[mommiemara]

I'm trying to update my kitchen. I would rather throw my budget at counters rather than cabinets. The house has very nice solid oak cabinets that are still in great shape. Problem is the ugly out dated brass handles in the center of the doors. I really want to put in new handles in the corners. Is there a good way to fill in that center hole without it being horridly obvious when I'm not painting the cabinets and they are a oak with a lot of pattern in the wood? They are a panel door so the only other option would be to try and replace the panels but I'd love to keep this cheap so I can afford the counters with a nice tile back splash. Thanks for any thoughts

 

[Blondesense]

Staining any filler to match the oak is gonna be tough. If you are willing to replace the panels, you might think outside the box. Depending on the style you don't necessarily need to replace them with matching stained oak. Colored glass or textured acrylic are two possibilities. Maybe just a plywood panel covered in a cool washable wallpaper. I'm sure there are others. When I have a problem like this I wander up and down the home improvement stores looking for inspiration.

Pics might help.