Using What You Already Have Is a Design Skill: Reworking Our Existing Cabinets for a New Kitchen Layout

Using What You Already Have Is a Design Skill: Kitchen Chronicle VI

Are you ready for another Kitchen Chronicle? This one covers a few weeks at once — because that’s how real progress happens around here. Some weeks you knock things out. Other weeks you’re stuck in a holding pattern, trying to figure out one problem area before you can move forward.

This kitchen remodel has had both. Progress and waiting it out. All in one post.

Somewhere in the middle of reworking cabinets we were told couldn’t be reused, it finally clicked for me: using what you already have is a design skill. And this phase of the kitchen has required every bit of it.

cutting hole into upcycled kitchen cabinets for dishwasher drain line

Cutting with hole saw for dishwasher drain hose into cabinet

Kitchen Progress Snapshot

Before we dive in, here’s where we are right now:

Existing cabinets reworked and installed on the longest wall
Sink cabinet centered under the window
Dishwasher and drawer cabinet in place
Countertops installed

If you’re here for progress — it’s happening. Slowly, thoughtfully, and very intentionally.

Why We Chose to Rework Our Existing Cabinets

I’ve shared our chevron cabinet panels already, but I hadn’t talked much about how the layout itself was reworked, but I do think it is important to have a chat about. This is especially important if you, yourself are considering a DIY kitchen remodel.

If you’re on the fence about reusing the cabinets you already have, I hope this part helps nudge you in that direction — because this is where the real DIY comes into play.

Early on, when contractors came through our home, I was honestly surprised. No one had imagination. No one had ideas. The only suggestion was to tear everything out and start over.

I was floored since these folks are the ones who are remodeling homes in our local area. I had my answer right there, the reason why everyone's kitchens look the same. Something y'all know is not my cup of tea.

At this stage of the project, I really don’t understand why. What we’ve done hasn’t been overly complicated — it’s just required problem-solving and a willingness to work with what exists instead of against it. Something I would think contractors could do in their sleep. Still, no one seemed particularly excited to take on a vintage kitchen remodel like this.

Being Your Own GC (and Knowing Your Limits)

Like many of you, we can’t do everything ourselves — plumbing and electrical are a no-go. That’s where being your own GC (general contractor) really can save money, as long as you know where to draw the line.

And yes, that GC would be me. I seem to wear many hats during this remodel.

I made the calls, scheduled the appointments, and did the "interviewing" for plumbing and electric. I always ask at least one question I know the answer to so I can get a grasp on experience and truthfulness.

I typically have a list of questions I want answered before I choose someone to work on our home. This is just experience talking, we have hired a lot of work to be completed here. As you know, many projects have not gone as planned, so I have a long list of what I want answered before I sign on the dotted line now.

“That Will Never Work”

One of the first things we were told was that we’d never be able to center the sink cabinet under the window.

I disagreed. I said, I think it will work out perfectly.

The response?

“Well… maybe from my house it will look centered.”

I don’t have time for naysayers. I knew it could work — and guess what? It does.

What We Had to Work Around (This Is the Design Skill Part)

Here’s what we were dealing with:

Our marble windowsills are 38" wide
The sink cabinet is 36" wide
Studs don’t always land where you want or need them
Cabinet sizes didn’t line up in the original kitchen

Homes are typically framed 16" on center — but “typically” doesn’t help much when you’re standing there trying to make cabinets fit real walls.

In our old kitchen, the uppers didn’t perfectly align with the lowers anyway. One upper is 27" wide, another 24". The lowers were 24" and 21". Nothing lined up perfectly, so I wasn’t chasing perfection this time either.

How We Reworked the Cabinet Layout

We left the lazy Susan on the left side of the kitchen where it was. The rest of the cabinets were removed and moved to the garage to be refinished.

vintage kitchen cabinets set in new kitchen plan reusing what you have

All of the older cabinets have been refinished and set into place

We eliminated one 24" lower cabinet altogether, moved the 21" cabinet next to the lazy Susan, and placed the 24" dishwasher beside the sink.

Originally, the sink and dishwasher were part of a peninsula — a tired layout that blocked movement. We wanted a more open kitchen you could actually walk through.

The sink cabinet is now perfectly centered under the window. So yes — it can be done.

Sink cabinet perfectly centered under the window

Changing Plans (and Letting Go of the “Perfect Idea”)

The original plan included an under-counter ice machine. After reading reviews — and considering my husband’s very specific love for Sonic-style ice — we decided against it.

Disconnecting copper water line to the fridge, which should have never been hooked up, it was for an ice machine we omitted from the plan

That left an open question.

We had a 15" cabinet with four drawers sitting in the garage, and I asked, why can’t that go next to the sink?

old lines from washing machine in kitchen, old phone line that is moved

Holes from where the washer water lines and drains were when we moved here, we also moved the phone line further down

We refinished it, put it in place, and honestly — we love it. It adds storage and looks like it was always meant to be there.

refinished drawer fronts for vintage kitchen remodel

Refinished drawers, I love seeing the grain of the wood

vintage kitchen cabinet with built in cutting board pull out on union made cabinets

This cabinet has a cutting board that pulls out, I enjoy this feature, someone noted their measurements

Some may think we lost storage, but we still have six cabinets left to make. Two of them will be floor-to-ceiling, but we’re still working through those plans. We’ve learned we work best in the moment, not as rigid planners — and that flexibility is another reason doing this ourselves has worked so well.

This Is Not a One-and-Done Project

This is the part people don’t always talk about — reworking existing cabinets is rarely quick or clean.

Our dishwasher is a perfect example. My husband spent half a day carving out the 2x4 behind it. Not because he didn’t know what he was doing — but because he did.

reworked kitchen cabinets for vintage kitchen, cabinets in place awaiting countertops to be installed

The 2x4 behind the dishwasher was a real stinker, it had to be carved out to fit the dishwasher

He didn’t want to carve it too thin and risk not having enough structure to support the countertop, but the dishwasher needed room in the back to fit properly into the slotted space.

Hitting studs isn’t guaranteed either. You might catch one exactly where you need it, and the next is suddenly a few inches off. That’s when you stop, think, and figure out how to make it work for your kitchen — not an ideal one on paper.

This kind of project requires patience, trial and error, and sometimes taking something out just to put it back in again (several times over). That’s part of the design skill, too.

The Details That Matter

Once everything was in place along the longest wall, we thought we had enough bracing for the countertops. When the countertops were installed, the installers commented on how perfectly the dishwasher space had been carved and how level everything was — which was a huge relief and validated our hard work - usually my husband's hard work when it comes to this stuff.

Next came cutting out the electrical sockets and plumbing openings in the sink cabinet. My husband’s measuring skills were truly put to the test here, especially since we had to place the cabinet over the PEX and then slide it back into place.

Cut outs under kitchen sink, 2 electrical sockets, capped drain, new drain in wall and pex coming from floor

Longer holes had to be cut into the cabinet to slide the cabinet over the pex while also lining up the cut outs for drains and electrical

Cut outs under sink for pex lines to be fed through

I have a plan for the bottom of this cabinet when I get around to it

It took time. Weekends are never long enough, which is why our progress can feel slow — but we got there.

We chose not to screw the cabinets into the floor because our floors have a lot of movement (old house perks... or not). Flooring decisions are still ahead, and this gave us flexibility.

Once the sink cabinet was set, placing the small drawer cabinet was a breeze.

Reuse Wins (and Saving Where It Counts)

We reused our old knobs — the mercury glass knobs some of you may remember came after a set of black knobs I had in place, before blogging and sharing was a thing here — and they work beautifully in this new kitchen. Zero dollars spent, and I love them more this time around than I did before.

Chevron kitchen cabinet doors with sage brush granite countertops installed

I am over the moon with how the countertops turned out! More on this later.

We did purchase new drawer pulls from Menards at $5 each.

Refinished kitchen cabinet with cup drawer pulls and under sink showing pex lines

I have always loved cup drawer pulls

Our stove stayed right where it was. The outlet was already there, and honestly, I’d venture to say the stove has probably lived in that same spot since 1950. Since we were trying to honor the home’s history, it worked perfectly for us.

Granite countertops installed over refinished vintage kitchen cabinets with chevron pattern panel doors

Anyone out there who doubted this remodel, do you see our vision coming together now?

Planning Ahead Without Rushing

We purchased our sink almost ten years ago and stored it in the basement, knowing that someday we’d remodel this kitchen — we just didn’t know when.

Vintage kitchen remodel refinished cabinets, granite countertops and backsplash with sink installed

We love the backsplash behind the sink. If they would have had more of this color of granite, we may have chosen to have it as the entire backsplash too

Making a few key purchases ahead of time helped keep our costs down, I don’t even remember what we paid for it now. Sometimes planning shouldn't be rushed — it just means paying attention to what you love and setting it aside until the timing is right.

And yes — we finally have running water again. I’ll be sharing more about that (and our new RO system) in a separate post, because that experience deserves its own conversation.