COLUMN: Gail Mayhugh

DEAR GAIL: I am in the process of remodeling my kitchen. I will be doubling it in size for added counter and cabinet space. I designed it so I could keep most of the existing cabinets and just add to it. Well, I just found out that the cabinet color has changed. Besides buying all new, what are my options? -- Jim

DEAR JIM: What a disappointment. Buying all new cabinets will definitely put a crunch in your kitchen remodel budget, but there are a couple options that you can look into.

One option is having a custom cabinet shop make the new cabinets that you are adding. I'm assuming that you have wood-stained cabinets, so you'll want to provide the door style and stain color to match. Have them make an actual sample that you can place next to your existing cabinets to make sure they have a good color match.

If you have difficulty getting an exact match, but get a very close color that would not be noticeable if the cabinets were not touching, you could stain or paint the cabinet using a different color where the old and new meet. If you have light oak cabinets, you could stain the cabinet between a dark oak or paint it to coordinate with your color scheme. Two toning cabinets is very popular and quite often done in custom kitchens.

Depending upon how your cabinets are laid out, you will want to look at the overall design and make sure the color is balanced. You wouldn't want one dark cabinet with all the rest light or dark only on one side of your kitchen. You could integrate the dark stain in with the new cabinets or in an area with the old to give an intended look.

Another option is mixing the old and new cabinets together by relocating some of your old ones to your newly remodeled area. Again, since the stain color will not match, you'll need to use a new stain or paint finish. You would follow the same process in looking at color placement as I previously mentioned, but use new stock cabinets versus custom-made.

You may save money by not having cabinets custom-made, but you'll need to factor in the cost of moving the existing ones.

Of course, you can have new unfinished cabinets put in and then paint everything a new color. Or, you can have the new cabinets put in and have the old cabinets refaced to match.

Take the time to investigate each option and the costs. Remodeling a kitchen is an investment that adds the most value to your home -- more than any other home improvement. Plus, it is something that you will probably not do again in your home. Make sure that you are getting the look you want.

After all is said and done, new cabinets may be the best way to go to get what you initially envisioned.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 8170 S. Eastern Ave., Box 4-275, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.

Real Estate home