Kitchen cabinet upgrades

Updating the kitchen has always been high on our wish list but we knew it was going to be a MAJOR project so we had to make sure the time was right. The kitchen is functional but it's not very attractive and certainly not our decorating style. We've enjoying having an island (even if the counter top is too small to sit at without bumping your knees) and there is plenty of cabinet storage space.

Move in day

The cabinets are in good shape and we like the style of the door fronts. The flat panel pantry door had to go, as well as the old oven and dishwasher. We've already changed out the linoleum flooring for dark Pergo throughout the entire first floor.

Normally I'm the idea person for the renovations and D is the person who executes them, but this time the project is mostly mine. I found a local cabinet and furniture refinishing company to take the all kitchen cabinet doors to give them a professional spray finish. With the beveled edges, I wanted to make sure the finish was very even and having a professional complete the work would ensure a high-end look. As part of the renovation package, they gave me professional cabinet paint to use on the cabinet frames for my DIY portion of the project. 

Mini island near the mud room

I decided to start on a small area- the mini island which serves as a "catch all" near our mudroom. I also made the decision to paint the interior and the exterior of the cabinets. It takes significantly more time, but I believe the result is more finished and complete. 

Starting with the primer

The process is quite lengthy- Remove items from cabinet. Use degreaser and clean the insides and outsides. Sand all areas to be painted and vacuum the dust. Use 2 coats of primer, sanding and cleaning in between coats. Don't forget the shelves. Do 2 coats of cabinet paint, sanding and cleaning in between coats. I ended up adding a third coat to just the outsides of the frames to give it a nice even finish. Yes, that's five coats of paint.

2 coats of primer

Finished!

Mini island- painted inside

Next we moved on to the upper cabinets near our pantry. Part of the renovation includes closing the gap between the cabinets and the ceiling. The distance is less than 12 inches. Not big enough to add functional doors, but large enough to collect a TON of dust. Achoo!

D is back on the job for this portion of the kitchen. He built a box to fill in the distance from the cabinet to the ceiling. We chose small trim pieces to give some visual interest and crown molding will be added at the top before we're all done. It's amazing how much taller the ceiling feels by taking the cabinets all the way up. 

Our island is made up of 3 cabinets with unfinished edges and back. D is working to add trim on each side to match the rest of the cabinets. 

Island- adding trim

Side of the island

I'm now working my way around the kitchen. The back of the island has primer but I still need to empty and clean the cabinets. The boxes are going up above the rest of the upper cabinets but they still need trim work. We also have to move the non-working smoke detector which was installed above the stove. We found out it was never connected because..well, only an idiot would install a smoke detector above an oven.

Messy but coming along. Don't you love our open shelving? :)

I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the kitchen. The pull out drawers take the longest to paint because of all the different sides/edges and the drying time required. However the transformation is amazing and our kitchen looks significantly larger! 

Now...what kind of counter tops?  

Before and After

Cabinet Paint: SW 7005 Pure White