apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think I like this idea, but I would worry about getting the fabric dirty from kitchen grease and anything I might have on my hand when I open the cupboard. I think either vinyl or oilcloth would make this work better at my house.

fabric kitchen = greasy grossness

They'll never close properly and will look like crap in a year. No thanks.

I agree! One order of french fries, chicken strips, or etc.
Your kitchen is nasty. Oils create moth worms in fabric.
Unless, you plan to place moth balls or cedar in your cabinets spend the weekend taking it off.

I feel like we are in the 70's again, covering everything, painting over everything..the next generation as I was in the last strips everything to bring back the original finish or take off the frosting.
Not that I am opposed to painting really ugly veneer but fabric on kitchen cabinets is just wrong..like one of those covers for a toilet seat.

seems kind of gross, and unsanitary, no?

I'm not crazy about that fabric.

Don't they make stain resistant fabrics that would solve some of the grossness potential? At any rate, it seems like a great low-impact way to update (especially for someone like me, who is renting and doesn't want to invest in a more expensive option, but could probably get away with pin holes or tape residue).

This would only work if you don't cook in your kitchen - otherwise ... just the thought of the nastiness of the smells and grease potentially collected by the fabric makes me a little nauseous. Maybe as a fun overly ambitions decorating idea for a holiday? But even then - not if you're cooking!!

I am not a fan of this idea for the kitchen. However, it could work in other applications - quality and weight of the fabric would be very important.

I'm not trying to pile on here, but fabric-covered cabinets in the kitchen is yucky. Greasy fingers, grease in the air, flour dust, etc.

Agree with everyone else, can't quite get my head around this one.

Um, grossness.

Also, the covered doors are somehow reminiscent of the padded walls of an insane asylum.

Are you nuts?

What kind of door do you want to upholster?

No way! That would get dirty in no time!

This is an interesting fix for those with limited options.

Personally, I'd use funky vintage-inspired oil cloth, which would be easy to wipe clean.

While I like the look of it (fantastic pattern!) I can't help but think back to the winning entry of "Worst Kitchen in America" contest that TLC ran a few years ago. Every part of the kitchen--backsplash, cabinets, and even the stove!--had been covered in red and purple velvet. When you ran a white cloth over it even lightly it came away black with kitchen grease, and when they squeegeed the cabinets as an experiment liquid grease was wrung out. And the reported smell was something I was glad not to experience.

If you must have this look I'd tuck the wood cabinet doors away and buy some cheap, flat, particle board doors that you could either paint or contact paper to your hearts content. Maybe you could cover the cloth with laminating paper, but I'd triple check how flamable this resulting combination would be before installing it anywhere near the stove.

I can't believe someone would actually DO this!!

Within a month they will be slimey beyond recognition. No thanks.

How about Mexican oilcloth? That might look great and would be washable. I thought that was cute fabric, but I agree with all the other posters about problems with fabric in the kitchen.

I'm not liking this idea. I am all for home improvement, but not when it looks like something I would see on Trading Spaces (if I watched). I can just imagine how disgusting it would get from grease, etc. I like to clean EVERYTHING in my kitchen, and I don't see this working.

If you really wanted to cover cabinets and add that much pattern, you could try decoupage and cover with a really, really heavy layer of sealant.

I covered my old kitchen cabinets in fake leather. The vinyl was easy to keep clean and made for a great looking kitchen when I added oversized stainless steel handles. It was a temporary fix until we did a proper remodel.

Were kitchen cabinets made to be upholstered? I don't think this is how we treat kitchen cabinets we're not pleased with. Puffy.

Err... this seems like a bad idea, but I guess the way it's done in this example is extremely temporary.

That's very wrong.

That's something only someone who doesn't use the kitchen for cooking would approve of.

My kitchen is for cooking, so I need to clean everything properly. Maybe this works for a kitchen no one cooks.

Yuck!

I dare you to cook a pot of tomato sauce without getting those cabinets a wreck.

Im a renter and have a similar hatred for my cabinets so I just bought and made some really fun potholders and hang them on all the knobs of my upper row of cabinets for a little visual oomph. I thought they'd fly off every time I swung the doors open and shut but they havent yet and it's been a long time.

BAD idea. In so many ways.

What's even worse is that the cabinets look NEW. There was not a single dent on those doors...until the push pins went in.

This is the worst idea you've posted since you recommended carpeting the bathroom. Yech!

It's just...just....dumb.

When I posted about this project on my blog, everyone, just like the commenters here, thought I was crazy! I'd like to point out that I used a ton of water-proofing spray (Scotch Guard) on the fabric, and that, after 9 months, it still looks clean. Not a single speck of tomato sauce! And we cook every day.
This was a fun, easy project to cover some very ugly (and, yes, new) kitchen cabinets and brighten up my small kitchen. And hey, if/when they get dirty, I'll simply take them down and machine wash them (or put up a new fabric). No biggie.
Also, the fabric is not very thick, so the doors close completely.

Not something I would fancy in my kitchen, but II have been considering the same method on my ugly wardrobe!
My wardrobe doors have a decorative recess in them, just like yours, can you tell that there one underneath at all? I did think when I initially started toying with the idea that I may have to cover them in wadding first,so that the recess wouldn't be visible. Did you pull the fabric really taught?

Why? ewww.

silly. and unpractical.

veronique, i love the idea! i have hideous kitchen cabinets, have been in love with that particular fabric for over a year, and overall think you did a lovely job. thanks for the inspiration; i am off to look for sweet vintage tea towels to scotchguard and slap over my own monstrosities!

that's my plan for the lower cabinets; for the uppers, i like the idea of buying cheap new cabinet doors (ah, renting) and painting them up to make kitchen chalkboards, with complementary painted borders. my one set of cabinets is above and below the sink, so the chalk dust shouldn't be too terrible (before there is another mass kitchen hygiene freakout!)

No, no, no.

I think it's a wonderful idea for a renter who doesn't have many options for hiding dreadful cabinets!

Yes, technically you could always pull off the cabinets and use particle board or whatever... but I think these kind of suggestions must come from people who have never truly lived in a little apartment, or they'd know how truly precious any storage space is.

I went from being a packrat on a farm with three barns to a tiny studio apartment that used to be someone's parlor, so I'm dreadfully aware of that these days! :D

Anyway, I love the honeycomb look. It's just so friendly. You wouldn't want to keep it up there forever, but that's the whole appeal - easy to put up, easy to take down, and you can replace it as soon as you're tired of it or it needs a cleaning.

Although I do admit I wish my ugly old particle board cabinets were 1/10th as pretty as even the "before" cabinets. ;) Maybe I'll have to give my cabinets a go at this technique and see if I can make them slightly less awful.

I think it looks terrible, sorry. The fabric is a poor choice and...fabric? On kitchen cabinets? Doesn't that seem kind of unsanitary? What if something splatters on them - it's not easy to clean? I suppose oilcloth would be a nice alternative since it is a wipeable surface...but maybe just inlaid on the panels instead of wrapping the whole cabinet/door...?

Just not working for me...

Wow, how greasy are your kitchens? My cabinets never get greasy.

This looks cool and is a possibility for people with limited options. It's also be easy to replace/change later.

What about simply removing the cabinet doors and hanging the fabric like curtains?

Or, if you own the house, cut out the middle part of the door, replace it with glass backed by the fabric, and paint the doors to match.