Before & After: A Perfectly Nice Kitchen Gets Unbelievably Better

As kitchens go, this one isn’t too shabby. There are really nice white countertops, classic subway tile on the backsplash, and basic wood cabinets that look perfectly sound and in good condition. There’s no horribly dated light fixtures, no crappy peeling wallpaper, or any odd woodwork that needs to be ripped out. Even the walls are white and ready to go. Not much you can do to improve this space, right? So very, very wrong.

Homeowner Ashley knew the moment she saw those wooden cabinets that she wanted to paint them, and she did not hesitate. In fact, the very day she and her husband closed on the house, she got right to work. Although Ashley thought she could knock out the project in a weekend, it wound up taking her every night for two weeks to get the job done. (Admittedly, she’s a self-proclaimed control freak who wouldn’t let her husband near a paintbrush. He was relegated to just sanding, and re-assembling the cabinets when they were done —and only because she was too tired from painting for days on end.)

When it was finished, the base cabinets were a rich and saturated green, which look amazing with all the new metallic accents, like the brass kitchen faucet, new cabinets pulls, and copper cooking utensils. Ashley left the uppers a bright white, which keeps everything looking light and fresh. Because I know you’ll ask, Ashley used Benjamin Moore Advance paint (Pine Green below and Simply White above).

Ashley’s thrilled with her choices, and so happy she talked her husband into going along with the color. And hey, if she gets tired of them, she says, she can also just repaint the bottom cabinets again!

To see more of the kitchen, and resources, head over to Ashley’s blog Ashton. This is also the first room of many other makeovers, so stay tuned for her updates.

Thanks for sharing with us Ashley!