Painted Kitchen Cabinets and reworked Island

I want to show our painted kitchen cabinets. From the moment we bought the house I hated the oak cabinets and wanted to paint them, but had many excuses not to. I really wish I had done it long ago (before kids) because it really was not difficult. It was time consuming related to waiting on everything to dry the correct amount of time. Not hard though.

Our cabinets are builders grade oak. We also don't have many, which is why we purchased a fee standing unit that matched out cabinets from Home Depot. We placed this on the wall where the thermostat was, once I moved that. That is another horrible and hot attic experience...... Anyways, we I did this when I started painting the cabinets. I'm not sure why I keep writing "we". Hubby leaves me alone with my projects and lets me do my thing. He helps sometimes if I need it or ask for it, but mostly they are my projects that I do.

Back on track.....here is a shot of the day we moved in. BORING. No trim and no knobs. That first year I added crown moulding to the top of the cabinets and that made a big difference (but not enough).



This shot shows that same area with the cabinet installed.



It is amazing how much storage space this gives me. I can fit large items like my bread-maker and crock pot in bottom. The drawers hold smaller items and the top has shelves that I keep cereal, snacks and cookbooks on. My boys just push up a little step stool and help themselves. So easy.



The next shot shows the pantry on the left - it is not warped as it appears in the picture - promise. I apologize for not cleaning off the fridge for this picture. It is not pretty, but that is real life and gives our home its personality. We do have little kids living here!




The next several photos show the details.

I primed all cabinets with OIL BASED primer. This was a pain to clean my paintbrush, and stunk, but I think it gave the paint a stronger bond and I have about 2 chips. That is it, even around knobs.



I like to use brushes to paint. I do not like to use rollers (except on walls). That's just my preference. And I always use Purdy brushes. They cost more because they are better. If you take care of them they will last YEARS.

I painted the cabinets Benjamin Moore Snowfall White. It was a water based semi-gloss that my local store recommended specifically for cabinets. The color is a very pretty, soft white without being off white. I was worried about my appliances being white next to the cabinets, but I think it looks fine (stainless would look better....someday..).

I installed MDF pre-primed beadboard on the cabinet ends, around the stove area below the hood vent, and on the sides of the pantry unit. This was thin enough to sit on the sides and be flush with the cabinet edge.



I installed a small moulding around the bottom of the cabinets and around and up to the vent. I think this gives it a much needed finished edge.

I also used 2 brackets for the upper cabinets. I simply hot glued these to the cabinet bottoms with the hopes of needing to easily remove them for a new backsplash in the future. These were purchased from Home Depot for $9 each.



The knobs and handle on the pantry upper were purchased from EBay



The cup pulls that I love were found at my ReStore. They were a find at 75 cents each! Yes, I said 75 cents each!!! They were new and very heavy. I thought I would like the silver look, but after the cabinets were white realized that I did not like it. I could not find any in ORB so decided to spray paint my silver ones. I am glad I did, they came out great and have not chipped or scratched at all.



Here are a few pictures of my kitchen island. I bought it unfinished over 7 years ago. It was white until I painted the cabinets white. It is now a red color in a milk paint. I can't find the can now to check the color. I also added trim to the base and beadboard to the back and sides. The top is a butcher block purchased from Ikea. They have the best deals on butcher block. Worth the 2 hour drive!





One last picture of cabinets. I can't wait to do counters and backsplash but this is where we are for now.....



Phew this post was long......

Always, thank you for viewing and visiting!




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