Young House Love

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How To Remove Old Wood Kitchen Cabinets

Our cabinets are like Chumbawumba… they get knocked down. Well, they weren’t actually knocked down as much as they were “carefully removed” (since we plan to reuse various things like the doors for the new peninsula cabinets and then donate the rest). The room was feeling pretty wood-riddled when we moved in last December…

NewEmpty Kitchen

… so we were excited to un-wood-riddle-it for good.

As we mentioned here and here, we’ll be adding a wall of counter-to-ceiling penny tile…

Penny Tile Display

… along with a bit of open shelving (on either side of the range hood that we’ll be building in).

Oh and to avoid having the open shelves/dust & grease chat again, just check out this post for a bunch of “research” that we did before landing on that decision. It won’t all be open shelving or anything (just a few feet on either side of the vent hood that we’ll be hanging above the stove) so we’ll also still have other upper cabs around (like the one above the pantry, fridge, and dishwasher), which is why we didn’t think we’d be flummoxed by the change in upper cabinet quantity (ten points for the use of flummoxed?).

But we couldn’t be sure, so the biggest test of storage capacity was when we emptied all of those upper cabinets before removing them to see where things would land. We only plan to keep our frequently used/washed everyday dishes on the open shelves (so they won’t have time to acquire dust) along with a few other things that are always stored out in the open (like a vase or two, some art, lidded jars full of sugar and flour, some cookbooks, and a potted plant or two) but everything else will be stored in cabinets. So we went into this relocation phase a bit nervous about being able to store all of the offset items somewhere else in the kitchen.

How’d we fare? Surprisingly well! It took us at least thirty minutes of brainstorming where it was most helpful to store things like phone books, light bulbs, cookie cutters, and all of the other random items that were in those half-full shelves, but we got ‘er done.

Cabs Down2

Although we probably could have shoved them into other cabinets all willy nilly in about five minutes, it made more sense to talk things out so as not to have to rearrange things fifty times throughout this process. And once we decided where we wanted to stash everything once and for all, we were thrilled to find ourselves with room to spare. The entire corner cabinet of the peninsula (which still needs a lazy susan and a door) is 100% empty, even though everything has been put away.

Empty Corner Cab

We also have our everyday dishes in the other corner cabinet (near the stove) so once they’re out on the open shelves that space will be freed up as well. We also have a completely empty upper cabinet next our pantry (that will get cut down to the right size and rehung with a microwave under it). So it’s safe to say that the added peninsula has more than made up for the few uppers that we’re trading in for open shelves). Whew.

Taking them down was as simple as unscrewing a bunch of super long screws that held them into the wall, the ceiling, and each other (while the other person stood under them to support them so they wouldn’t come crashing down).

John Taking Cabs Down

We didn’t expect removing them to make such a visual difference, but the room immediately felt a lot more open (not sure if the photos will do that justice since it might be a you-have-to-be-here-thing).

Well, at first it just felt crazy (here’s how it was looking immediately after we finished):

Cabs Down Crazy

But after we cleaned things up (aka: put the extra cabs in the sunroom and pushed the stove back into place), it immediately felt a lot lighter.

Cabs Down Clean1

You know, if you squint past the nasty unpainted ceiling and the insane fire-engine-red paint that we revealed (can you imagine that paired with all that wood cabinets and dark paneling?).

Cabs Down Clean2

So yeah, this is one of those things-have-to-get-worse-to-get-better stages that leaves the room looking strip-searched, but we love that change is in the air. Even ugly-for-now-but-soon-to-be-reassembled change. The kitchen just breathes a lot more without that hulking too-low-and-not-at-all-to-code black microwave that used to hover dangerously close to the stove…

Cabs Down2

…and a wall full of tile and shelves with a giant actually-works-well range hood is going to be such an upgrade.

Still to come down? The backsplash, the googly-eyed cabinet hardware, the cabinet doors (for priming and painting), and of course we’re waiting on our counters and then we’ll add backsplash tile, install our stainless dishwasher and microwave (which we’ll be building in), redo the lighting, and redo the floor with the mocha cork that we got on clearance. So yeah… lots to do. But we’re taking it one day at a time.

And so far living without a microwave hasn’t killed us (although soup is a favorite, so we’ve been heating it on the stove – which I must admit feels very quaint). We definitely miss the sink, but thanks to having the dishwasher hooked up we’re surprisingly ok with our in-shambles kitchen. So that’s the update. What did you guys do this weekend? Any cabinet rearranging or removing? Any karaoke? Come on, someone had to be singing Chumbawumba while our cabinets were coming down.

Psst- This post’s title was an ode to some of our early-blogging kitchen posts from four years ago entitled “Our Cabinets Are Like Mariah Carey” and “Our Cabinets Are Like Brangelina” – ah, full circle blogging.

Comments

  4. AarthiD says

    Eee, I still am so stoked to watch your kitchen come together. When we redid ours (well, my parents redid theirs, really) back in Texas, it was *definitely* a get-worse-before-better kind of situation. But their kitchen looks amazing now — and I’m certain yours will, too! :D

    The corner cabinet is going to be a Lazy Susan? omg I love those. Like, love those too much.

    Reply

    • Stacey says

      Hah, you can have our lazy susan! I hate ours, and would much rather have a shelf. Oh well, to each his own. :)

    • Firesparx says

      You either love or hate Lazy Susans! I think it all depends on what you put on them. My parents put their tupperware on it and I HATE it, everytime you spin it stuff flies off and gets caught behind it. Heavier stuff, like cans or appliances would work much better. Personally I went the shelf route in our kitchen because I didn’t like the thought of all those wasted corners!

  5. Stephanie says

    Tubthumping has been our customary slam dancing song at wedding receptions since it came out! No one has been knocked down yet! Weird? Yes, but it is a tradition now!

    Reply

  6. Sarah @ The Strength of Faith says

    When we moved into our house 8 months ago, we moved from a house that had a built in microwave – so we didn’t have one. We kept saying we would get one eventually, but so far it hasn’t really bothered us! We just have to get creative at times with re-heating leftovers. :)

    Reply

    • Ashleigh says

      I was thinking the same thing. If they are in the phone book, they’ll be online since most of the phone books also have an online version now days. :-)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I know, I’m weird! I just like looking at the ads (sometimes the big ones tip me off that they’ll charge more and the little ones with sweet words like “family owned” draw me in. I’m a visual girl. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • Lindsay says

      The thing I wondered was not so much why you still have one, but where you ended up moving it? Somewhere else in the kitchen, or to the office or somewhere else?

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup, I put it into the cabinetry in the office since I make all my calls in there and do all of our contractor research and stuff in there on the computer. Here’s hoping I remember it’s in there the next time I go searching for it!

      xo,
      s

    • Meredith says

      The phone book threw me too! The only time in the last 10 years I have used a phone book was when we had our computer situation dismantled because we were going to an all wireless router for the whole house – about 5 years ago. my husband needed to know where the nearest Best Buy was because he needed a little part. I said “I don’t know – google it.!” That wasn’t possible. LOL! So I had to dust off a phone book in the deepest reaches of my laundry room. Too funny!

    • Colleen in MA says

      I went thru a big de-cluttering fit and wanted to put our phone book in the recycling bin, but my husband insisted on keeping it. Now I’m glad we did. When I stopped to think about it, depending on my computer for *everything* doesn’t sit well with me. If my computer goes down, what am I going to do? Also, sometimes I don’t want to Google and have 1,000 results … a few local results and speaking with real people are just fine. Heard that one city was “outlawing” phone books. That’s a sad thing!

  8. Ainhoa says

    I’ve never been a fan of upper cabinets (I think they tend to look too heavy and I’m short so I always have trouble reaching things) so this is a definite improvement for me! Love it.

    Reply

  9. Nini says

    Things are looking good! I can totally see the potential! The wider doorway, almost there peninsula, shiny new appliances; your kitchen is quickly becoming my new favourite room. The living room still holds that title… for now ;)

    I love, love, love the penny round tile. Couldn’t get the husband on board for our bathroom so I’m completely envious of you for getting to use it. I was wondering, will the tile be able to hold to the wood or will you have to make adjustments? Won’t it be too heavy? Sorry if I sound silly – we’ve always hired someone to do our tiling. We’re not brave enough!

    Reply

  12. Lindsey d. says

    So jealous of how easy it is to take your cabinets down! I’m pretty sure removing the only two uppers I have is going to require a sledgehammer, so I’m waiting. Since a full kitchen reno is a long way off for me (replacing siding, adding insulation and updating wiring are first priorities), I’m hesitant to tear down something that is going to need more than paint and pretty new shelves to fix… Ah, well, the joy of old houses.

    Reply

  13. Brandi @ His Shabby Her Chic says

    Wow! It’s all coming apart to come back together.

    I would die a slow and painful death waiting to do all of the other things you have planned because of 1 or 2 other things that need to be done 1st. I don’t know how you’re doing it!

    Reply

  14. Rebecca says

    Removing the shelves looks awesome, but can I just say:

    BEST SONG EVER!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for making my day, or even week!!!!!!!! Too many exclamation points?

    Reply

  18. Kara says

    Looking good!
    Since you mentioned the microwave, I just wanted to comment that I have actually lived without a microwave for about 6 years. The apartment that my now-husband and I moved into was so tiny that we decided not to get one because of the space it would take up. And when we moved into our house 3 years later we decided we didn’t miss owning one at all and so we are still without! We heat things up on the stove or in the oven instead. The only thing that can be slightly annoying is thawing certain food from the freezer (some of which we put in a freezer bag and run under a very light stream of water in the sink). But nothing we can’t manage! I’m just weirdly proud that we figured out it is one appliance/electronic/convenience that we don’t really ‘need.’

    Reply

    • Lindsey d. says

      I’ve been microwave free for two years now and don’t miss it all. But then again, I tend to take my dinner leftovers to work for lunch and can easily heat them up in the office microwave. I imagine I’d want a microwave if I worked from home.

    • heather says

      I have been wanting to get rid of ours for *so* long. It drives me nuts. We have an old school one that I’m pretty sure gives out way too much radiation every time it’s on. I heat my soup on the stove all the time, and most other things too anyways. We may end up with a small one hidden by a cabinet down the line – but I’d prefer to go MF. Microwave Free.

    • heather says

      …and that sounded crazy, like I’m worried about radiation. I’m really not. I just don’t like the thing. It’s massive and we use it so rarely it’s such a waste of space. My husband might miss it for the occasional lean pocket though haha. In my book that means we wouldn’t ever buy them again though! Fine by me :)

    • Emily Z says

      I’m with you, Kara. We haven’t had a microwave for years. Love having the extra space in the kitchen. We use a small toaster oven to heat things quickly (which also eliminates the need for a toaster). Don’t miss it at all.

    • Emily says

      I am microwave free for five years now and also never miss it. It was also due to space concerns. The few times I have accidentally purchased microwave only items I bring them to work and eat them for lunch.

      When I renovate my kitchen I may add one above the stove for resale purposes, but I can’t imagine using it again!

    • Ruth says

      I have also been without a microwave for 2 years. I actually like it now. One thing that has changed is using the oven more for reheating things (including leftovers). It takes longer but it turns out better anyway.
      You do have to plan ahead for thawing things… if it is an hour or two ahead, I put them in a sink of cold water and change the water/flip the food every 30 minutes. If it is at least 8 hours ahead, I put them in the fridge in a bowl of water (the bowl of water helps them defrost 2x faster).

    • Carrie says

      Like Kara, I am also weirdly proud of my microwave free kitchen. It has been two years and we don’t have any plans to add one.

    • Lara says

      We’ve been microwave free for at least five years & I don’t miss it. We are replacing all of our appliances right now & my husband thinks we need a range hood microwave for resale value. Do most people want microwaves?

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I do believe that if it’s not in a kitchen you’d use a pretty large number of potential buyers (or they would try to work it into the offer, like “seller will pay a credit towards a microwave and mount it over the range” since they seem to be a pretty standard appliance- although there are definitely folks who go without! It might just really compromise the number of potential buyers, ya know?

      xo,
      s

    • Jennifer S. says

      We’ve had no microwave for over 2 years and haven’t missed it at all. Well, my kids miss the microwave popcorn, but that stuff is nasty anyway.

  19. Emily says

    I can see it! I can finally see it!! I admit that I was having trouble really visualizing the space, but this finally did it for me.

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      I agree, the window looks bigger and it lets in so much more light, at least from that angle in the room. It’s a little bit of a shame that the microwave cabinet will go back up to the left of that window and block some of that view/light again. So there won’t be a cabinet to the right of the window, because of the open shelves and tile on the adjacent wall? Will that look a little unbalanced? Sorry, I can’t remember if you have done a rendering/illustration of the sink wall for us.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The cabinet to the left of the window and the open shelves to the right of the window will be the same width, so there will be the same amount of breathing room on either side of the window (about 14″). I am crazy about things like that, so I wanted to make sure it would look balanced in the end!

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No, they’re just going to be 12″ deep (so we can put dinner plates on them and stuff) so they’ll jut 12″ onto the wall to the right of the window. If they turned the corner we thought it would look weird if we didn’t continue the tile to the ceiling on the sink wall too (since if the shelves turned it might look odd to have paneling behind some of them and tile behind others). So by stopping them at the corner we would have some breathing room to the right of the window, which we could then echo to the left of the window to keep things light and airy. Hope that makes sense!

      xo,
      s

    • Lisa says

      Makes sense! I’m glad there is going to be that “breathing room” on each side of the window! I should have known you had already worked this out, with your love of symmetry!

    • heather says

      I love it! I was wondering the same thing. My house would drive you batty – there is literally *one* (I’m not kidding) window in my entire house that is actually centered on a wall. It is hands down the weirdest thing ever. I am anxiously anticipating the day when everything is centered appropriately and symmetrical!

    • Lindsay says

      I see now. I didn’t think the shelves were going to turn the corner, but I was confused about you saying they’d be the same width as the microwave side. I think it was just because it was hard to see how much room is to the left of the window. I think it is going to be great!

  21. Regan @ RenovatingRothenbergers says

    Love that fire engine red paint! Haha! When we redid our living room it was so interesting to unveil all the different layers of the home. I felt like it was the house’s history in a way . ..
    The progress is looking great!! :) So excited to see the penny tile make it’s appearance!

    Reply

  23. Renae says

    Hey guys,
    My husband and I are on week three of the entire kitchen remodel (tearing out an island, adding a peninsula complete with beverage fridge, building in the fridge, swapping oven and fridge locations, spray painting cabinets, etc.) and I KNOW how difficult it is to live without appliances. But I couldn’t imagine living without a sink. I mentioned this to my husband he suggested you might try the restore store and get a temporary sink put in a piece of plywood you have sitting around. You could re-donate it and i’m sure you wouldn’t be out too much $$. I’m sure you’ve already thought of it but just in case you haven’t…he always thinks of stuff that I never do. :) Loving the progress at your house and mine.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, we defintiely plan to go that route if it gets to rough (it actually hasn’t been a big deal since we have the dishwasher and just rinse out things right after we use them that aren’t dishwasher safe in the nearby hall bathroom).

      xo,
      s

  25. [email protected] says

    Ohmygosh- I get anxiety just imagining all that wood with the dark red walls. Not sure how you guys are functioning with everything so disarray right now- but cheers to you for doing so! I love seeing this transformation blow-by-blow!

    Reply

  27. Ellen says

    Great progress! I am confused. I can’t figure out where you’re going to hang the microwave. I’ve read and re-read and just don’t get it. Hmmm….

    Reply

  30. Maureen @ This (Kinda) Old House says

    Exciting! I was just telling my husband how easy it will be for us to remove cabinets so we can get new ones. :)
    Although, I know nothing is that easy when you are dealing with 1950’s cabinets. I can’t wait to see the shelving and tile. I am trying to decide about open shelving or cabinets on an empty wall in my kitchen, and need some more inspiration!

    Reply

  31. Staci says

    That. Red. Is. CRAZYTOWN!!!
    Is it getting you in the mood for Christmas?

    I’ve lived without a microwave for almost two years! Talk about a quaint old-school lady :)

    Reply

  32. Cristina says

    Wow — I can’t believe how excited I am about someone else’s kitchen! This is so inspiring (as are you all) and I can’t wait to see the process and the end result! Good luck and have fun!

    Reply

  33. Erin says

    Love the penny tile!

    I don’t think i ever noticed the ceiling fan before. Will you be taking that down as well to make room for new lighting?

    Reply

  36. Ashley says

    You guys are work horses! Can’t believe how much you get done.

    We’ve lived without a microwave for over a year – although our kitchen is huge, we have very limited counter space. Maybe when we over haul it in the future we’ll add one, but maybe not if we can live without one until then!

    Reply

    • Amy @ this DIYlife says

      I’d like to join Ashley in welcoming you to the sans micro club! When we moved into our house, our microwave did not move in with us. Two years later, it’s still sitting in the garage and I’m not sure why we haven’t just gotten rid of it. I know yours is temporary, but the hardest thing for me in redesigning our kitchen is knowing that I need to put in a place for a microwave to be easily added for someone else. Dare I say, we’ll never have one again. Food tastes so much better cooked on the stove-top or reheated in our toaster oven. Enjoy your time of no micro…it will change your culinary life :)

    • Emily says

      If I were to add a microwave back into my life – I would do my best to make it concealed. My folks have theirs in a closet. They had my uncle add an outlet and now it is completely out of site. Makes for more room in the kitchen, and you don’t have to look at it!

  41. Barb says

    Let the craziness begin…again!!! And doing this at holiday time? Do you plan to finish before Christmas or are you going elsewhere for the holidays. At this time of year….I am not sure I would start the demo. Your kitchen…your choice.

    Have a wonderfully, chaotic Holiday season. As for us here….we are chill in’ !
    B.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re going to have guests over the holidays but don’t think the kitchen will be completely done (we’re aiming for January since there’s still lots on the list) but they’ll understand! Our house is pretty much always a work in process, and hopefully we’ll have counters and a sink by then so it’ll just be things like no new floor yet!

      xo,
      s

  42. Shannon @ Bungalow960 says

    Finding layers of paint after removing things is half the fun. After popping off the thermostat and humidifier controls in our dining room, we found layers of wallpaper and about 4 different colors of paint, including BLACK! It was crazy.

    Reply

  43. Kate says

    You may have mentioned, but I just can’t remember… Are you guys keeping the ceiling fan or planning to do something different there?

    Reply

    • Kate says

      P.S. I can’t believe that in your “Our Cabinets are like Brangelina” post there were only FIVE total comments… meanwhile there are already almost 100 on today’s post and it’s not even 11 a.m.!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha- the funny thing is I think there are zero comments on the Mariah Carey post! We love reminding people that we were talking to virtually no one for the first 100 posts or so!

      xo,
      s

    • Sara says

      I was thinking the same thing about the comments! It’s hard to imagine NO ONE commenting on a YHL post – especially with giggle worthy openings about celebrities :)

  44. Emily says

    We took down a cabinet in our guest bath this weekend. We’ve lived in our house for two years and I’ve always hated it. My plan for the day was actually to strip the vanity in the bathroom before I refinished it and my dad suggested I practice on the one above the toilet if I was planning on taking it down anyway. I asked my husband if he could take it down “real quick” before he went into work. Fortunately, it only took about half an hour, but it probably would have been quicker if it was just screwed into the wall instead of being stapled into both the wall and ceiling.

    Even though it’s not finished and it tore up some of the tile in the shower/tub surround, I’m still really excited about it since it makes the room seem so much bigger. Another one of those situations where it has to look worse before it can look better.

    Reply

  45. Betsy says

    Oh the memories brought back by this post – we had quite the dance routine worked out to that song!
    And if you think your fire engine red walls were bad, just imagine an entire basement that color – walls, floor, everything! I’m sure it went well with the firecracker wallpaper we found in the kitchen.

    Reply

  47. Mandi says

    The first thing I noticed in the “cleared out” photo where things look lighter . . . is that there is a window in this little landlocked kitchen! I never saw that before (although I’m sure you haven’t been hiding it.) It suddenly pops when it’s not all hemmed in anymore.

    Reply

  48. Jen says

    My old roommate and I once had to decide between a microwave and a toaster oven for space reasons. We chose the toaster oven and never missed the microwave in the 2 1/2 years we lived without one. My husband and I have one now, but we only use it once in awhile. It gets used as a timer as often as it gets used as a microwave!

    Reply

  49. Leah says

    I wasn’t following you guys the last time to renovated a kitchen. I never thought I’d say this about a kitchen that isn’t mine but, this is exciting!

    Reply

  50. Katie says

    Haha, this is slightly off-topic but I’m wondering what kind of soups do you like? I’ve tried canned soup but they are usually too salty or just taste “canned.” But I do love soup, especially in the winter!

    Reply

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