apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Damn, girl, I want you to come do my kitchen, minus the primer spill, of course! Nice job!

I'm impressed! Nice job

I painted my kitchen 3 years ago and I am still scarred. I have my money saved for the painter when I decide to change the color.

Omigod, you poor thing--I think I would have thrown myself out the window. You look remarkably cheerful in the PrimerExxonValdez picture.

I've tried to do this and did a craptastic job. Yours looks beautiful!

For a second there, I thought you had a great Marshmallow Man explosion! Really, it kind of looks like marshmallows.

The finished product looks good - the new hardware is fun!

That's a fab improvement over those builder's oak cabinets. Now it looks lovely and custom.

soooo cute...I lOVE the painted wood, so much better!!Somehow actually feels more modern!!
I used to be a painter and did the whole 'spill a can' thing a few times (oops is right!!); thats a great pic of you, should frame it and hang in the new kitchen!!!

bonus points for the spilled primer! i wish there was a detail picture of the cabinets...

Fantabulous after pic. I love the color and I agree with bgball it looks more modern, despite the "aging" technique you used. I love it!

I feel you. My planned January jumpstart was derailed when my cat escaped the safe bedroom and jumped onto the freshly primed kitchen counters....

This looks great!

This may not be my personal style, but it does look great. A massive imrovement.

Without question, one of the more ambitious Jumpstart projects, even without the spill!

the only thing she forgot ... what was the paint color? and what glaze? clear?

great job!

i like it! great job!

I think the Great Primer Spill of the Century might beat my Great Sander Episode of 2008 for my non-submitted January Jumpstart project. (Used power sander inside--dust everywhere--hours of cleaning). Looks fantastic! I wish my parents would take this as inspiration and paint their peeling cabinets!

ahahha, thats great. Both, the messy picture and the end-result.

Love it love it absolutely love it!

I have painted kitchen cabinets too but I have mostly succeeded in blocking out the memory. Fantastic job! Give us details of the materials used and a close-up shot of the results!

The primer spillage reminds me of the time that a couple of squirrels got into my parents house and knocked over some extra cans of paint which were hanging around in the basement. The aftermath was pretty funny.

Fortunately, a couple of live traps later two rather strangely coloured squirrels were released elsewhere. The basement remains mottled.

Your kitchen looks great.

Cheerful attitude in the face of adversity = cheerful warm kitchen. Coincidence? I think not :-)

bravo!

You've definitely moved my opinion on painting wood toward the positive. That kitchen looks spectacular.

I think you get the Miss Congeniality award for keeping your sense of humor in the face of great adversity. I have very similar oak cabinets and seeing your after photos is giving me ideas.

That's awesome. I just painted my closet...no spills but I did an awful job. At least it's just a closet...

Wow! Great Job! I think my current cabinets are the same color as your "old" cabinets...I'm inspired! Oh and I love the green knobs!!!

Jennifer, this is wonderful. I have similar cabinets and have been wanting to paint them for months, but too afraid to start. Thanks for showing it can be done, and done well! Did you paint the inside of your cabinets? Sanded by hand or machine? Kilz for primer coat?

Wow, thanks for the great feedback! It is nice to know that I'm not the only one that has had some major DIY obstacles to overcome. Squirrels?? What a great story!

For those of you who asked, I'll give 'ya all the paint/primer/closeup details you would like. As soon as I get my kids off to bed. My best advice is GO FOR IT! It wasn't nearly as daunting as it seemed (which was why I waited 8 years to try).

Oh, and to give my awesome little sister Ashley some overdue credit, she was a real trooper to see me through the project. She's still finding primer in undisclosed physical locations. She's the "marshmallowman" pictured.

That spilled paint reminds me of a picture that was floating around the internet a while ago:

http://www.neatorama.com/2006/07/07/kids-and-an-open-can-of-paint-what-could-go-wrong/

It turned out that the picture was Photoshopped -- hmmm?

Impressive job! I dumped a nearly-full gallon of paint on my head once while painting a tall ceiling. I was in this repetitive mode of climbing the ladder, placing the can of paint on the top step, painting, climbing down with the paint in hand, moving the ladder, climbing... until I forgot to grab the paint on the way down and I moved the ladder. Not only did I get a couple of paint-filled contusions, and paint-covered hair, but my shaggy dog walked through the paint and ran around the house. Now I always transfer the paint to a smaller container wen I'm doing brush work.

Dani, that neatorama shot is is obvious photoshop work. This "Oops" shot could be, but it looks real enough to me.