HOME DECOR: KITCHEN MAKEOVER WITH PAINT

What a difference PAINT makes! 

SO, CSI IS HAVING A CHALLENGE, TO SHOW A PAINT PROJECT, AND I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS KITCHEN I DID FOR A CLIENT.

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Her kitchen started out much the same as many of ours with older homes. She had good quality cabinets, but they were dated and very much the 80's color stain with prominent oak grain.

Budget was an issue, and we needed new appliances, flooring and countertops - what to do? Take a look and see what a difference a little paint can make.....

Here's her kitchen before.     It did have a beautiful big garden window...

Okay, I'll say it..... it was UGLY....

Note the island here, it's important to remember how puny and dated this really looks...

But, like I said the cabinets were good quality....

She also had this really big oak china cabinet in the adjacent eating area.

She was prepared to sell it/donate it, but I thought it had potential...

So we painted.....    a creamy white - and added travertine backsplash and granite countertops.

And a few architectural embellishments here and there from the local molding and trim store... like this corbel

And we added paint and trim all the way to the ceiling - it really made those old cabinets look custom

And remember the ugly island?

Another trip to the molding store and some 1/2 columns and corbells later....

With a unifying coat of that same creamy white.... and a granite top ... it's almost unrecognizable.

After the paint had cured (Dunn Edwards perma sheen brand prevents sticky cabinets) I hand applied a tinted wax finish (Bri-wax) for a soft time-aged look - and buffed it with an orbital buffer (borrowed the one my husband uses to buff out his car!) to a hard protective finish.  Added new hardware and we were done....

Remember that old kitchen?

What a difference a little paint makes!

And the almost donated china cabinet?

With a coat of paint to match the cabinets, and the same wax treatment -

It looks amazing~

And unites this eating area with the kitchen, beautifully!

So, I hope this inspires you NOT to settle for an outdated kitchen - when all you need is a little paint and some elbow grease....

Check out the whole house project at http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2009/04/ana-bobs-house.html

And join our Spring garden tour!  We need participants!     Go here for the details... http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2010/05/spring-garden-tour.html



Best,

Claudine