How to renovate your kitchen without changing the cabinets

Making some or all of the existing cabinetry work can do wonders for your budget and the environment

By Kathryn O'Shea-Evans

October 25, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

The owner of this 1920s cabin loved the original chestnut cabinetry. So, designer Gallagher Hannan left the uppers in place and only changed the lower cupboards, which no longer functioned. (Gallagher Hannan)

5 min

When you buy a house, you usually inherit things from previous owners that you never would have picked yourself. That’s the case in our 1948 remodeled ranch in suburban Denver, where my husband and I took the good hand-me-downs (soaring ceilings and skylights from an earlier reno) with the very, very bad (wall-to-wall greige carpet and a front door with a frosted glass window that could have easily been a part of a “Sopranos” set). We’ve slowly been updating the galley kitchen, which originally had peeling laminate counters and a gas stove I swapped for zippy induction.

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