Many experts will tell you that replacing cabinets, especially commissioning custom cabinets, can be quite expensive. Unless your cabinets are moldy, cracked, and otherwise finished for life, there’s no need to replace the entire unit. Painting, polishing, or replacing cabinet doors may be all you need to do to return your kitchen cabinets to their former glory.

Before we proceed to painting, polishing, and replacing, let’s talk about knobs. Replacing old knobs with shiny new ones can work wonders on your kitchen cabinets, at a low cost. From solid brass to nickel to ceramic and unfinished wood, knobs come in a variety of styles, shapes, sizes, colors, and prices. Merely changing knobs can create the new look you want at a fraction of the price of replacing cabinets.

The experts at HGTV provide a few tips for renovating kitchen cabinets for less. To spruce up cabinets, simply repaint them. Begin by removing the doors and hardware. Sand down the door and cabinet frames to smooth out surfaces, fill in cracks and dents with wood putty, apply oil-based primer and paint, allow cabinets and doors to dry, replace doors, and you’re done.

In a few easy and inexpensive steps, you can create your own “new” kitchen cabinets.