Hold The Paint: There's A Better Way To Upgrade Kitchen Cabinets

Your kitchen cabinets set the stage for the entire room. After all, they're kind of the centerpiece: They're your main source of storage, and they touch a lot of real estate from the floor to the ceiling. However, since they're such a focal point, it's tempting to want to replace dated kitchen cabinets that are bringing down your kitchen's style once their finish, ornate detailing, or other attributes begin to look dated. If you're looking to freshen up and modernize your kitchen, there are a few ways to do so. You can start from scratch with new cabinets or breathe new life into your existing cabinets by painting them an on-trend color. But we've found an easier approach: Adding contact paper to the exterior of your kitchen cabinets.

Painting your kitchen cabinets requires time, effort, and money. Though, it is cheaper than purchasing new cabinets. Both of these permanent changes are not an option for renters. Contact paper, on the other hand, is both affordable and renter-friendly, costing approximately $0.50 per square foot (or about $5 to $20 per roll) depending on the type you get. By comparison, it'd be nearly $950 if you opted to paint.

Contact paper is a temporary but style-forward (and simple!) way to make your cabinets feel brand-new. This unique paper, which is typically made out of thin vinyl, features adhesive on one side. Peel off the backing, and you can stick this flexible paper onto the exteriors of your cabinets or even inside of them, since contact paper can also double as shelf liner. This is the affordable upgrade to add a pop of color, an eye-catching pattern, or a fresh, modern finish to your kitchen cabinets.

If you don't have extensive home renovation experience, don't worry. Covering your kitchen cabinets with contact paper is a simple, straightforward process — and there are no paints, brushes, or tarps required, either. You will need tools like an X-Acto knife to cut the sheets or roll to size and a smoothing tool to eliminate air bubbles, but overall, transforming your cabinets simply requires aligning the contact paper, sizing it, and sticking it onto surfaces.

In addition to being easier to apply and removable compared to painting cabinets, contact paper is also a relatively small upgrade that can have a big impact. By changing cabinet door faces and swapping out dated glossy finishes or dark-hued wood for bright white, a neutral gray-green, or even a shiny, eye-catching metallic contact paper, your kitchen will feel like a whole new room. Best of all, when you're ready for something different, you can simply remove the contact paper and choose another color, pattern, or style.

It's worth noting before you choose contact paper, you'll want to make sure you're not shopping for peel-and-stick wallpaper. Though the two are similar, their durability differs. Contact paper's vinyl composition makes it durable in the face of water or moisture. Peel-and-stick wallpaper, on the other hand, is usually made from paper or fabric, with some variations featuring vinyl. As a result, it may not be able to withstand moisture or heat (though you can check individual product specifications) and is better suited to other clever uses for peel-and-stick wallpaper throughout your home.