My apologies for reposting, a few posts did not make it over from the word press transfer.
There was nothing wrong with our kitchen when we first purchased our home 8 years ago. The layout was very functional, the cabinets were sturdy, the tile and appliances did their job but it was so not me. Builder grade oak cabinets, white 4×4 tiles with white grout you couldn’t get clean.
I spend the most amount of time in our kitchen, I wanted it to be a place that made me happy.
Fortunately for me I have a super handy husband that gets just as excited over a can of paint as I do. I was a little worried though, kitchens can become so dated, whatever we did I needed it to be as close to timeless as possible and done cheap. Sounds impossible but it wasn’t. One day we would achieve the look that we wanted it just wasn’t going to happen
overnight, how about 5 years to be exact. 
So here is my before picture right before we moved in. Over the years I kept a binder with pictures of my dream kitchens and drooled over model homes with eat in islands and gourmet stove tops. Remember the kitchen from the movie Something’s Gotta Give, talk about making my heart pitter-patter. It is renowned for its elegant simplicity.
I love white kitchens, and consider them to be a classic. I also love the look of cottage kitchens; I needed to come to a happy medium. Overall, in the end we achieved a pretty traditional kitchen with a twinge of French and cottage.
We began replacing our white appliances with stainless steel appliances. Did I mention not one of our appliances was purchased new. They were all found on Craigslist by my fabulous hubby saving us thousands of dollars!
Year 4 we replaced the floor with natural stone. When Home Expo went out of business I scored the chandi and pendant lights for 75% off. I had been hovering over them for 2 years but wouldn’t spend the money on them.
Year 5 we had the most exciting part of our kitchen renovation take place, the painting of the kitchen cabinets!!!
So here it is step by step.
Tomorrow I’ll talk about how my hubby transformed our cabinets from builder grade to custom made.
Remove all of your doors
Prep the room covering everything you don’t want painted
Remove hardware and your hinges.
If your cabinets have gaps or dings fill them with wood filler.
Empty all your cabinets
Degrease all the doors, draws and frames. Tsp is a great degreaser as is vinegar and hot water.
Sand everything I used an electric sander with medium grit (80 or 100).
Prime with oil based primer; Foam rollers will give you the look as though your cabinets have been sprayed.
Lightly sand
Caulk away. Caulk can be your best friend; hiding all imperfections and watching them magically disappear once the paint is applied.
Here is the exciting part, Paint your desired color using a foam roller or having them sprayed!!!
NOTE: Latex paint will adhere perfectly to oil based primer. Latex primer over oil paint will not work at all.
Let it dry, buff out any drips and give it another coat.
Reinstall cabinet doors and drawers, replace the hinges, hardware.
Glaze
Colors used:
Kitchen cabinets: Sherwin Williams Summer White
Glaze: Ralph Lauren faux technique glaze in smoke
Kitchen island: Glidden, onyx black
Thanks for stopping in and have a great day!
Kristin
I was wondering why you weren’t showing up on my dashboard anymore. I guess it happened when you switched to WordPress. I’ll be sure to follow you through email.
Love your kitchen! I like the idea of having the glass inserts. Especially when you have such beautiful dishes! : )
WOW!! Looks great! I’m ready to start my kitchen this summer and i LOVE how yours came out. could you tell me the color paint you used and the step by step glazing process and what product you used? Did you glaze after you re hung the doors? Did you glaze the whole door or just the edges?
I love this. I have been so afraid to paint my cabinets, but now I am going to try. What a difference. Thanks for Sharing.
Hi:
So glad that I found you again. I was a constant reader and went away for a few weeks and boom you were gone. Looking forward to your up lifting reads from here on.. welcome to my world again. Thanks,Sue
Hello: I love you house. It looks amazing. I’m curious about your kitchen cupboard paint color. I can see that your island is Onyx Black but I can’t find the color for the rest of the cupboards. Could you possible email me. I have a very similar kitchen and would love to try to recreate your style.
Thanks a ton
Carol
Looks beautiful!
Okay, I should know this, but when you say glaze, which product are you using? Thanks!
XO,
Anne
I too am a great admirer of your beautiful kitchen. I’m moving to a smaller home that has decent cabinetry, but definitely needs paint. Others who left comments have asked for the paint color and stain you used for your cabinets which I would also like to know. And, the color you used for your island. Congratulations on a beautiful transformation! Thank You! ~~ Elizabeth
So glad you linked up your fabulous kitchen to the pinning party. It truly is a remarkable transformation, and so pretty!
I came over because of Susan, at BNOTP. This is a wonderful job of remodeling. It is wonderful to have an interested husband to collaborate with. Kudos to both of you.
Please tell me manufacturer, model, style, etc. for the pendant lights. I love them! I want them!
Did you ever get the info on the lighting? I am dying for those pendant lights!
i’m loving those pendant lights too….
Absolutely stunning. I have the same oak kitchen cupboards & jut know they have to go white so thanks for the inspiration.
Dee at the Carlton
Your kitchen is beautiful and you did a fabulous job!
I am in love… stunning!! Were your shelves and cabinet interior white to start with? Mine are not… do you think that this should also be painted (obviously for any glass front cabinets, but others)? Anyone feel free to weigh in…
The thought of this task is overwhelming. How much work was the glazing?
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I have recently bought a home with real oak cabinets. I would like to follow the same steps that you did to achieve the same French Country look. Did you apply a wood grain filler, or is your wood grain still visible? It looks as though the grain isn’t visible, but I’m not sure what it looks like in person.
You should be super proud. Your kitchen is beyond beautiful! I hope I can recreate the same look in my kitchen!
It looks wonderful! What hinges did you use to change from visible hinges to hidden hinges?
I was also wondering what product you used for the paint color as well as glazing. Can you still see wood grain up close? Your kitchen is stunning!
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Your kitchen is fabulous, you have done an amazing job. We have tired everything to get a black or dark, dark brown color on our old oak kitchen cupboard and can’t find the right product or color. Should we use paint of stain? We have dark maple hardwood mirage flooring that has an orange base, but lots of dark brown and black throughout. I would be very happy with black cupboards. What should I use and should we put a lacquer on them when they are done. Thank you so much for your advise.
Kind Regards,
Carol
My sister-in-law turned me onto your remodel. l “LOVE” your kitchen. We had been looking at home stores and checking out cabinets but they all were financially out of our price range. We kept dreaming though. But after looking at your remodel, my dream may come true. How wonderful you must feel when you look at what you both accomplished.
This is flat-out THE MOST BEAUTIFUL kitchen transformation I’ve ever seen! I painted my orange-oak kitchen cabinets about a year ago, and I’m so happy with them. But THIS. This looks like something out of an HGTV episode of “Kitchen Cousins.” Great job!!! Every single detail is exquisite.
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Wow! I love how your kitchen turned out. I am planning to paint my cabinets this summer and this post gives me some great ideas. I also like your tile pattern very unique…love it!!
Thanks so much Tess
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I LOVE your kitchen! Where did you purchase your pendant lights over your island? THANKS!