Hate your kitchen? You really have no excuse for not changing it after seeing this makeover. For only $89 this kitchen has been transformed, made more functional and has become a space that the owners want to spend time in. Sustainability means a lot of things; it means keeping the existing and perfectly useable (but ugly) items and making them over to be more pleasing and it also means doing this makeover on a budget.
I love the way Mallory from Our First Nest describes her project:
So the challenge was to improve functionality, modernize, and visually open up the kitchen with only $100. Easy Peazy.
The budget breakdown is quite impressive:
Primer: Free (left over from other projects)
White Cabinet Paint: $25
"SW Gray Clouds" Wall Paint: $11
Cabinet Hardware: Free (inherited from previous owners)
Countertop Paint: $20
Hinges: $33
For a grand total of $89!
Read about the details at Our First Nest!
(Images: Our First Nest)
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I am LOVING these low-cost makeovers you've been featuring lately!
What kind of paint did they use on the countertops?
Wow. I am loving these as well!
HUGE DIFFERENCE! I love it! Especially since I'm about to embark on my own cabinet painting experience. Glad to hear it's not going to kill my wallet ...
Also, thank you for taking a GOOD set of before-and-after pictures with similar lighting and from the same angle =)
Very nice change! I love the gray countertop against the white cabinets. Great job modernizing the space for just a few bucks!
Thank you everyone for the kind comments! What an honor to have my kitchen featured!
@arquiteta maia - I used Rust-Oleum Specialty Countertop Coating tinted to Rosemary to paint my countertops. I plan to do a follow-up post soon, after living with them for over a year. Not the most durable, but for $20, definitely worth not breaking the bank!
Whoa! This is an amazing transformation!
I'm beginning to think white paint can fix anything.
Looks great!
Nice work. Great post. It's really helpful to see the kind of changes that can be made with a tight budget -- it's easy to admire someone's 6-figure remodel, but these more modest jobs more useful and inspiring.
This is fantastic. I love the budget makeover posts too!!!
Well done!
thumbs up!
So interesting about the Countertop paint. For $20 you could paint it every year.
Looks good. However, the sustainability factor is temporary since they plan to completely gut the kitchen later.
what a difference!!!!
I'm trying to pluck up the courage to paint our dark wood kitchen cupboards, so it was great to see such a fabulous transformation. It looks so fresh!
A perfect 10!! It's hard to believe that your kitchen went from hodgepodge to a cohesive unit for $89.
That looks great. I did the same thing not too long ago in my bathroom with hardware from a website lookintheattic. Great prices and a great transformation.
Great! It's amazing what happens when you just paint cabinets! White is always so fresh!
Yes! Thank you for CHEAP makeovers that lots of us can afford, and kudos to the owners!
Paint is magic!
Fantastic! Huge difference!
Love the color combo of the white and the pale gray.
And I never heard of countertop paint before. That's amazing!
I also like the decision to move the hardware; there was something wack-a-doodle about the cabinets previousy having the knobs in the centers of the upper doors.
this is a very nice makeover, the white cabinets look great with that gray wall paint.
but i'm still trying to figure out how some paint improves functionality. anyone??
Paint does not make something more functional, unless it makes the owners more willing to function in the space.
I prefer the dark wood. White painted cabinets look cheap and institutional to me. But every makeover on this site has to be about painting the cabinets white, I guess.
Oh, I see -- they moved the hardware on the upper cabinets. I guess that's more functional, if it means they can reach.
@ Allie_P: aha, knew it had to be there somewhere.
i agree with you, kind of tired of all the white, the colored paint cabinet do-overs seem few and far between.
Yeah, I prefer the dark wood, too - I'm a bit more of a traditionalist. :) I'm working on taking my medium maple/oak finish cabinets to a dark, rich, mahogany with brushed nickel handles (I think the old hinges - sort of an antique brass, I think - should blend in and not be too visible against the darker wood, so I'm leaving them for now. I might change them out for nickel as well later, though).
Still, it's nice to see a transformation like this for so little, and I'm interested in the countertop paint, now. I've been thinking about my countertops as well, but don't have much of a budget for them at the moment, so I'm taking the kitchen transformation step by step.
looks great. I'm a dark wood fan too, but those cabinets were fugly. countertop paint is brilliant.
What a huge change, just from white paint! great job !!
What an impact for under $90!! I think the inlay that made them ugly in a wood tone really adds to their presence in crisp white!
Thank you all for your encouraging comments! I've definitely been happy with our kitchen since our make-over last year.
And for all of those who were curious about the painted countertops, I finally posted all about on my blog today: http://our1stnest.blogspot.com/2011/06/countertop-cover-up.html.
WUT.
There is such a thing as counter top paint???!!
And I haven't heard about it?! I think this just made my year! I might not have to deal with my boyfriend's hideous counter tops anymore! *cackles*
So you would not recommend that counter-top paint? Was it easy to do?
Has anyone ever heard of / tried the "giani granite" paint?
http://gianigranite.com/
I have been wanting to try this out in my kitchen...