Your cavelike kitchen feels that way because the dark cabinets have sucked all the light out of the room. But a brighter makeover doesn’t necessarily mean replacing those gloomy boxes with all-new cabinets. As long as the frames and doors are structurally sound, you can clean them up and spray on some new paint—and within a weekend take that kitchen from nightmare to dreamed. 

Canadian Pros shows on the ­following pages, all you need is some strong cleaner or paint stripper, sandpaper, a sprayer (HVLP). What you don’t need is a whole lot of money, as the transformation will cost you a fraction of even the cheapest new cabinets. We light up your day.