All-White Kitchen

I finally bit the bullet. I have wanted an all-white kitchen forever, but I've been too chicken to try it. I finally decided that it's just paint, so . . . the previously green walls received some Behr "Powdered Snow" paint and Voila! You can see the before pics here.



Since installing a tile backsplash is not in the budget any time soon, we used some of the leftover beadboard wallpaper from our cabinet redo. I wasn't sure if it would be "beadboard overload" or not, but I am so glad to say that it is not! I love it! We painted it with the same oil-based white paint as our cabinets (Sherwin-Williams "Alabaster").

Kitchen: Before & After

The above pictures were taken during our house inspection. We loved the bones of the house, but knew it needed some updating. Over the past seven years, we have SLOWLY made the changes happen. Some have been costly (refinishing the hardwood floors and buying new appliances) and some have been labor intensive (painting walls and cabinets), but all the changes have been worth it. Our first big change started the day we became the owners of the house. Every wall (except the ones covered in wallpaper) and every ceiling in our house were painted a creamy apricot color. The inside of our house was a giant muted peach! The day we moved in, the painting began in the kitchen. The cabinets were a light bleached maple color, along with the floor, so we decided that a brick red would be great. Here is the first after:


We kept it this way for a while. A year and a half after moving in, we had our first child, and he and his brother (who came along just 15 months later!) pretty much halted all home improvements for a while. Then, we decided in the fall of 2007, that our hardwood desperately needed refinishing. So we picked a darker color. And when it was finished, we began to hate our cabinets and the red walls. And one by one, our appliances began to die. So one by one, we replaced them with stainless. In October of 2008, I finally painted the kitchen a light apple green. At this point, I also knew that I would be painting our cabinets, but had no idea when that would happen. I knew I would never get it finished with a three and four year old around! Thankfully, my in-laws kept the boys for the week after Easter, and I finally painted the cabinets after putting up beadboard patterned paintable wallpaper on the ends of the cabinets. Here are the green walls with maple cabinets. They look more peach than ever!



And here is the kitchen after painting the cabinets!




There are still things we would like to do in here. Black granite countertops would be great, but they will have to wait on the budget! I also would like a tile backsplash, but keep flip-flopping on what kind of tile. I have narrowed it down to some kind of slate (either subway or diagonally laid square) or white subway tile. Any suggestions?

Painted Kitchen Cabinets

There is a "Painted Wood Is Pretty" party over at Life in Grace. Check it out by clicking here. My latest painted wood project was my biggest ever, and it just happened two weeks ago!


Last week my boys were out of school for spring break, so we went to visit the grandparents four hours away for Easter. On Easter Sunday, my husband and I returned home and left the boys with Mammaw & Pappaw for a few days. Did I relax? Watch soaps? Eat bon bons? Of course not! I spent Monday-Thursday with a paint brush in my hand--almost non-stop! I have been wanting to paint our kitchen cabinets for a few years, but with two little boys running around, I just never found the time. Now, I am happy to say that the job is complete!


Here is a before picture:


And here is an after picture:
Our cabinets were stained a light maple, and our hardwood floor was the same color when we moved in. We painted the kitchen red, which made the cabinets look really nice. But we refinished the floors last year, a lot darker color, and from the moment they were finished I no longer liked the red in the kitchen. So in October we painted the kitchen a light apple green--great with the floor, but not so much with the cabinets! Our house is 17 years old and the cabinets have really been showing their age lately. Since new ones are not in the budget anytime soon, I decided to paint. Sherwin Williams ProClassic oil-based "Alabaster" white. The ends of the cabinets were a simple flat paneling that matched the maple. I knew they would never look great painted. My husband came up with a great solution. At Home Depot online, we found paintable, textured wallpaper that looks like beadboard.



It went up so easily--much more easily than real beadboard would have for us! We had used this kind of wallpaper before on our dining room ceiling--it looks like tin tiles--so we knew ahead of time that it was easy to work with.



So, after 5 days of cabinet doors all through our downstairs, I am elated with the final result! It looks so fresh and completely different! We also added oil rubbed bronze knobs and hinges. We didn't have knobs previously, and the hinges were a burnished brass that we hated. All that is left for the kitchen is hanging a new black light over the table. (And possibly painting the table and chairs black if I can talk my hubby into it!)