It All Started With Paint

Our Home. My Canvas.

  • Home
  • Meet Linda
  • Home Tour
  • My Projects
    • Room Remodels
    • Mason Jar Projects
    • Crafts, Sewing, Etc.
    • Before & After’s
    • Chalkboard Paint Projects
    • Furniture
    • Recipes
    • Holidays & Seasonal
    • Paint This! Features
    • Free Printables & Calendar Pages
  • My Etsy Shop
  • Advertise
  • Contact Me

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets

September 17, 2015 By Linda 12 Comments

How To Add Height to Kitchen Cabinets – A DIY Tutorial. 

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets - No Power Tools NeededI may have mentioned once or twice — or ten plus times — that I was born and raised in New Jersey. Northern New Jersey, to be specific. In a town filled with malls. In the 60’s and 70’s and 80’s.

 

And I’ll freely admit I fell victim to the fashion trends of the 60’s and 70’s and 80’s. I sported bell bottoms and culottes and pants suits and crocheted vests and go go boots in the 60’s and 70’s. But the 80’s? Oh the 80’s …

 

 

… when everything got bigger. And shinier. And tighter.

 

Hello Lycra!

 

And I was in. ALL IN. The hair and the nails doubled in size, while the pieces in my wardrobe grew smaller and tighter.

 

As I’ve aged, I let go of most of the 60’s and 70’s styles (though I do love a mini dress with a go go boot), but the worst of the 80’s stuck with me. The bigger part, that is. My hair isn’t done unless it has a bit of lift. And hairspray.

 

So it should come as no surprise I felt my kitchen cabinet tops needed a bit of lift too. Some added height. A tease and a spray of Stiff Stuff, if you will. 🙂

 

I’ve been dreaming of extending the height of our kitchen cabinets ever since I stumbled across this tutorial. But I kept putting it off and putting it off. Mostly because I doubted my skill level.

 

I knew I could never master the crown moulding miter cuts that would be needed. So my plan was to remove and reuse the existing crown.

 

Sounds easy enough, right?

 

Wrong.

 

Which is also wrong. Because it really was much easier than I thought. The biggest problem was my fear. I was paralyzed by it. I was worried I would split the wood. Damage the cabinets. Leave my kitchen in much worse shape than I started. And then I would have to scramble to hire someone to come in and fix my mess.

 

Luckily, that didn’t happen!

 

But enough about me and my big hair and go go boots and fears of splitting wood. On with the tutorial …

 

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets

Step 1: Remove Existing Crown Moulding

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets: No Power Tools Needed

After wasting an hour or so looking for my crowbar (which I never found, by the way) I decided to just have at it with my 5-in-1 and a spackling thingy tools.

Removing Crown Moulding From Kitchen Cabinets: Easy, Damage Free Way to Remove Molding

From top-to-bottom, left-to-right:

(1) I used my 5-in-1 tool to scrape away at the old caulk around the moulding;

(2) I simply inserted the tool between the moulding and the top of the cabinet and gently pried the moulding off working my way slowly down along the cabinet tops (luckily no wood glue was used and it was just thin finish nails holding it in place);

(3) With my needle nose pliers, I pulled out the finish nails;

(4) I used the 5-in-1 tool to scrape off the old caulk.

(5) Not pictured: I finished it all off with sandpaper to removed the remainder of the caulk.

 

Step 2:  Lumber & Trim Moulding

add-height-to-kitchen-cabinets-lumber-finish-moulding

The first decision was how much height to add. I didn’t want to go too high. But I didn’t want it wimpy either. In the end I went with 6″ and settled on a primed pine boards. But before going to the home improvement store, I measured out all my cuts (not once, not twice, but thrice) and created a diagram of the cabinets tops on a piece of paper. After I pried off the moulding, I went back and quadruple checked and then headed off to the home improvement store. With my trusty diagram in hand, the nice young gentlemen at the store made all my cuts for me.

 

I also picked up some trim moulding to cover the seam where the boards would sit on top of the cabinets. This small piece with a flat back was the perfect size. I didn’t have cuts made at the store since I knew I could handle it with my handy dandy miter box.

Miter Box

 

Step 3: Attaching the Boards

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets Without Power Tools

I started by adding some scrap wood blocks to the inside backs of the cabinets using construction adhesive. I didn’t glue and/or nail the boards into them, but they served to help balance the boards.

I was also very concerned about these odd angles …

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets

especially since I didn’t have the tools needed to make those cuts. Turns out, no cuts were needed. See …

adding-height-to-kitchen-cabinets 10

I was able to just butt two boards up against each other. So simple! And you can’t tell from the front.

To attach all the boards I used an instant grab construction adhesive.

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets Using Construction Adhesive

It offered flexibility to get the boards in place, and then hardened in 24 hours.

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets Using Construction Adhesive

Painter’s tape held everything in place while it dried overnight.

Step 4: Adding Trim & Crown Moulding

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets

for the trim pieces, I used my little miter box and saw for the cuts. The outer edges were pretty straightforward. Those odd inner angles took a few tries (luckily I had an extra strip of moulding to play around with). Any errors I figured could be covered up with caulk. All pieces were attached using the Loctite.

adding-height-to-kitchen-cabinets 15

We then simply reattached the old crown that we pried off. Again, I used the Loctite and painter’s tape to hold it in place. However, I did add a few balsa wood trim pieces to help carry the weight (see below).

adding-height-to-kitchen-cabinets 16

I even used a temporary piece in the middle of that huge piece of moulding.

How To Add Height To Kitchen Cabinets

And, yes, my kitchen was a disaster area for a few weeks during this process.

Step 5: Caulk, Prime & Paint

How To add Height To Kitchen Cabinets

This is pretty straightforward. I caulked along the crown moulding and seams. And then gave it one coat of primer and two coats of my cabinet paint (an alkyd paint matched to Clark+Kensington in Chalk).

 

adding-height-to-white-kitchen-cabinets-white-counter-tops-blue-gray-backsplash (10 of 21) 1

In the end, it was much easier than I thought.

Easy Way to Add Height To Tops of Kitchen Cabinets Without Power Tools

And now let’s hope my 80’s style bigger cabinet tops don’t go out of style anytime soon! 🙂

 

You can find the full kitchen reveal by clicking here …

White Kitchen Cabinets, White Countertop, Blue Backsplash

 

You Might Also Like:

Baseboard DIY How To Make Bigger

How to Beef Up Baseboards

Paint for a fiber glass sink

How To Paint A Sink

Small Space Entry Ideas

How To Add Board & Batten

 

Filed Under: DIY, DIY & Crafts


Follow Along...


  • facebook
  • twitter

Subscribe by Email:


Comments

  1. Janice says

    September 17, 2015 at 5:53 am

    WOW!!! I am impressed. That is way too much for me to even think about attempting but yours turned out fantastic. Your kitchen looks great!

    Reply
  2. kirby carespodi says

    September 17, 2015 at 6:44 am

    Great job! I love that it was easy and your instructions are great! (I never did have big hair though, Just a little extra lift in the front.)

    Reply
  3. Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says

    September 17, 2015 at 7:07 am

    Great tutorial and your cabinets look fabulous.

    Reply
  4. Janie P says

    September 17, 2015 at 8:13 am

    Awesome! That really took your cabinets up a notch in looks, and you really make it look doable
    by regular folks, like me, with not a lot of carpentry skills.
    And thanks for the clue about the glue. I hadn’t had that type, but will get a tube for repairs in my new house I’m making into a home.
    And I am anxious to learn how to caulk the seams where the wood doesn’t quite fit tight against the walls, cabinets, etc.
    You’ve inspired me. Thanks so much for the great tutorial!
    And what is the real name for your 5-in-one tool thingy? I’m afraid the guys at the hardware store won’t know what I mean by that.
    Janie

    Reply
    • Linda says

      September 17, 2015 at 8:30 am

      It’s actually called a 5-in-1 painter’s tool. And as for the caulking, I recommend searching up some YouTube videos. That’s what I did a few years ago when I first attempted to caulk with a caulking gun. Thanks so much for your lovely comment!!! 🙂 Linda

      Reply
  5. Kris @ Junk Chic Cottage says

    September 17, 2015 at 8:53 am

    Genius and just beautiful. You rocked it out with this one.
    Kris

    Reply
  6. Suzy @ Worthing Court says

    September 17, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    I’m so proud of you, Linda! The cabinets turned out great and wow, what a difference. I’m with you in the hair department – I feel all flat and blah if I don’t have just a little lift in my hair. lol Do you remember stirrup pants? Now THOSE were the bomb with go-go boots. Ha!

    Reply
  7. nancy says

    September 21, 2015 at 5:24 pm

    You did a fantastic job!!! For anyone else out there in blog land who wants to do this project, email me first. I want a chance to buy stock in 3M Painters Tape before you begin. lol

    Reply
  8. Cristina @ Remodelando la Casa says

    September 24, 2015 at 5:44 pm

    I love your new kitchen, Linda! You rocked those tools, the cabinets look great!

    Reply
  9. Rejetta says

    August 22, 2016 at 1:54 pm

    I love the cabinets!! Did you have to sand them before painting?

    Reply
    • Linda says

      August 24, 2016 at 1:28 pm

      Here’s a link to how I redid the cabinets: http://www.itallstartedwithpaint.com/white-kitchen-cabinets-white-counter-top-blue-gray-backsplash/

      Reply
  10. Kath says

    January 25, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    I just now saw this ~ great idea! I do have a thought: what if you put pieces of narrow wood strips to frame those new boards in “sections” over each separate cabinet, so they look like rectangular cabinets, trimmed just as the present doors? Could even add knobs …

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Subscribe by Email:

  • facebook
  • twitter

find me on instagram

Snowing outside. Spring in #blueandwhite inside. Snowing outside. Spring in #blueandwhite inside.
Follow on Instagram

meet linda

my etsy shop

top posts & pages

Paper Bag Bunny for Easter
How to Paint a Sink
Chick Easter Eggs
Lavender Soap DIY Recipe
Weight Watchers Garlic Shrimp Recipe
How To Paint and Distress Mason Jars

the other blog

Mason Jar Logo for Pinterest - Black and gray

blog archives

Privacy Policy

Click here for my Privacy Policy

It All Started With Paint copyright 2014. Built on Wordpress. Customized by NellieBellie
Enter Your Name & Email for FREE Updates
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.