6 Easy DIY Kitchen Updates

When it comes right down to it, kitchens are the nerve centers of our homes—for preparing meals, gathering and entertaining. How about sprucing up the cabinetry in your kitchen so it looks as great as it works! Here are five simple door and drawer improvements you can make with a few tools and some quality hardware and supplies from Rockler. Most can be completed in a day or two with basic woodworking skills. So, roll up your sleeves and get started—we’ll show you how!

#1 - Upgrade Your Drawer Slides

If you've got cabinet drawers in your kitchen that fight to keep you out, then one of most satisfying improvements you can make is to replace the old drawer slides with new, smooth operating slides. Choose soft-closing drawer slides and you'll be even happier. The type of slides you install will depend on the drawer and cabinet construction. We can't cover every type of slide in this demo, but here are a couple favorites.

These Blum TANDEM Slides with BLUMOTION require very specific drawer and cabinet dimensions, so they can be a challenge to retrofit, but if your drawers work with them, they can't be beat. They are not visible when the drawer is open, giving them a very clean appearance. And, the silky smooth soft close is sure to impress. If you're building a cabinet from scratch, these are the clear choice because you can design the drawers for a perfect fit. The Rockler JIG IT Drilling Guide and Drawer Slide Jig make installing these slides a breeze.

Watch this video to learn how to install these drawer slides:

If you’ve got drawers that work well and are mounted on common epoxy slides, you can add the soft closing feature with this easy to install Soft-Close Accessory for Epoxy Slides.

Watch this video to learn how to install these epoxy slide soft closers:

#2 - Upgrade Your Cabinet Door Hinges

Drawers aren’t the only thing in your kitchen that can benefit from soft closers. It’s not difficult to replace cabinet door hinges with new soft-closing hinges. Or, you can easily add the soft close function to doors that are mounted on self-closing hinges by installing the Blumotion Hinge Adapter.

#3 Install Pullout Shelves Cabinets

When upgrading your kitchen, pull-out shelves are one of the most practical and customizable options available. From full-extension pantry pull-outs that bring every item into view, to base cabinet pull-out shelves that eliminate the need to reach into deep, dark corners, these upgrades make kitchen organization and storage far more efficient. There are also pull-out spice racks, tray dividers, and narrow filler pull-outs that utilize even the smallest spaces. For added convenience, consider installing under-sink pull-outs designed to fit around plumbing, or corner pull-out systems like blind corner optimizers and lazy Susans. Whether you're looking to increase accessibility, maximize space, or simply stay more organized, there’s a pull-out shelf solution for virtually every cabinet in your kitchen.

#4 - Replace Old Cabinet Knobs and Pulls

We know this isn't a groundbreaking idea, but it’s amazing how long people live with old knobs and pulls that they don’t like. It’s such an easy improvement that this upgrade can often be completed with one tool that’s probably already in your kitchen junk drawer - a screwdriver.

#5 - Install A Floating Shelf

Add a sleek and modern aesthetic to your kitchen with the addition of a floating shelf. But while they may appear to magically hover on the wall, achieving that sleek, bracket-free appearance requires the right hardware behind the scenes. That’s where Rockler’s I-Semble Heavy-Duty Floating Shelf Supports come in. Each pair of supports can handle shelves up to 14" deep and 48" long, with a combined shelf and load weight of up to 125 lbs. Our I-Semble Floating Shelf Support Drill Guide makes hand-drilling accurate posts easy.

#6 - Organize That Junk Drawer

Every kitchen has one - some have more than one. The junk drawer. That place you keep all the little random things you need around the house - rolls of tape, pens, dice, twist ties, keys that open things you can’t remember, and of course an old screwdriver. This stuff is often piled in there and you dig through until you find (or don’t find) what you need. Make your life a little easier and get it organized with the Rockler Lock-Align drawer organizer system. Use the interlocking trays, bins and dividers, and the screwdriver and pliers organizers to build a tidy grid of compartments that makes it easy to find what you need, fast. 

There are obviously lots of other big and small projects you can do to update a kitchen, and we can help you with many of them like replacing your cabinet doors or refacing your cabinets with wood veneer, but we’ll save those for another day.