Recycled Kitchen Cabinets

Get information on recycled kitchen cabinets, an environmentally and budget-friendly way to redesign your kitchen.
Primitive colonial Kitchen

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Primitive colonial Kitchen

Photo by: Brian Brown

Brian Brown

By: Amy McEvoy

Kitchen renovation can be costly. Appliances can be expensive to replace and cabinetry is expensive to install, regardless of the materials used. For this reason, recycled kitchen cabinets can be an attractive option.

Conserving materials to use as cabinets is one way to save money in a kitchen renovation project. Recycling old cabinets or using recycled materials to create new cabinets can save money and benefit the environment in the process.

Repurposed cabinets from old banks of cabinets, whether from your own home or from a retailer, are very useful in a budget-friendly kitchen redesign. They can be sanded down and re-stained if made of wood. Doors and pieces can be taken off and rebuilt in new formations to create a new look. Additionally, new hardware can be placed on existing doors for a new look on recycled kitchen cabinets.

If your current kitchen cabinets are unusable in your new kitchen design, there are retailers specifically dedicated to providing recycled cabinets and other supplies. Material exchanges allow businesses, non-profits and individuals to trade or buy a full range of building materials. Reuse stores are similar to exchanges. Some only allow low-income homeowners to shop, while others allow anyone to buy recycled materials and then donate the profits to organizations supporting low-income families. Either way, recycled kitchen cabinets can be bought at low cost with the added benefit of helping others.

Reclaimed furniture pieces found in your home or at flea markets and antique stores can be used to create a bank of kitchen cabinets as well. Chests of drawers, buffets or bookshelves can be reconstructed and painted a uniform color to provide the storage needed in the kitchen in a unique and eclectic way.

Reclaimed lumber from old barns, fences, beams and posts are also ideas for recycled kitchen cabinets. Salvaged wood has become very popular in recent years, which can provide you with a one-of-a-kind look in your kitchen design. Salvage stores are a good place to find reclaimed wood and architectural details for your recycled kitchen cabinets.

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