Not Paint, Not Stain: The Smart Way To Update Honey Oak Cabinets Without Replacement

Whether you're putting your home up for sale or just want to freshen up your kitchen for your own pleasure, your eyes may dart around your kitchen looking for features that scream outdated. Is your focus settling on an orange-ish glow? Honey oak cabinets that were installed in the '80s, '90s, or early 2000s is one of those features that might turn you — or potential homebuyers — off. As surprising as this may sound, you can update this feature of your kitchen without paint or stain. Instead, try switching out your current knobs, handles, and pulls for black hardware that will make dated honey oak cabinets look modern.

It will no doubt come as a pleasant surprise that you don't need to paint or stain your honey oak cabinets, one of the common, dated kitchen trends in homes. You'll certainly be letting out a big sigh of relief when you realize you won't have to shill out big bucks replacing your cabinetry and can focus on the functional metal pieces instead. If you think about it, hardware can be part of what lends a dated feel to our kitchens, so making a small investment in fresh pulls, handles, and knobs to give your kitchen a glow up is a no-brainer. Updating with a complete set of hardware may cost $60 or less and will be far easier than painting or staining — a task which would require you to remove the hardware, anyway.

When you pick new hardware to give honey oak cabinets a fresh look, there's a reason why black is superior to other finishes. When combined with the orange-leaning tones of honey oak cabinetry, black hardware adds some welcomed contrast. On the other hand, gold and silver don't marry as well with the warm tones of the wood, and can even clash. In addition to choosing black metal, you'll also want to choose the finish that will help your kitchen look more modern, so look for options that have a matte, rather than glossy, finish. The softer feel of matte black toes the line between timeless and trendy, helping you build that modern looking update.

Once you've narrowed down your selection to hardware in matte black, you'll still see lots of options. Rather than going for antique looking styles with scrolls, twists, or flourishes, choose knobs, pulls, and handles that are more streamlined to convey a modern style. You'll be able to pick from round or square knobs, and rounded or linear pulls and handles, depending on your preference. However, if after careful consideration of your kitchen design, you decide that black hardware is not the right choice for you, there's another route you can take to freshen up your kitchen. It's not paint or stain, either — you can update your honey oak cabinets with a clever DIY that involves adding cane panels to outdated cabinet doors.