How To Make Oak Kitchen Cabinets Look Modern (without painting)
If you want an updated kitchen but don’t have time to paint your cabinets, then this post is for you. Keep reading to discover 12 ways you can makeover your small oak kitchen today.
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. Read our full privacy policy.
In our home, we have chosen to go the route of painting our kitchen cabinets and even repainting them. However, there are ways to update your oak kitchen cabinets without painting. This small kitchen makeover may have you rethinking your next kitchen DIY project.
Can oak cabinets look modern?
Finding the right color scheme to complement your oak cabinets, decor, and style will update your space. Our friends bought this amazing lakehouse and chose to do just that. From your countertops to hardware, adding modern elements to oak cabinets can really make an impact. Use these 12 ways to modernize your 90s oak cabinets without painting them.
The Before Kitchen
The red walls, mosaic backsplash, and plaid drapes gave this room a dated feel.
What Readers Say:
“You saved us A LOT OF MONEY! Hubby WANTED TO PAINT! I SAID ” NOT OAK!”“
charlotte
The Makeover Plan
Here is a rough sketch of the main ideas used to completely makeover this small kitchen without tearing everything out. You will absolutely love the final results and how they were able to do this on a budget!
1. Clean The Cabinets
Seriously, have you ever seen how much grime can accumulate on kitchen cabinets? Take a wet towel or kitchen cleaner and get the grime off. Look at the cabinets up close and in all the little grooves dust can sit. A simple wiping can make all the difference.
2. Add a Modern Backsplash and Grout Color
We absolutely love the geometric backsplash they chose in this kitchen. While the color is simple, the shape of the tiles adds a more modern feel. Not to mention they played off of their black matte hardware when choosing their grout color.
Don’t want to replace your kitchen backsplash completely?
Check out how we were able to paint our kitchen backsplash tile in our cheap kitchen makeover. Honestly, it is one of the best (and easiest) DIY projects we have ever done.
3. Replace A few Upper Cabinets With Open Shelving
There are mixed reviews on open shelving, but taking a few cabinets down added so much style to this kitchen and showcased the awesome modern backsplash. You can make your own floating DIY shelves or buy premade ones that match your existing cabinets.
4. Change Out The Cabinet Hardware
This might seem like a no-brainer, but sometimes all cabinets need is a little refresh with new hardware. These matte black handles (awesome bulk price) and contemporary knobs can bring a whole new look to the kitchen.
Read More>>>Trendy Matte Black Hardware Ideas
Can you use spray paint on your old kitchen hardware?
You for sure can! When we added laundry room cabinets & shelving, we had a mix of metals that I wasn’t vibing with. We could have purchased new handles like the ones above but we were able to spray paint the silver handles we already had.
You could do the same when considering updating your oak cabinet hardware.
Frequently touched handles may have a limited life span once spray painted, but properly cleaning will help the paint adhere. On the other hand, hinges are rarely touched and are the perfect thing to spray paint to match your modern decor.
5. Change The Faucet Finish
The matte black sink hardware goes with the white counters and oak cabinets. You also don’t have to ruin your budget when shopping for black matte sink faucets. Stores carry all sorts of styles at different price points now.
6. Replace The Countertops
This is the priciest suggestion on this list. Our friends did not have a ton of counter space, so they could achieve this without breaking the bank. And by adding a premade island they saved money by not having to put a custom countertop there. Mixing and matching different surfaces can save you money.
Changing your countertops to a more modern and airy style can make a difference. Our friends went with a faux white marble quartz that added a clean element to the space.
They were able to give a fresher feeling to their kitchen by adding more light and bright colors to the surrounding elements.
Read More: 6 Tips For Choosing Countertops To Go With Oak Cabinets (plus our favorite 7 colors)
7. Paint A Light Color On Your Walls & Trim
The “before” dated red painted walls made this kitchen feel small. The space immediately opened up by using a bright white color on the trim & walls.
The classic color palette of neutral brown, white and black will always stay on trend. You can always add fun colors to your accessories and items you choose to put on display.
8. Add A Pre-Made Kitchen Island
The original kitchen did not have an island. Instead of trying to match the cabinets, you can purchase a premade island or cart that could work. As you can see in the before picture, taping out the dimensions will help you visualize your space with the new addition.
Don’t be afraid to add color, repaint, or make the piece completely different than the surrounding cabinets. Finish your decor by adding modern stools.
9. Replace Some Door Fronts With Glass
The upper corner cabinet already had a glass front. However, if you don’t have that, you could always consider changing some of your upper cabinet doors to help break up the wall of oak cabinetry. Display cool cookbooks or dishes to really add some flavor to your kitchen remodel.
10. Change Your Light Fixtures
Have fun mixing materials and textures in your space. The neutral hanging lights exude boho-chic while still working with the oak cabinets. The basket light fixture is awesome but we could also see a capiz shell light there as well.
11. Add Modern Furniture & Decor
Our friends snagged an awesome leather couch and other fun decor items for the open living room by buy-sell-trade. You can ccore cheap home items with our tips and learn the lingo for FB marketplace and BST.
The brown leather color plays off the oak cabinets to give a complete mid-century feel. The contemporary furniture gives the feeling that the oak cabinets were always supposed to be part of the original design.
12. Buy new appliances
In this kitchen makeover, one oak cabinet was removed and a dishwasher was added for functional reasons. The range and refrigerator were also replaced. The stainless steel and modern appliances help to visually break up the line of oak cabinets that were previously there.
If this isn’t in the budget, white appliances would still feel modern in this space. Just give them a fresh cleaning.
Tips
- When choosing a wall color to complement oak cabinets, consider lighter colors with slightly warm undertones, such as warm whites, light sage greens, or creams.
- If matte black hardware is not your thing, you could consider bronze, champagne gold, or other modern brass hardware options.
- Keep the permanent fixtures neutral. You can always add color with accessories and decor that can be easily changed.
Before and After Kitchen With Oak Cabinets
I don’t know about you, but these ideas will make me reconsider painting cabinets.
Room Sources
Here are links to some of the exact or very close to the exact products used.
- Matte Black Cabinet Pulls
- Matte Black Cabinet Handles
- Matte Black Faucet With Sprayer
- Basket Lights: similar one over the island and table.
- Geometric Backsplash
- Black Metal Bar Stools
- Premade Island (similar to the one purchased)
Makeover FAQs
White counters or white counters with slight veins go well with oak cabinetry. Consider a granite color like Super White which is meant to look like Carrara marble or Colonial White for a warmer color for a modern feel.
Add bright and crisp colors to the walls, backsplash tiles, and appliances. A pure white color can help brighten a space with honey oak cabinets. White or stainless steel appliances will also help bounce light around and make your kitchen feel larger.
More and more modern kitchen designs show lighter wood cabinets or a mixture of wood and colored cabinetry. Consider refacing your oak cabinet boxes with newer style doors such as Shaker, adding modern hardware and adding soft-close drawers to modernize your oak kitchen cabinets.
Related Projects
- Liveable Green Walls-An Awesome Neutral Green Paint Color
- Best White Paint Colors For Kitchen Cabinets and Walls
- Budget-Friendly Flooring Installation (Our Tips For Beginners)
- How To Whitewash Oak Cabinets To Get Rid Of Orange Tones
While we like painting cabinets we know that you can still make oak cabinets look modern with these DIY projects and ideas.
You saved us A LOT OF MONEY! Hubby WANTED TO PAINT! I SAID ” NOT OAK!”
Awesome. I am glad that you were able to get inspiration from this post for your oak kitchen cabinets!
Do you know what colour they painted the walls and trim? Everything looks great!
Hi Heather. I am still waiting to here from our friends about the white color they used. If you are looking for a great white though, I would consider SW Pure White. We just used it in a small bathroom and it is true to its name.
@Erin,
Hi Erin,
Did you happen to find out the paint color used in the kitchen? I’m needing to paint and would love to sample this color. I too have the oak cabinet blues.. I’m hoping this will help 🙂 Thank you for the article as I’m searching for a modern look.
Hi Madeline. My friends think they used a very basic and clean white called from Behr: Ultra Pure White. This is a very clean and crisp white that is similar to SW High Reflective White.
The white walls over the uppers blend so much that at first glance, it appears that the ceiling was lowered.
I have a lot of the oak cabinets, I am thinking about distressing them, and painting my kitchen that flows into my dining room a medium rich yellow. It kind of freaks me out, because what if I don’t like the look and then then I have all this on my cabinets. LOL! I can visualize it, and it looks nice, but……I have already done the hardware, glass doors, just not making much of a difference. I like you back splash, this house has none (we bought it a year ago) and I think that would make a huge difference. Us DIYers have lots of creative ideas, and they go around in circles in our brains. LOL
Hi Cindy. Yes, DIYers are always letting one project lead to another. We do that all the time here! Good luck with your kitchen projects.
Thank you for sharing your fresh and practical transformation! Can you please be more specific about the countertop material – “faux white marble granite?”
Hi Gina. So my friends used granite that is meant to look like marble for their countertops and not actual marble which can be harder to maintain. We have seen awesome success with the granite color called Super White which is meant to look like Carrara marble.
We have some old oak cabinets in our kitchen and have desperately wanted to invest in cabinet refinishing or cabinet painting of some sort. Thank you for the inspiration, Erin!
I’m keeping my honey oak cabinets, but changing countertops to something NOT white. They’re white now and it’s too easy to stain white. I like the backsplash tiles in the new kitchen, but don’t care for the open shelving or that institutional “island.” I would chose a different light fixture but anything is better than the nondescript fixture in the old kitchen picture.
Hi Cindy. Good luck with your kitchen makeover. I would love to know the countertops and light fixture you picked.
R u in Westerville,Oh? My hometown!
Hi Sherry. One of our friends also grew up there!
What do you have on your floors? We want to add wood look flooring but want something that won’t clash with the oak.
Hi Kimberly. Those floor were there the whole time. If you look closely, you can see that there are multiple wood colors/variations in the flooring. I am sorry that I do not know the exact name of the flooring used.
I kind of feel most of these ideas would be more expensive and time consuming than just painting the doors
Hi Sally. Yes, if you did all of this it could be more costly than painting the doors. However, you could also just do one or two things off this list to help modernize your kitchen with oak cabinets. Good luck with your kitchen reno!
Have you seen anyone take the cabinet doors off and then paining the rest of the cabinet white and then put the doors back on. I am wondering if the outline in white would offset the oak???
Hi Brian. We have not seen that personally. I guess the worse case scenario would be that you end up painting your cabinets all white. We would maybe consider painting the lower or upper cabinets instead of doing only part of the all the cabinets.
I would also add the tip to ‘refreshen’ the look- is a nice long, neutral rug runner. I really like how they look in a kitchen!
Hey Reba! Yes, great idea. There are so many fun rugs and patterns out there to fit any style.
We ate doing a kitchen upgrade. Just moved in 7 months ago. The hone is 20 yrs old and has oak cabinets. Actually alot of oak everywhere! The cabinets are in very good condition so at this time they are staying oak.Anyway I had thought of many of your ideas already..we are changing counters hardware and backsplash and new sink and faucet.
I want to put in a black granite counters as I think it would look nice with oak? Any thoughts?
Black counters could work, but I would recommend keeping the other elements lighter in the space. We would love to see any before and after pictures of your kitchen once you are done. Good luck with your kitchen remodel.