What to do with old kitchen cabinets and countertops?
Reusing salvaged materials is difficult because the original configuration often does not fit well in a new space, and the old countertops frequently have set-in stains. Trying to salvage stained surfaces by painting them usually fails, as the paint deteriorates quickly and chips in high-use areas until it looks worse than the original laminate.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
What to do with old kitchen cabinets and countertops?
- 1Turning it into a backyard grilling stationDid this help you?
- 2Posting them on online marketplaces to sell or give awayDid this help you?
- 3Storing them in the garage to create a workshop space or storage areaDid this help you?
- 4Moving them to the laundry areaDid this help you?
- 5re-skin it with new laminateDid this help you?
- 6try contact paper before paintDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“But the countertop is pretty crappy visually and has a lot of set-in stains.”source ↗
“I've seen some people say that painted countertops look terrible period, and others say that they deteriorate extremely fast.”source ↗
“It will start chipping and scratching in the areas that get used and then will look worse than the original laminate.”source ↗
“I have this little breakfast nook with cabinets and a counter that I need to remove. Everything is in decent shape, so I'd like to repurpose it if I could.”source ↗
“I have the space but if its in its current configuration, I'm not so crazy about the orientation and where I'd have to put it.”source ↗
“What would you guys do and/or what have you done with your old kitchen cabinets and countertop?”source ↗
Where this came up
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