It’s been nearly a year and a half since I bought $17 of flat interior paint and changed my kitchen forever. (you can read about the process here) I shall dub this the kitchen cabinet makeover, since I really didn’t makeover the kitchen. It’s still old and hodge podge.
Do you ever have those crazed moments, where you are tired of looking at something ugly, and you are pretty sure you could make it pretty, but you are a little bit afraid because you have no idea what you’re doing?
Me too.
I mean, my cabinets were cool in that they are old, original, actual farmhouse cabinets. But, other than that, they were ugly.
#angelchorusoffarmhouseadorableness
Ok. We can also possibly attribute a portion of the transformation to improved photography skills.
The fruit decals and swans that had been buried with 300 coats of orange lacquer weren’t quite the look I was going for.
They’re gone now!
Pinterest had me afraid to paint my cabinets, but when you are armed with the Nester’s mantra “You can’t ruin something you already hate” you go to the store, grab a can of paint and transform your cabinets in a night. You don’t TSP, and wait for things to cure. You just run a sanding sponge and a wet rag over your grimey cabinets, slap a few coats of paint on and hope for the best.
Guess what? Except for about 3 touch ups where there were tiny chips within a week of re-hanging the doors, these cabinets have held up amazingly well.
This could have been a cautionary tale of how we all must take the time to do it right, and truthfully you probably should. However, painting these little cabbies was a rash and wonderful decision that had a happy ending.
There are some days when I wish I had gone white. But ya know what? It’s fun to have fun! The color is Marina Isle by Behr, from the good ol’ Depot. Clearing the counters of dirty dishes and scrubbing my floors this morning made me fall in love with my little farmhouse kitchen all over again. The herbs, eggs, and scale help too.
I figured out that bringing in greens and my favorite blue and white stripes made the cabinets read a little more mint… which I really love. Sometimes I think certain color combos won’t work, but I try them anyways and happy accidents happen.
Between the paint and the 4 new cabinet pulls, I am happy to report that it was money well spent! If you are thinking of painting your cabinets, I say- yay 😉
-Miss Ash
Please feel free to Pin for later 🙂
Linked up to: Sundays at Home, Remodelaholic
I love your cabinets! I like the style and farmhouse look and of course the color. I would like to paint my kitchen cabinets as well, but feel paralyzed when I look at them. I guess it’s not as tough as it sounds on pins, eh?
Thanks Sally! I don’t think it is as tough as it sounds. I also painted a set of cabinets in my living room, and used a paint specifically designed for cabinets. It took 1 coat of primer and 3 coats of paint- I sanded between each coat… the crazy thing is I am happier with the finish on my kitchen cabinets, and invested way less time into them! Who knew. Good luck if you decided to go for it 🙂
I am totally in love with your cabinets!!!! I have white painted cabinets in a small laundry room, but am wanting more color – Marina Isle it is! This color just makes me so happy – so happy I discovered your blog, you have helped me with a tough design decision – thanks for sharing.
Oh I am so glad you found a little inspiration. I’d love to see a photo of your finished cabinets!
I think this change is grand. And the fact it was so inexpensive makes it better.
I live in a senior facility and can’t paint so I just love to see results like thrse.
In the before picture you had a roll around island. Did you get rid if it? Where did you putchase it? It would solve a lot of my tiny kitchen issues if I could purchase one.
Hi Penni- thanks so much for your kind words. I do still have the kitchen cart. It was from a Canadian store called “Superstore” purchased about 8 years ago. However, Ikea has similar portable islands. If you are in Canada I have also seen something similar at “Canadian Tire” hope that helps- thanks for stopping by!
It turned out great! I am planning on painting my this winter when things slow down! You could paint your bottom cabinets white so then you could have a little color on top and white on bottom?
Thank you! We plan to replace the lowers eventually as they are not very functional for us- but that would look lovely! Good luck on the painting of your cabinets- I am sure you will be so happy with the results. 🙂
Love your cabinets and I really like the white color you used in the right wall (I think that’s brick or panneling?). What color white did you choose?
Thank you Kay. It is tongue and groove wood planks on the sides. I am not completely sure what the white is- but may be able to track it down. This is an older part of our house. However- on many of my walls and trim I have used Benjamin Moore Simply White and love it. xo
I love the originality of this original farmhouse kitchen! It is so refreshing to see what can be done at low cost with what you have. I am a big fan of reduce recycle n reuse n thinking outside the blue bin I like to apply it to my whole house too as you have shown here. The color is so lovely too. It reminds me of a farmhouse I rented yrs ago n painted it robins egg blue it made me smile inside n out whenever I entered the room n still today in memory of the color! ☺
It’s amazing what colors can do isn’t it? It is definitely a fun little change and brightened things up immensely!
I say yay too! The new paint really goes well with the bottom cabinets and livens up the kitchen!
Love the color on top and wood on the lowers. I am trying to refinish my kitchen and I like the cavities on top going to the ceiling. Probably could use small cab its to make this look.
It’s beautiful.
Thank you Sheri! I too like them going up to the ceiling. You could probably retrofit something for sure!
So beautiful! Do you know what the countertop is made of and do you like it? I love the color. I was thinking to go with white quartz but I like how yours looks less stark. Thanks for sharing your kitchen with us!
Hi Natalie, the countertops were here when we moved in. It is a laminate of some sort! Sorry I don’t know more details.
Good ole’ laminate! It’s funny how “all things old are new again.” Thanks for your reply!
I have been seeing so many home owners using marble look laminate… it actually looks great! Works for those on a budget for sure 🙂
Okay… totally may be random, but I have been on the hunt for dishcloths like yours. Where did you find those?!?
these particular ones were a gift! But I have seen them at homesense, and on amazon as well!