Paint kitchen cabinets or new kitchen

Hi there,

I have bought a house in Melbourne which has a older kitchen.
I am attaching a photo to give you an idea
https://postimg.cc/xX9V0xqc
I am planning to rent it out. I am deciding between replacing the cabinets with an IKEA kitchen or repainting the panels in a white or neutral colour.
Any thoughts on pros and cons and on the costs involved in getting in an IKEA kitchen or repainting the existing cabinets
Cheers

 

The cupboards are dated but don't look too bad to me for a rental.
If it were me I would replace or paint the brown splash back tiles only (white or neutral tone).

 

I like the texture of those cupboards. It's a good kitchen. I might consider changing some other stuff though - if I was living there.
Yeah the lino and the tiles don't connect at all but it's not the end of the world. I'd probably replace grey b4 brown because grey is finito and brown, earthy etc on the come back.

 

They are probably really well built and will out last you.

The downside of keeping them is that it look like the depth of the sink side bench is less than modern standards so a dishwasher doesn't fit very well under them. So that might sway you one way but if you don't mind the dishwasher sticking out a bit then I'd keep them.

I agree with the others that painting the splashback might done down the brown-ness

 

Ask the agent if it will make any difference to the rental - and how much in dollar terms.

My IP (in Melbourne) has similar brown laminate and my agent said it wasn’t worth replacing the kitchen as it wouldn’t increase the rent significantly.

If you paint the splashback, will the regular cleaning these undergo make it look tacky after a couple of years?

 

If I had to I'd paint the cabinets and replace the door handles. Wouldn't paint the backsplash as it might start peeling off when the tenant keeps cleaning off food spills.

 

Agree with all above. Bench seems OK and that spashback seems like a renewal will help. You can put a glass spashback or new tiles over tiles. The d/washer looks dated and could be a servicing issue.

 

I would first paint the 4 upper cabinets which will go a long way to reducing the brownness. After that consider gluing either tiles or a thin laminate over the splashback (don't paint it)

 

Although the kitchen is ugly and dated, it's pretty solid and continues to wear well. Replacing it with an IKEA kitchen would be a mistake. It might like nice for a year, but that's all. It would also devalue the home to any future buyer who knows what they are looking at - sadly most purchasers don't.

 

We've only painted one. I took all the doors off and painted and replaced handles. Very cost effective. 4 years later we sold it and it was showing a little wear and tear.
I'd paint this one assuming you aren't paying someone to do it as it seems tidy and will give you quite a few more years.

 

I've used proper white knight laminate paint on a dated kitchen doors, still holding up well after about 7 years, though I will probably replace whole kitchen at next change of tenant so I can easily get a dishwasher in there and bench tops are a bit cruddy.

 

That a great kitchen. Don't replace it with something nasty from IKEA. In fact, don't replace it at all.

The splash back makes the kitchen far too brown

The textured cupboard doors are awesome. You could get them painted. But its probably not needed.

If you were to paint any the perhaps the high wall cabinets. Just because there is alot of brown.

The counter tops look fine.

Tenants care more about appliances and storage space than the colour of a kitchen

 

I agree - timber is back in as all the rage so, unless you were wanting to replace cupboards with drawers, I'd just update the splashback and paint the upper cupboards ... maybe replace the door handles (chrome to match the tapware) with something a little more modern. Otherwise, the kitchen pretty much matches what can be seen through the doorway

 

I've changed to my desktop computer and had a better look at the kitchen. It looks as though the ripple texture is only undereath the bar end. It's not actually on the cupboard doors. and the flooring is vinyl tiles. So it's not a funky retro as a first thought instead it is just outdated, but not worn out or tired, with the exception of the flooring.

Put fresh vinyl down is cheap and effective.

 

Thanks Mates
Decided not to replace or renovate the kitchen
Will paint or laminate the backsplash with muted colour

 

If you replace the splashback with new tiles it will cost $1500-2000. White will make the room less brown. I'm unsure if this will be reflected in higher rent or a higher sale price, with the latter perhaps some years away. Depending on the tile size and the dimensions, a narrow feature tile row may look nice. I always use 400 X 200 mm or thereabouts, horizontal. Leftover tiles are used on the next reno.