We live in a great apartment — tons of space, reasonable rent, and a landlord who reimburses us for home improvements. This last bit is key because (a) we love to fix things up and (b) this apartment seriously needed it. Although its the first floor of an old Beacon Street brownstone, only the front half of the apartment looks like it. The back half — hall, kitchen, bath and bedroom — was an addition circa 1960 complete with dark wood paneling and cabinets everywhere.
The front half of our apartment has lovely original wainscotting and crown molding, both painted antique cream. With our landlord's blessing, we wanted to unify the two halves of the house and make it feel like one, cohesive apartment using little more than paint to transform the 1960s dark wood. The first part of our adventure focuses on the old kitchen cabinets. Although we're still working to complete the full transformation, the kitchen facelift was finished in just one weekend.
What You Need
Materials
painter's tape
TSP substitute
primer
paint
patience!
Tools
screwdriver (to remove cabinet doors)
orbital sander
quality paint brushes
Instructions
Pick a Paint Color
We matched the original trim color and chose a complimentary cabinet color. The previous tenant (also into DIY projects) installed a blue glass tile backsplash and, although blue wouldn't have been our first choice, we went along with it and chose a pale blue for the cabinets. We used the trim color to delineate "trim" from "cabinet" since the entire kitchen was the same color paneling and also to echo the crown molding that's in the rest of the apartment.
Number the Cabinets and Keep Hardware Together!
Number each cabinet door and its corresponding frame with painter's tape. Also, place all removed hardware (hinges) in a numbered bag that corresponds with that door. In newer kitchens this might not matter as much but ours barely had 2 doors exactly alike (and we had over 30 cabinet doors). Organization here will save you ample time on the back end.
Prepare the Surface
Every guide we read stressed this and we completely agree. The door faces and edges were sanded with an orbital sander (outdoors) to remove old lacquer and create a smooth base. The frames and panels in the kitchen were thoroughly cleaned with a TSP substitute to remove dirt and grease.
Invest in Good Primer
Everything — doors, frames and wall panels — was primed with a stain-blocking and sealing primer. We used a Zinsser Shellac base made for latex paint.
Paint, Dry, Paint, Dry
We painted two coats on everything. We also used brushes, not rollers, and were very careful to paint in long, even, vertical strokes. With an oil based paint the surface is more flat but latex paint strokes are more visible, which looks good when done carefully. Allow each coat to dry completely before proceeding. Its best to move furniture and devote ample space to this project so that nothing need move before painting is completed.
Patience is Everything
After painting is completed its just a matter of matching everything back up. Our cabinets were anything but perfect to begin with and during our re-installation we had some issues with closing and fitting many doors back into place but patience is key. Take a deep breath and stick with it — you're almost done!
Step Back and Look at the Big Picture
About halfway through the first coat we realized our new light, airy kitchen was too light and airy and needed some grounding. Because we were dealing with paneling everywhere there was no "wall" to break up the cabinet color. We chose the chalkboard paint to balance the space and bring depth back to the room. We also mounted pegboard to cover a huge area of damaged wall paneling that was a bubbling eyesore (something that our new light paint color only emphasized).
The total cost of our kitchen facelift was $250 and that included purchasing high quality brushes and an orbital sander. Happy landlord, even happier tenants. Stay tuned for Part Two of our wood paneling transformation where we tackle the hallway and pretty much nothing goes according to plan.
Additional Notes: Our best resource for painting kitchen cabinets was This Old House.
Images: Wes & Kayla Schwartz
Originally published 11.10.2008
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That´s really beautiful! Congratulations!
What a lift! Wonderful job - I hope you treat yourself to some indulgent meals in this kitchen now.
Are you keeping the center cabinets door-free now? It's a nice touch.
This looks really good! Like the dark corner with the peg board... the only think is I would have opted for a different hardware, something that blends in more.
What a difference! Great work, and thanks for the tips!
Wow, great job! What a difference. Was that back splash already there or did you install that?
We're planning on doing the same thing with our cabinets, which are almost identical to yours. We just keep putting it off because it seems so daunting. Your post has inspired me to give it a go!
What a happy, cheerful kitchen! Makes me want to go out and give my kitchen a bit of a facelift...
so beautiful! congratulations, great job. couldn't be better.
$250?!? My god, wow. Magnificent job!
Wow, what a fantastic job! I love the open cabinet and the pegboard--awesome. And what a dish rack! That thing is bold and beautiful.
My poor rental kitchen aspires to be like yours.
Completely amazing! I love white cabinets. Our 1950 ranch has an awful 1990 kitchen with ugly, golden-oakey stained hickory cabinets that I loathe. I've been on the fence about painting them but this after photo has convinced me.
Thanks for the comments.
The previous tenant started the project by replacing the sink, stove, counter, and put in the tile backsplash- which you could hardly see with all the dark wood around. The hinges would have been really difficult to replace becasue some are bent to get the doors to fit correctly so we had to stick with the dark hardware. We are leaving the center cabinet open for frequently used dishes etc... but we painted the doors and stored them if a future tenant doesn't want the open cabinet.
It took a very long weekend and we questioned the sanity of doing so much work on an apartment we don't own but now that we've lived with the new kitchen it is was very worth it.
Amazing job! What a way to spend a weekend. It seems so much bigger and cleaner too. Wow.
AWESOME!! and inspiring! your added so much life to the room, well done!
this is SUCH a timely post as i was just looking for instructions like these online last night - my first stop was actually AT!
I can't describe how much I love kitchen makeovers. I absolutely look forward to seeing outdated kitchens get a fresh face. Gorgeous job! Paint is such a magical thing. ;)
Wow, what a difference! You must be so proud of your accomplishment. Watch out....you landlord's going to want to raise your rent because his place is now so nice! ;)
Why oh why oh WHY do people insist on painting over beautiful, finished wood?
The cabinets in the first pic are not THAT dark, and appear to be in good shape. It looks like Birch, which can never be described as "dark" but rather has a luminous golden tone with interesting grain patterns.
The kitchen could easily be updated and made "brighter" through new hardware and other finishes that compliment the wood's color and depth. I'll take the "before" picture of the corner/desk hutch any day.
Sorry to sound so negative, but nothing's more beautiful than quality woodworking. Painting over it ruins the finish and means it can never be properly restored. I just don't get it.
"Why oh why oh WHY do people insist on painting over beautiful, finished wood?"
Becuase it's not beautiful finished wood. You can call its tone "luminous" and its grain "interesting" all day, but in the end the old kitchen looks like a cavern and the wood looks like stained plywood. It has no depth. It looks like wood cut with no consideration to the tree's characteristics. Bottom line, it's mass-manufactured cabinetry from the 60s, and it shows.
Thus the conclusion of my rant against "Oh my the beautiful stained plywood!" rants.
Your transformed kitchen looks fine - bright and cheerful and I love the chalkboard touch. How clever to think of it! Nevertheless the original wood does NOT look like the ugly varnished plywood I had in my last kitchen. From the photos it MIGHT have had potential with the high gloss finish removed, the ceiling and other parts painted a bright white and the knobs changed to a modern look. Only you can tell since you see it up close.
Very nice! I think the work you did looks great, and thanks so much for the tips, as well. Question for you if you get a chance -- where is your apartment and how did you find it? It looks like such a fantastic space and I love that you're able to make improvements to it. I'm living on Beacon in Brookline right now but can't make changes to the space, so I was hoping for some good ideas for next year. Thanks!
I love the pegboard solution to make a former eyesore into a place for organization and creative inspiration.
But I'm wondering, where'd the microwave end up? I don't see it in the slideshow.
Kayla here -
If you look for an apartment owned by an individual (as opposed to a company) you'd be surprised how many of those landlords would be willing to reimburse you for DIY improvements around the house - even if its just painting the walls. The reason a lot of apartments stay outdated is because the landlord doesn't want to eat a month or more of rent to make improvements when there are plenty of people lined up ready to rent it as-is.
We've contemplated pulling up the linoleum in the hall and kitchen and putting down snap-together wood floors but that might cross the line of our ability and our landlord's trust :-) We shall see...
A lot of items found new homes post-makeover and our microwave is now nestled perfectly on the counter between the sink and refrigerator. Its tucked back in the corner and pretty hard to see - exactly why we put it there.
Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments. We're super happy with the outcome and pumped that our hard work has inspired many of you to work on your own kitchens!
Oh, and a quick note on the "quality" of our wood cabinets: they were exactly as somedudeinvicenza described. Paint was the only way to salvage them.
I liked it so much better before the update! I would kill for rich real wood cabinets like that--what is that walnut? I have to survive particle board in my apartment.
Kudos to both of you. A fantastic and beautiful job. You're a godsend. I even bought the same primer you used along with Behr kitchen paint. I also have 30 something cabinets. back up. Thanks for the inspiration Also, what type of paint brushes did you use? mlsm
Oh I wish my landlord would let me paint the kitchen cabinets. How would I approach her about it? I'm so afraid she thinks the 'country kitchen' look is adorable
Totally agree! But we did a couple of steps extra: wetsand between coats of paints, we used a foam roller and we applied two coats of polyurethane for easy cleaning... it's a kitchen after all!
-joel
blueantstudio.com
I'm in the middle of a very similar job: painting over old veneer cabinets from the 70's. I'm glad to see you didn't choose to empty your cabinets! I'm trying it that way too and am having to defend my decision here and there. Thanks for the inspiration to keep plugging away.
Thanks for showing this, going to do the same in my home.
Very nice!
I did my cabinets February 2008... I did flat latex and sealed with a coat of matte poly-acrylic because I wanted that chalky milk paint look, yet wanted to be able to scrub them. Just throwing out another option for folks.
I will take some pics and put them up on my blog tomorrow for some more DIY kitchen tips.
cottageofstone.blogspot.com
P.S.
though my house was built in 1906, our cabinets were shitty cheap ones from late 70s/early 80s... so paint was the only option until I have the bajillion bucks to properly restore my kitchen.
Oh, yes! Painting the cabinets was perhaps the #1 improvement I made in my house. Originally, they had solid wood beadboard, replaced in the early 60s by honey-plywood cabinets, blue PLASTIC horizontal-stripe wainscoting (???) and unmatching everything.
The transformation:
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb99/mbc1963/House%20Pictures/Kitchencabinetsbefore.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb99/mbc1963/House%20Pictures/KitchenCabinetsAfter.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb99/mbc1963/House%20Pictures/Kitchenwindowsbefore.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb99/mbc1963/House%20Pictures/Kitchenwindowsafter.jpg
Amazing what some paint and elbow grease (and a contractor who'll hang beadboard and replace vinyl) will do!
Mary
wow! i absolutely love that kitchen transformation!!!
that was a GREAT decision to remove the doors from the cabinets in the middle of the kitchen! it opens the space up more. also, to add the pegboard storage!
i think the next step should be to get the inexpensive stainless steel kit to cover the front of your white dishwasher so it matches all the other stainless steel in your kitchen. it will look so expensive, but it won't be! :)
fabulous job! kudos to you, and lucky landlord to have tenants with such style! :)
kindly,
vintagedress
http://www.vintagedress.etsy.com
Looks GREAT - the hallway was especially dark and needed an update! How long did the make over take?
Wow!! It looks AMAZING!!
And to the people who are sad because she painted over such "beautiful wood" -- you have clearly never seen this type of cabinet in person! I used to live in an apartment with cabinets like this -- they look fake & cheap, like thin plywood with some kind of varnish on top. These are NOT the "beautiful wood" cabinets that many of us dream of! Painting these cabinets white is a GREAT idea!
Congrats for you! I have painted plywood cabinets twice now and would do it again in a heartbeat. In my last house, we had knotty pine plywood that had turned that unsightly orange color, gross. I painted it with latex and loved it. In this house, we had pretty plywood, but it made the room dark, and I hate a dark kitchen. The veneer was nice, but not so nice not to paint. I did a better job by using oil primer and glossy oil paint. The finish has held up ten times better than the latex and is a cinch to clean. I spray painted the old boomerrang copper hardware a nice matte black and I'm tickled with the results. Your kitchen is SO much better for the change and you will enjoy being it in so much more.
I'm still trying to figure out where the photos are... I see nothing.
great job! i've painted a few sets of kitchen cabinets, and your tips are right on. i love your pegboard potrack, and i'm so jealous of that huge pantry. i like your use of chalkboard paint, too, even if it is trendy. :)
i like u r landlord :)
Thanks so much for posting this - This is encouraging...
My building management just slipped a letter under the door last night informing us that they will be coming in over 2 weeks in March to redo the plumbing in the kitchens of the "B" and "C" apartments (back to back kitchen plumbing stack) on all 17 residential floors of my building - which means cutting holes into walls, under the sinks, etc...
...coincidentally, while I'm on vacation in Hawaii.
So before the car comes to take me to the airport, I must have that whole side of the kitchen entirely cleared out (as if packing for vacation isn't stressfull enough - and no coming home to a "clean house" this time either!) Therefore it seems that it will be a good time to proceed with that kitchen re-painting project I've had in mind the past several months upon my return.
Q's:
- Is there a brand/model of sander that others recommend for this project?
- What gauge of sandpapers should one use?
- Do folks recommend oil or latex for this project? (When I painted the cabinets 10 years ago I used a gloss latex and it chipped like crazy - but I didn't prime or sand either...)
It's amazing what a little paint can do. Thanks for the instructions! I think the biggest thing like you mentioned is patience. The steps might not be quick, but the more care you take into painting them the longer they'll last. What a beautiful makeover!!
Looks like a million bucks! I have a similar situation at my new place (although not quite as large a space). The bedroom was a 1980s? 1990s? addition to an adobe house built in the 20s, and it looks horrible! One of those nasty drop down ceilings, paneled walls, a weird door that leads to the backyard, and even weirder: a border of yellow paint on the floor? I still can't figure out what to do with it.
Kudos on the paint job. I live in a 1962 house with very similar, original wood kitchen cabinets. At first glance - even in person - they look pretty decent and everyone claims they should be used. But in actuality, they are really gross and warped and not even worthy of prepping to be painted as an interim step. I am a TOTAL believer in re-using whenever possible, but these cabinets will be gutted and replaced (...eventually, when there is money.) Now the 48-year old stove and oven that still work - I'm having a harder time believing I should replace them (what appliances these days will last 10, much less 50 years?) even though they aren't exactly stylish anymore.
Looks amazing, you must be thrilled with the results. Thanks for the inspiration - painting our kitchen cabinents is on my eventually-to-do list, hopefully later this year.
I also prefer the "before" version of the cabinets. With some knowledgeable styling, this could have been a seriously cool retro kitchen. Your black pegboard would have been great with the wood. And the micro-mosaic tile is a perfect fit.
The white is just so uninteresting. But you did do a nice job with the paint. And the wainscot is better painted.
(Oh, consider getting rid of the blue and white wallpaper/shelf liner in the pantry. It heightens the undesirable 1950s Ye Olde Colonial Kitchen vibe.)
you are brave.. haha
It's funny because at first glance, I thought that the wood looked really great but in thinking about it, I totally get why the tenants/homeowners painted over it--it was waaay too much wood and very dark and blah. Sure the colours they used aren't super trendy or dramatic but the kitchen looks much brighter and more sophisticated and they did a great job in my opinion. Now if only they'd get rid of that stupid green dog (what is the deal with that silly trend?)
Congrats!
i understand that the cabinets weren't the finest quality to start with, and that paint was the logical way to salvage them.
but seriously, who cares if the wood was the finest quality or in great shape?
not everyone likes the look of natural wood cabinets. yeah, i said it.
your house, your rules.
I think it looks great and the tenants did a wonderful job. It is amazing what paint can do.
I have one note. I would have painted the inside of the cabinet they chose to remain open, which I think was a great idea, but the inside should have been painted white also, not just for continuity, but it would have made the contents pop.
To bepsf,
I work for a paint company and can tell you that oil and latex are both appropriate choices with their own pros and cons. Oil dries to a harder finish and is less likely to scuff or chip, but can be more difficult to work with due to odor, clean-up, and disposal issues. Modern-day latex paints have come a long way toward performing as well as oils, but still tend to dry softer than an oil would. This means you may experience some slight tackiness (e.g., door sticking to casing, glassware sticking to shelves if painted). However, for most people latex paints are easier to work with.
At any rate, proper preparation is key to finish longevity. Sanding and priming (the Zinsser primer this author used is a great product) are the best route. The culprit for your chipped paint job was likely insufficient preparation, especially if your latex paint went over an unprepared oil-based surface, which almost guarantees chipping. Latex is almost never recommended over oil without sanding and priming.
Hope that info helps!
I've been painting cabinets for my clients for over 12 years and have found oil paint to be the most durable in a kitchen environment. Definitely the most important steps in the process are the cleaning and priming. We use either "Simple Green" or "Krud Kutter" to remove the dirt and grease from the cabinets. Use a green scrubbing pad to clean, then rinse with a damp rag. Use a sealing primer over any porous wood surface. Use a bonding primer over any slick surface. Allow to dry well, then apply paint.
this is great and SO encouraging! it seems that all landlords in Chicago install ugly dark wood cabinets and I've always wanted to try painting them...thanks for the how-to!
http://mylittleapartment.blogspot.com/
this is so inspiring - our kitchen cabinets are exactly like you pre-painted ones! thanks for the painting tips!
I have been painting cabinets for a long time. You perfectly described the entire process that I normally charge $40 a door for! Now you can see shy! I Love the zinzer primers, to me they are the best. You all did a great job preping and finishing these cabinets! Breathing life into an old house - good for you.
I have found that for some older kitchens the painted cabinets still look "painted" not in a good way, so I will apply a thin "dirt" colored glaze and wipe it off vertically so almost all of it is gone. this leaves a very soft paper like look. To make this work, do the stiles and bases one day and the doors the next - so you can wipe off any extra glaze that gets on the other surface. Then clear-coat with latex polyurethane and a pad applicator.
I have 2 websites, Murals Atlanta and Faux Painting Atlanta both have pictures of painted cabinets - clients love them!
There was so much updating that could have been done without painting all the wood. 60's and 70's wood kitchens were indicative of the organic/modern style. In five years, you will kill to have them back, I think.
Beautiful can easily made beautiful with such amazing cabinets...Just loved the designs.
Pressure clean roof tamarac
Every owner will surely love this painted cabinet as it will give them a cozy feeling while in their kitchen. They can also find other paint colors in residential painting Denver. Good job!