Sunset Coast: remodel

This is the story of my adventure in painting my kitchen cabinets in dark and light hues. (Wow, my life is exciting when paint is an adventure!)

The Harvest Gold Stove circa 1969

Not so long ago, I had your typical 80's oak cabinets. They were solid doors but I think the original cabinets had been refaced. I had a lot of repair work to do to the veneer to make the cabinets paintable. The photo below is sort of what I had. I had previously gotten rid of the stylish Harvest Gold stove with the pull out stove top. Don't you know that those stoves will probably be the next hot vintage item in high demand? And everyone will be stripping their cabinets for this vintage oak look? Whatever. I painted the cabinets!

Typical Oak Kitchen Circa 1980's

The kitchen was changing in stages; new counter tops and back splash tile and a new tile floor had been done in previous updates. I really like the look of white cabinets, but face it.. we're kinda sloppy and I didn't like the idea of constantly cleaning the lower cabinets. So looking around the internets, I decided to paint my kitchen cabinets in 2 tones.

How about these photographs below for inspirational kitchens?

Thank you Pinterest!

Using Behr paint with primer already in it, I picked my colors..Martha Stewart's Pearl white and Behr's Stealth Jet. Stealth Jet is a very, very dark brown. It comes off black at night and more brownish in the daylight.

Believe me, it took a while to pick my colors. I labeled and removed the doors and set up a painting spot in the garage. The white took 3 coats and the dark took 2. It was lots of work--sanding, deglossing and finally painting. I also replaced all the hinges.

I removed the doors on the cabinet above the sink, added a light and covered the back with beadboard. I just use this spot as an ever changing display of knick knacks and holiday themed stuff. The fluorescent light makes a great night light for the kitchen. There's a plug behind the beadboard that is connected to a light switch on the wall, making it handy to turn off and on.

More stuff is displayed on top of the cabinets. The kitchen has a high sloping ceiling with big windows above the cabinets that let in a sky view. I took out the cabinet doors above the microwave and replaced them with a board, trimmed it with molding and added a ready made decorative carving. (see above)

Those beams were oak also and felt like they were closing in the space. Lightening them with white paint made them blend in with the ceiling and virtually 'disappear'.

I covered the side and back of the peninsula with bead board. It gave that plain surface some interest.

I used liquid nails and screws under the cabinets to attach painted corbels/shelf brackets to each side of the stove.

Just more decoration!

I used 2 large cabinet handles from Ikea to double as towel holders and drawer pulls on this drawer next to the sink. It keeps towels close and this has really been a good solution!

The kitchen table is on the other side of the peninsula. It's wearing some place mats I quilted. The free standing cabinet was a 10 dollar bargain from Salvation Army. It even has a light! The leaf chair I painted is prettying up the corner.

Here's the desk area next to the refrigerator. It needs a little rearranging. I've just been hanging things where ever there is a nail.

A corner next to the stove with some more collectibles. I love old glass and anything with a pedestal!

My kitchen isn't huge but it has a great work triangle. I can move from the sink to the fridge to the stove in just a few steps. I've had a big kitchen and I much prefer this one and it's the perfect size for my needs. It's been a couple years since I painted and made over the kitchen and I'm still enjoying the cabinet paint colors I chose.

Pumpkin likes to hang out on the rug

One more detail,I made this little owl doorstop and filled it with dried beans. Mr. Owl works great to keep the door from blowing shut that leads to the rest of the house. I open the kitchen windows to let in the afternoon ocean breeze. That breeze is my house's air conditioning here on the sunset coast.