This Old House, Resurrects Bland Kitchen

I came across this story on CNN Money's website, a fantastic look on redoing your entire kitchen if you have some basic remodeling skills at your disposal already.

Painting cabinets, especially if you do the job yourself, costs far less than outright replacement.

Bargain-basement cabinets for a 10x12-foot kitchen can easily top $5,000, not including the cost of installation or new counters, and your new cabinets may be of lower quality than the ones you're getting rid of.

Refacing cabinets, a process of veneering existing cabinet boxes and replacing doors and drawer fronts, is another option, but a top-notch refacing job starts at $3,500. This Old House: Refacing cabinets

The materials for painting (brushes, primer, paint) will cost about $200. Having a pro do the work will run at least $1,000, more if the painter insists on stripping all cabinets.

Be aware that even the highest-quality paint job can't cure the evils of poor kitchen design or hide fundamental structural flaws in cabinets. Full Story.