Happy Friday! And when I say happy, I mean HAPPY! I am headed to Chicago with my husband as a surprise for my big 4-O(MG) birthday! Looking forward to a relaxed weekend with good food, great shopping and some pampering. 🙂
Thought I’d share some pictures of my kitchen and what I would love, love, LOVE to do with it. Curious to hear your thoughts and ideas – especially those of you who have had similar kitchen projects.
So, on to the photos. Mind you, these are before we moved in, but you get the gist. This way you can view my kitchen without the breakfast dishes in the sink, lunch boxes on the island, basketball brackets on the breakfast bar…
You can see that the cabinets have a yellowish, gold tone to them. I think this is some sort of an attempt at “Tuscan” or something. Because I have one of these in my house too.
Yes, that would be a painted niche. What, you thought it was a view to a beautiful meadow?
What I would like to do, is paint these bad boys white, perhaps even with a light glazing. I’m just really not a fan of the current look. And I don’t care for the crown moulding part at the top of the cabinets in a stain. That just seems to cut them off, you know? I would also like to change out the pendants.
They’re great cabinets, and there are flecks of cream in the granite counters, so I really think it could work. I don’t know that this is a project I want to tackle myself (would love to hear from those of you who have). Where do you begin in choosing “the right white” for the cabinets? Was painting the cabinets a nightmare? Was it worth the effort doing it yourself?
Should I consider the creamy white used on my baseboard mouldings and other cabinetry in my house like what I have in my family room? You can see what I’m talking about here, from when I was taping off for my sectional:
Looking forward to your thoughts. Also need to work on convincing my husband that painting the kitchen cabinets is a good idea. 🙂
Enjoy your weekend! I most certainly will!
15 Comments
Colleen
March 4, 2011 at 1:20 pmI love your kitchen. Just gorgeous. Love the vision you have and it sounds like it would be beautiful in there.
Chris
March 4, 2011 at 1:24 pmYour kitchen is beautiful! I can understand wanting to change it up though. We are actually going to paint our cabinets this summer. Right now the plan is to use the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit but that might change. I have painted 2 bathroom cabinets in white (paint, not the kit) and it wasn't my favorite thing to do but I am glad I did. I like pure white so that is what I have used thus far and will probably continue to use. Good luck! Chris
InMyOwnStyle
March 4, 2011 at 2:27 pmHi Jenny-
If this was my kitchen I would feel the exact same way you do about it. It is a beautiful kitchen, but when it is not your style it is hard to live with. I painted my kitchen 8 years ago and it turned out great. My only regret – is that I didn't do it sooner. It took me three weeks and I added lots of bead board and moulding. I did it a section at a time so I would not feel so overwhelmed. I have a post about it on my blog. I think you could do a few different things.
Paint them all white – perhaps add a warmer white glaze on top so they still look custom and coordinate with the tile.
You could also just paint the darker wood a warm white and that would make the kitchen look lighter overall. The crown moulding on the top of the cabinets would still look funky though as it would not match the cabinets.
The easiest way would be to see if you could match the lighter color on the cabinets and paint and glaze all the darker wood with that. Much less work and you still would get a lighter feel.
Another option would be to paint all the dark wood the same color as the lighter cabinets and then use a white paint glaze mixture and paint over everything. You could just work the color into the grooves and crevices of the cabinets making the cabinets look whiter, but still have a custom finish.
Melanie over at My Sweet Savannah did this with brown glaze. If it is still too overwhelming Jane over at Finding Fabulous had someone come in and do hers. 🙂
I hope you have a wonderful weekend away with your hubs.
My best- Diane
theultimate
March 4, 2011 at 2:31 pmWow your kitchen is awesome! I agree though that the cabinets would look better in white. That would be so crisp and clean looking! =]
wonderfullydomestic
March 4, 2011 at 3:12 pmI have to agree with you that the cabinets could use a facelift. I really like white cabinets – I'm not really into the Tuscan look and the glaze on the cabinets like that – I think it almost makes them look dirty.
I can't wait to see what you decide to do!
The Starr Family
March 4, 2011 at 6:05 pmI would absolutely have them professionally painted. They would look professional and seriously, your time is money! My hubby and I always say Pay with Dignity… on some projects (especially big) its worth paying someone else to do it right! (Check out Isabella & Max Rooms blog to see how she had her cabinets done).
Also, would you leave the big backsplash behind the stove? Or finish it straight up?
Green Door Girl
March 4, 2011 at 6:52 pmHave an awesome weekend in Chicago and hello you so don't look 40 in your profile picture! 🙂
On the kitchen – I think white with a glaze would look great – I do think you need to match the trim since it is right next to the cabinets and you are going white – I would use that as the base color and then do a glaze on top. I probably would hire this out, I have done my own painting before and it is long and tedious and we didn't have kids… the thought of repainting now with 2 kids – no way – that is worth hiring out for me! 🙂
A Vintage Vine
March 5, 2011 at 2:52 amLovely kitchen…I think the crown cuts off the kitchen to you because it is so much darker than the other cabinets…once that is painted you won't feel that way….My kitchen took me a month to do. Yours seems bigger, may take you longer. I would look into estimates(pro painters) then at least you will have a point of reference, can I afford that or not??
Personally, I painted mine because they were not quality cabinets to begin with. However, yours seem like better quality and having them done professionally could pay off in the long run. I think painting them lighter is a perfect idea….The Tuscany window! I thought it was a meadow…NOT! Love your humor!
Courtana
March 5, 2011 at 5:22 amYour kitchen is great, lots of storage, etc, but yes, I totally think that changing the cabinet color would give it a whole, new, fresh look. Right now, everything is kind of the same color and lightening the cabinets would give it some pop. Good luck talking your hubby into it!
Sherry @ No Minimalist Here
March 6, 2011 at 1:59 pmHi Jenny, Your kitchen is beautiful and I think the cabinets would look fabulous painted white! I have been browsing you archives and I love your home and your style. I am now following.
Hugs,
Sherry
Jenny
March 7, 2011 at 2:33 amSince you do not have any white in your countertops or tile, I would go with a more creamy color. Maybe BM 974 – Muskoka Trail? I don't think you even need to glaze it. You have plenty of interesting details already in your cabinetry. Good luck!
Kitchen
March 26, 2011 at 3:59 pmI think, must meet the upholstery because there is next to the clock and will white-will use that as a base color and then make the icing on top. I would rent this, I did my own painting before and is long and boring and we do not have children.
Mariaelena
March 29, 2011 at 8:37 pmHi, nice to meet you Jenny, I've been going through your blog. So glad I found you. You home is lovely…I agree about the crown molding. All one color would be nice there. I recently built a new house on the shore and I chose a white kitchen. I love it. I did have the builder get paint the same as the cabinets for the moldings around the house. good luck…if you do nothing, it is now a beautiful kitchen….please take a visit to my blog and enter in my giveaway…It's a Ballard tote, so I know you will love it…So wish we had an outlet near here…I'm a huge fan of Ballard…
Mariaelena
Chris
June 24, 2011 at 1:41 pmI know I'm coming in late, but I would suggest professional painting. That's a BIG project. It doesn't hurt to get some bids, right? If you're looking for a creamy white, I would highly recommend White Dove by Benjamin Moore. It's absolutely splendid! Your kitchen is gorgeous, by the way! I can already picture it in white! 😉
Physiotherapy in Northwich
July 29, 2011 at 10:26 amWow… Its really amazing kitchen and home design. I waiting for decorating my kitchen for this style and it is mu dream home.