My kitchen is a work in progress, but I finally have the biggest project complete! I started painting my kitchen cabinets back in September. I would work on them in my spare time. I don’t have enough space to take all of the cabinet doors down at once, so I divided them up into three sections. I felt that would be more feasible for me. After finishing one section, I would take a break for a couple of weeks. But the goal was to have them all finished by Thanksgiving, and I made it! I used the Rust-Oleum cabinet transformations kit to paint my cabinet. You can read more about this kit here. The kit comes in different sizes, depending on how many cabinets you have. My kit cost $75. The color I chose was called buttercup. You just choose a color, and the people at the store mix it for you just like when you are buying paint. There is enough in the kit to do two coats. We chose this kit because it advertised no stripping, no sanding, and no priming. I did not want to sand down all of those cabinets. I was a little leery about how durable the finish would be, but I am very happy with the results. I will give an update after some time passes, but trust me, this finish feels very strong and durable.
The kit comes with a deglosser,(which is what you use to skip the sanding and priming), a bond coat, which is the color), a decorative glaze which is optional, and a top coat. The process was not difficult, but it was tedious and time consuming. After I applied 2 coats of the bond coat, I realized I felt that it needed three coats. It said on the package that there was only enough in the kit for 2 coats, so I just took a can of the bond coat with me to Lowes and they mixed me up another quart of paint and color matched it. I used that quart as my third coat for all of the cabinets, just in case the color match was not perfect. As it turned out, I think I would have had just barely enough without having bought that extra quart. Oh well! I opted to glaze my cabinets, and I am so glad that I did! It made all of the difference! It brought out the natural wood grain in the cabinets, so you can tell they are solid wood. I am very happy with the results. I will warn you though that I literally did not have a drop of the decorative glaze left when I finished, and I did not glaze the inside of the cabinet doors. So be careful with the glaze because it is not plentiful. I only glazed the outsides of the doors, the base of the cabinets hanging on the wall, and the outsides of the drawers. I was really sweating it on that last batch of cabinets that I was going to run out. I thought the glaze should have been more plentiful in the kit. What if I would have opted to glaze the insides of the doors? I would have ran out. After the glaze dries, you apply the top coat, which gives it that shiny, durable feel. It is smooth as butter when it dries. I would caution you to let each step of these cabinets dry completely before you rehang them. I have a friend who used this kit and rehung them too soon, and it peeled off the paint in places where the doors and the base touch. I already knew that ahead of time, so I gave them a good 24 hours between each step to dry thoroughly.
My husband did help me with this project. He took down all of the cabinets, put the hardware for each cabinet in individual baggies, carried them down the stairs for me, deglossed the doors and drawers, and after they were finished, he installed new hardware and rehung them for me. I bought the hardware at Target. I didn’t even know Target sold hardware until I happened upon it one day. The prices are great! Way better than I have seen other places. And what I liked about them is that they came in packages 6. I chose a brushed nickel finish to match the appliances and top of the island. The original hardware on the cabinets was oak just like the cabinets. I hated them and some of them were missing. I really like these, they are simple and understated. You can find cabinet hardware at Target here. I bought mine in the store. I paid $19.99 for a pack of 6.
I also have started on painting the walls. You can see that the nook where the windows and door are is the part of the walls that I have finished so far. So enough typing words, and more of showing you the pictures! I am including some before pictures too so you will see the transformation. Some of these before pictures were taken when we were looking at the house before we closed on it, and some were taken after I first got it cleaned and the cabinets put away at 3:00 a.m. Remember, this was phase one of my kitchen progress. There is still much to be done! At the end of this post I will include a list.
Update 11/01/14: See our painted subway tile backsplash here.
BEFORE:
To the left is another Longaberger basket. These canisters I bought at the Cracker Barrel store, and I loved them at the time, but I am sick of them now. The butter dish is Fiesta Ware. I am trying to start a collection.
Here is a list of what we have done already and what we need to do in this room, and what I am dreaming of doing, if budget permits eventually.
Paint kitchen cabinets
paint nook
replace cabinet hardware
Add lighting over sink
Paint walls
Make and hang cafe curtains
Paint trim
Re-accessorize above cabinets
Change lamp shade- I stencilled it!
Paint back splash to mimic subway tile- 1/4 finished with this!
Repair or replace faucet
Purchase something to hold microwave
Purchase three rugs– Purchased 2!
Replace island (dreaming)
Paint current island
Refinish counters, or replace (I am dreaming of granite)
Paint door
Possibly replace light fixture
Purchase new trash can
Replace all dishes with Fiesta Ware
Add molding to top of cabinets
I hope you enjoyed the tour of my kitchen so far! All of the hours of work on these cabinets were so totally worth it. But I don’t want to do it again for a very long time! I would love to read comments about my kitchen and any ideas you might have for me to improve it!
Your kitchen cabinets turned out beautifully! On your teapot you might try a product called "Barkeepers friend", it's recommended for cleaning stainless pots and pans, should work well on your teapot too! Home Depot, K-Mart, WalMart…Lowes, they all sell it.
Now that I've figured out how to post I'll do it more often. ;0) Thanks for inviting me in to your kitchen, I had a great time!
Diana,
I use that on my sink! Why didn't I think of using it on my teapot???
Nicki, I have been enjoying all your projects! We also remodeled our kitchen a year ago. We added more cabinets, wall papered, new distressed wood floor, and counter tops. It is very country with rooster and berry vine accents.
Hope you will enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving break. Katrina
Katrina,
Thank you so much! I would love to see pictures of your kitchen! Maybe I can feature it on my blog!
the cabinets look great! and i love the green canisters :)Amanda
Amanda,
Thanks! You know how after a few years of looking at something you kind of get sick of it? I am glad you like them. That makes me feel better!
Your kitchen looks so much larger now!
I really like the colors of the plates over the sink – you may be able
to pick up a shade of one of these colors for your island!
Thanks Phyllis! I am painting the walls now. I am not sure if I like them yet. But I have a vision so I have to see it through until the end. Hopefully I will like it when it all comes together. But that is going to be a while!
Love the new cabinet color and the whole kitchen, especially the light fixture!! Heehee…..I have the exact same fixture!! I bought it at a garage sale and love it, but it seems to big for my kitchen and the ceilings aren't real high, so hanging anything big or long is out of the question. I have red for an accent color and had a few old enamel pots with red trim and have been trying to find pieces to go along with that to hang. Mine is not all filled, but I still love it!!! Love your blog, too!!
Thank you! I am still busy at work in there. My first project was the cabinets. I then painted the walls. Sunday I painted the backsplash white to prepare for a faux subway tile treatment I want to try out. Tonight after work I painted the trim. Next up is to finish the backsplash but it is going to be a lot of work. Then I still need to paint the island and the back door. It is a work in progress!
What a beautiful kitchen you have! I love all of the details too! So much space, that is just the best! Thank you SO much for sharing at the "Make It" party!!!
Jaime from Crafty Scrappy Happy
Thanks Jaime! I am very happy with the way things are evolving in my kitchen. Still work to be done though!
What a lovely kitchen you have, Nicki! It would be a pleasure for any homeowner to cook and work in this lovely space! Everything is in their proper place. But what I love the most are the cabinets! The strategic placing of the cupboards makes it look like a design piece as well.
Very nice, loving your kitchen, i don't know how people do such things on their own, i tried to paint my kitchen cabinets and ended up falling on the floor 🙁
Liam,
Thank you! It was a slow moving process, but I am so proud of them!
WOW! Beautiful transformation! I am in the process of painting mine….wish me luck! 🙂 I hope you stop by to link- http://atozebracelebrations.com/2013/02/link-party-8.html
Nancy
Thank you Nancy,good luck! Just take your time and they will turn out awesome! I will check it out, thanks!
Somehow found this when I was looking for yarn display! ??? Thanks for all the great pics; love the wood grain showing through with the new modern color. Well done! My cabinets are builder grade from the 90's and could use some lovin' like you did for yours. Inspiring!
That is weird! But glad you stumbled across my page! I am glad you like the cabinets. They were a labor of love. Took lots of work but the result is worth it. I am DIY ing a backsplash in there right now. It is taking forever too, but what little is finished looks awesome!
I am so happy to have found your blog! I am going tackle my cabinets and you've inspired me. I cannot wait to read about your backsplash project. Thank you and now I'm off to Lowes.
Shannon, It is great to know that I inspired you with my kitchen cabinets. I love them! You can see how my backsplash is coming along here:
http://sweetparrishplace.blogspot.com/2013/03/backsplash-sneak-peek.html. I am loving it, and it was even featured on one of my favorite blogs, Savvy Southern Style!
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I like those designs of your kitchen cabinets. I think the materials that they've used on those cabinets are very expensive based on the images that you've put on your blog. By the way, I want to share a site that I've found about kitchen cabinets, just click here to visit and browse all the information.
I just found your blog and am LOVIN’ it! and you kitchen so beautiful. thanks for sharing
Just perfect! What a wonderful kitchen.
I am so happy to have found your blog! Your kitchen is GORGEOUS!!! I LOVE absolutely everything about it!
Your kitchen is GORGEOUS!!! I LOVE absolutely everything about it!
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Beautiful work! We ran out of bond coat too and they dont sell that alone. What kind of paint did you buy from Lowes as the extra bond paint. Thx
thank you for your informative article.
You put a great effort into this article.. thanks for sharing with us ..