Weekend Project: Painting Kitchen Cabinets

As I posted on Sunday, I have started the process of painting our kitchen cabinets.  They are the last remaining honey oak cabinets in this house.  I hate the country, out-dated feel of honey oak.  I spent the winter looking at paint chips taped to the cabinets, narrowing down my color choice and waiting for pretty weather.

Here is my before picture:

Over the weekend, I was able to prime the upper cabinets (doors and frame) and get the first coat of paint on the frame and two coats of paint on one side of the doors.

In a world where money doesn’t matter, I would have changed the countertops and painted the cabinets white, but this is not our forever home, so I don’t want to undertake expensive projects like that.  My compromise was choosing a light color (since the walls are dark chocolate), but not white, because the counters, backsplash and appliances are all three different shades of white already.  I don’t want anything else that might make the rest look dingy.

This color is matched to Behr’s Basketry.  It has a goldenness to it that I thought would compliment the color of the floors better than a greener or more gray shade of tan.  It is actually close to the color of the insides of the cabinets (not planned) which is nice because I had no intention of painting the insides! (or even removing items from the cabinets as you can see.)

I also removed the bridge over the sink because it is just way too country and very outdated (especially with the fluorescent light fixture that was up under there).  I am hoping we can work it out to put a pretty light on the wall above the window.  Bradley is not sure about what he thinks, but he *says* he will trust my judgment on it.  He can’t ever see what I see in my head for some reason:)  Some day I might add crown moulding to the top of the cabinets as well, just not in this go ’round.

I plan to change the hardware as well from this strange black metal with country leaf pattern to brushed nickel.  I am going to try spray painting the hinges to save money and more importantly to not have to re-hang every door because new hinges wouldn’t line up with the old hinge holes.

So far, I am very pleased with my progress and the results I am getting.  I have enjoyed using Sherwin Williams paints.  For the tight spaces I am using a small artist’s brush from the craft store which is time consuming, but my philosophy is ‘If you’re going to do it, do it right.’  Plus, it saves a lot of clean up/ touch up work from trying to cut corners.

Published by Leslie

I think Habitual Rearranger fits me well because I am never settled on designs, colors, or placement of items in our home. I drive Bradley crazy sometimes, but I keep figuring out new and better ways of doing things! I am not striving to be profound or an expert on anything in this blog. It is simply a way to keep a record of all of my adventures - home and life - for me to reference and also for my loved ones to follow along. I am a born and raised Georgia girl. I don't think I would enjoy living anywhere except the south. Bradley and I spent six and a half years in our starter home and are now in our forever home, a 1970s traditional two story brick house. I love getting into all kinds of projects around our house, and I try to document all the dirty details here if for no one else than for me.

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6 Comments

  1. I love this Leslie! I so need to do this in my home. I hate looking at my country white kitchen every day! Maybe this is the inspiration that I needed:)

  2. Are you painting the cabinets with a brush or a sprayer? Just curious. Seems like the pros always use a sprayer, and I’m wondering if you use a brush if the brush strokes are visible?

    1. Hi Sara,
      I am using a brush on the tight spaces and rolling on the rest of the paint. I have been really impressed with the quality of the Sherwin Williams paint I am using. It is ProClassic Smooth Enamel Finish in semi-gloss. It has given me a very nice smooth coat (I am trying to be patient and do thin coats that spread on evenly).
      It is matte looking, so if I wanted a glossy finish, I would need to put on a lacquer, but I’m afraid that is where I would get brush strokes. My husband and I both like the matte look though, so I think we are going to live with that for now. It would probably be worth the price of a professional if you really wanted the hi gloss finish(??) I really am a trial and error DIYer:) Hope this helps!

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