This summer has been super busy filled with lots of projects and family travels. One of the projects that I have begging to start has been our kitchen. It is just a builders grade blah mess. We looked into buying new cabinetry or even new fronts, but we didn't want to out price ourselves for our neighborhood. So, we chose to paint. This is a very time consuming task and you need lots of patience.
Here is our kitchen before we did anything. We have not touched the kitchen other than to spackle holes and start buying new appliances since we moved in. The previous owners left a pot rack over the sink, and another shelf - yep, they stayed in place until we were ready to paint.
Green is one of my most favorite colors, however, the green in this kitchen drove me batty! I do not know why I detested it so - I just did.
Gray is what I wanted to go with, but which gray? There are entirely too many. I knew that I didn't want to have one with a blue or green undertone. Who knew that would be so hard to find!?!
Here was what I had gathered while trying to decide. I know that it can be hard to see just with the paint chips, but you see how some look greenish gray and maybe others with blue undertones? Still pretty colors just not what I wanted.
The color of the cabinets in the picture was exactly what I wanted for my own kitchen. I tried to convince the hubby in Chelsea Gray from Benjamin Moore however, he couldn't envision it UNTIL...my Mother in Law found this pic!! He now understood what I wanted and that it can work. :)
INSPIRATION:
Here are some of my inspirations for the colors in the kitchen. All of these were found on Pinterest and most of them did not have a follow up link. **Beware of Tangent - Why on Earth is it so hard to Pin something from the correct source? I clicked on one and it wouldn't continue because it stated it may lead to porn!?! Just a little pet peeve!
Ok, so I know that all of these kitchens are way more gorgeous than what I am working with. And yes, it does make me sad, however, gotta be happy with what we have. Always room for improvement!
So for my neutral colored kitchen I decided on Benjamin Moore's Chelsea Gray for the cabinets and Gray Owl for the walls.
PREP WORK!
A big part of painting kitchen cabinets is making sure to do all the necessary prep work and not to skip steps. My hubby helped me with some of the prep work which was a great help. The best part was that my Mother in Law volunteered to help me paint!! This was a total life saver, and I am so grateful that she wanted to help!
This means that you need to remove ALL hardware, clean your cabinets to remove any dust, grease, etc. - You will be surprised how much gunk can collect on the top edge of your upper cabinets doors - well, at least I was! Make sure to use wood putty or spackle to touch up any places that may be nicked or that you want to appear smoother.
After they are cleaned you will need to sand. Most cabinets will have a glossy finish on them; the sanding will help rough up the finish so that the paint will adhere better. After you sand the cabinets and boxes they need to be wiped down again. You will need to make sure that they are free from any dust and debris. Use a damp cloth first. Once they are dry wipe them again with a lint free cloth.
Now you are ready to prime! This does not have to be a thick coat. I try to make sure my brush strokes are neat and follow the grain of the wood. The base will determine how neat the end product is. When priming/painting the cabinet doors start with the back of the doors first and make sure that they are elevated off the ground. I used scrape wood 1X3's that we had laying around. Let the primer dry per the instructions. It doesn't hurt to wait until the following day to begin with the paint.
Choose a good quality brush. I like the brand Purdy. These aren't the most expensive, but a great brush never the less. When painting remember to follow the grain of the wood. We did two coats of the Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray waiting a full day in between coats.
The doors are the most tedious of this whole project. you have to paint the backside - wait for the appropriate drying time - then another coat. Then wait some more - longer this time to make sure that the paint will not get nicked when you turn over for the fronts.
After everything has dried for at least 24 hours you can start to put the hardware back on. Even though we had hung up some of the doors we left them open. It takes several days for the paint to cure and not stick. Another thing that you can do is to add the tiny felt circles to the corners of the doors to help with this issue.
Here's the finished product - well, at least the cabinets are painted!
Ok! Here's the work in progress with the walls painted.
There are still lots to do - finish updated appliances, hardware, counter top, backsplash, sink and lighting!
Baby steps - I know. :)
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