking the bank.

Another benefit of doing this is that the ceilings look taller, because it draws your attention all the way to the ceiling, instead of stopping 2.5 feet from it.

I believe we used 1x poplar for this project. It comes in different widths in order to match your existing cabinets. I can’t remember if we had to rip any boards, or if the widths were purchased the right size. Needless to say, make sure you measure everything first.

How to make your builder grade cabinets look custom

This is the face frame I’m talking about. We used a Kreg jig to screw it all together on the back side.

How to make your builder grade cabinets look custom
Home Tour

Here they are all secured up there. Such an improvement and a much more custom look.

#2 – Paint your cabinets

One sure fire way to upgrade the look of your cabinets is through paint. No pressure, but the paint colors you pick for your kitchen cabinets can definitely make or break that. So choose wisely 😉 White or black are always safe and classic choices.

I recently took a risk (for me) and painted my base cabinets green. I really love how they turned out too! The color is Retreat by Sherwin Williams.

DIY Basket Pendant Light

#3 – Remove cabinet doors to create an open shelving look

Removing the cabinet doors on the far right side did so much for this space. It made it a little more exciting and gave it a little more style.

I wouldn’t do it for every cabinet, but if there’s one you can see right when you walk into your kitchen, do it! I also didn’t fill the holes for the hinges, so I can always put the doors back on.

How to make your builder grade cabinets look more expensive

So there you have it, friends. 3 Ways to Make your Builder Grade cabinets look custom.

Pin for later below. It always helps so much!

Pin for Later

3 Ways to Make your Builder Grade Cabinets feel custom

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

5 Comments

About Alleigh

« Amazon Favorite Finds this Week
Green Board and Batten Accent Wall »

Comments

  1. brittaney says

    April 19, 2022 at 6:32 pm

    gorgeous! what colors did you paint the cabinet uppers and lowers? I’m obsessed with that green!

    Reply
    • Alleigh says

      January 3, 2023 at 12:09 am

      The upper cabinets are Chantilly Lace BM and the lowers are Retreat SW. Sorry I’m just seeing this somehow!

      Reply
  2. Emma says

    December 24, 2022 at 8:31 pm

    Cute idea! Did you only do the one side? I see the final photo is cropped. I was hoping to see how you did that pesky corner.

    Reply
    • Alleigh says

      January 3, 2023 at 12:13 am

      So we did the whole thing, but I don’t think it was totally finished when I wrote this post. We just followed the direction of the cabinets. So for the corner, we did the same shape as the cabinet below. I hope that makes sense!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. WE SOLD OUR HOUSE! Old House Before and After Tour – Hand Gathered Home says:
    May 28, 2021 at 3:23 am

    […] 3 Ways to Make your Builder Grade Cabinets Look Custom […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




So glad you’re here!

Hi! I’m Alleigh. I’m a mom to my two sweet little boys, and wife to a very supportive husband. I’m so glad you’re here! Join me and my little family as we get our hands dirty and add life & personality to our home to create a place that we love.

Find more about me here

Let’s Connect

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

On Instagram

handgatheredhome

First thrift haul of 2023 blog and video coming to First thrift haul of 2023 blog and video coming to ya on Friday morning 🙌🏼 Have you been thrifting yet this year?? It’s a goal of mine to be better about checking the thrift store first (rather than just looking on Amazon) when we have a need 🙌🏼
We’re talking decorating for winter this week on We’re talking decorating for winter this week on the blog and YT. Stay tuned for that! Sometimes the house feels a little funny and empty after Christmas decor comes down. Let’s fix that! ✨
Ok let’s hear those 2023 home goals! I have all Ok let’s hear those 2023 home goals! I have all sorts of big plans for my house this year and am excited to bring you guys along. What would you love to change in your home in 2023? I’d love to hear! ✨
I did a thing and I painted my bedroom green. Bold I did a thing and I painted my bedroom green. Bold, I know ;) kidding, as it’s practically a neutral hah. But I do love it and I’m glad I branched out! I’m finishing up a post and video on all the details of this room refresh and then I’ll share 🙌🏼 what’s something you’ve been wanting to do in your house but are a little hesitant to commit to?
Sometimes thrifting is overwhelming, I get it. I f Sometimes thrifting is overwhelming, I get it. I found this super fun, textured lamp today for $10 (kind of expensive for Goodwill in my option 😂). But obviously $10 is a good deal in the grand scheme of things. And with a dimmable light bulb it’s 🙌🏼 who knew!
If you want to feel confident thrifting for your home, I have a FREE ebook for you in my bio. I walk you through all of my favorite things to look for at the thrift store and why 🙌🏼 go check it out ✨
Here are 3 easy ways to style an entryway! 1. Cons Here are 3 easy ways to style an entryway!
1. Console table with 2 lamps and a mirror
2. Console table with sconces and a gallery wall
3. Bench with baskets for shoes (hello, function), you could also add hooks 🙌🏼

#virtualdesign #interiordesign #entrywaystyle #entrywaydecor #entryway #entrywaytable
Check out this before and after from a recent proj Check out this before and after from a recent project of ours 😍
#beforeandafter #virtualdesign #handgatheredhome
Sometimes I miss our old house, because it felt so Sometimes I miss our old house, because it felt so much more put together than our current house. Projects with a toddler and a baby are no joke. But so worth it once they’re done 🙌🏼 working on getting back in the groove of sharing projects over here. I have a few up my sleeve that I’m excited to share soon 🙃
Load More...

Copyright © 2023 · Refined theme by Restored 316

907 shares
 

Loading Comments...