The Power of Paint: Kitchen Before & Afters

Making the kitchen feel like us had been our largest project to date. We were lucky because it wasn't in bad shape when we closed on the house - everything worked - but it just wasn't our style. Here's the before:

So much oak.

The only item that needed to be done was to refinish the hardwood floors in here. I don't think they'd been refinished in the entire lifespan of the house. You can't really tell from the pics above but there were spots so worn down that the finish was gone. We ended up replacing them because they were engineered hardwood (and not refinish-able...learned a good lesson there) and love the look of them now. We painted the cabinets and replaced the hardware as well. It's so light and bright in the kitchen! We did this project ourselves and it was a labor of love. It took about two weeks including paint curing time. The majority of the work was done in 2-3 hours bursts on the weekends and after work. Our diligence totally paid off though and the finish is durable and, dare I say, semi-professional! We also put in a stainless steel sink and new faucet.

When we had our first floor repainted, the kitchen got a new color too. The blue is so fresh and I think the cabinets really pop now. The old chandelier hit Craigslist and we added a new fixture that is not only brighter, but lower profile. It works a lot better in the space and it's now centered above the kitchen table.

We have plans to update all the appliances to stainless steel this summer. We've only replaced the dishwasher so far and already the stainless on that side of the kitchen blends SO much better with the cabinets, hardware and overall feel. Down the line, I'd love to try my hand at a DIY backsplash and maybe under cabinet task lighting. All in due time. :-)