The cabinets now look awesome!

Looks great! I

'm curious about the counter paint -- how's it holding up? (This is the only installation of that product I have seen, so not a lot of real-life input about it so far!)

That's pretty amazing, especially for DIY. I'm really interested in Rustoleum. From the website description, it offers the benefits of painting without the sanding and priming - but is it really just that easy? I mean, the results say yes, but I'm wondering what is in the material that makes it so much easier to use.

And I'm wondering how sturdy it is against wear and tear.

The under counter lights help so much. Beautiful transformation!

It looks great! What a transformation!

very well done. kind of astonishing - a lot of care and patience involved.

Wow!! I didn't think the before picture needed any tweaking, but the after picture is just astonishing!!

The after looks nice, but am I the only one who thinks the choices were poor or at least short-term solutions? Wallpaper as a backsplash? Painted countertops? Maybe I'm harder on my kitchen then other people but those things don't seem durable enough.

I do understand why she'd want to paint the cabinets because of the floors, and it's better to paint than throw away, they are lovely either way.

I think I would have liked the white cabinets with the original black countertops and a different backsplash treatment. It's a bit too white, but an improvement nonetheless.

I've read really mixed reviews on the counter treatment. It's not that cheap and requires a lot of work to apply with mixed results.

I hate my crappy countertops in my new place, I looked at this but have decided instead to save up for new countertops.

I wish she'd kept the black counters, I love the contrast.

I think this is lovely! We used the Rustoleum countertop paint in our crappy kitchen (80's melamine white cabinets with HORRIFIC fake marble laminate countertops) and it has held up really well over the past 3 years. It was actually pretty easy to apply, but you definitely have to use the right kind of roller and painters tape. It is also extremely smelly. Like smelling 900 Sharpies at once smelly. We went with the dark gray color, and it really has been great considering that the kit was only around $70 and we didn't even use the whole can. I'm tempted to try the cabinet paint on our dinged up cabinets, since I've read all about it on Retro Renovation, but I think it's probably not worth the trouble. The countertops though were a really great choice though. It has made our kitchen bearable until we can someday afford to make some bigger changes. You know, when we win the lottery.

Oh, I couldn't agree more, AT.! This looks great, but the black countertops would have provided the perfect contrast. :(

I personally love the lighter counter tops. They add a warmth to the room that I don't think black would have.

I agree with Straight. And I think the options she used were great, especially for the person who doesn't have alot of money but is sick of the way the place looks.

Hey, it looks great!

I did the same in my kitchen, using that cabinet paint kit and I installed new hardware (just over $1 each for 6" bar hardware on eBay - those were $5+ at my local big box store), and the cabinet paint is holding up so well everyone thinks they're brand new cabinets. Sanding wasn't required but since my old finish was flaking off on a few doors I really had to sand it off before painting. In my case the cabinets switched from oak to white and the cabinet hardware is bronze since I was trying to match other finishes already in the house. Instead of the wallpaper, which I'd considered using, I went with actual beadboard because I was replacing the countertops (the wallpaper's a great solution if you're not replacing yours). Instead of the countertop painting, which I've used and it worked out very well in the laundry area, I opted to remove my kitchen counters and install IKEA butcher block until I can afford my dream of marble counters. I looked at a complete kitchen tearout and new cabinet install but it turned out that my current cabinets were in great condition, because they're solid wood they're better construction than the new cabinets I'd be getting, and I only needed to add inserts to two cabinets to give them the modern convenience I wanted. My kitchen reno so far and I still have to buy a new ceiling light, install new flooring, and additional molding is under $425.

In my last rental, I used the bead board wallpaper for a backsplash in my kitchen - including behind the sink. If you paint it with a semi-gloss it holds up great. I added the extra step of taping it off carefully with painter's tape and adding a bit of caulk to seal it well. Using the tape helped to get it in the groves without making a mess of the backsplash counter trim piece or the wallpaper. Received lots of complients on it and everyone thought it was real bead board.

Um. Wallpaper is never a backsplash. Ever.

I just can't believe this is the same kitchen! You did an AMAZING job! Thank you for sharing!!!!!

Um. Why the material prejudice? Vinyl wallpaper is probably easier to wipedown than many of the 'decorative' and yet horribly impractical backsplashes we see lately...

If wallpaper is not viable as a backsplash, you must be a pretty violent cook. I lived in a house whose kitchen had done just fine for 100 years with a wallpaper backsplash. (I know because I excavated four kids of wallpaper.) I eventually did put up ceramic tile, but that was mainly because I wanted a beautiful tile frieze over the stove.

I painted the cabinets in that kitchen. No Rustoleum, just Behr's latex, and it worked fine -- because kitchens tend to have grease, we used TSP on all the wood before painting. In my current kitchen, the existing paint was oil-based, so I stuck with that when I repainted, and I love it -- way more inconvenient than latex when you're putting it up but the finish is hard as a rock.

I looked at that Rustoleum kit at Home Depot and am under the impression you can simply buy the various components for less than half the cost of the kit.

Six days over three months?? Now that's a commitment.

The result is amazing, kudos!

Love Rustoleum! I used it to re-do the interior of my medicine cabinet. Looks new now. What a big difference even small changes can make.

Wonderful. I would probably change the knobs and pulls, but its otherwise perfect. Great job!