Painted Kitchen Cabinets
Painted kitchen cabinets in a small galley kitchen.
Let’s talk about our newly painted kitchen cabinets. Before we get to the new look though, we need to look at where we started.
We had red wood cabinets that were in great shape but the color was not my style. We also had some fit problems with the cabinets, because of the too short soffits.
The first thing we did was to remove the soffit. Then we took down the upper cabinets and stove hood, and added tongue and groove to the ceiling. Next we put the cabinets back up, built a stove hood and painted all of the doors, drawers and cabinets. We also built a custom DIY refrigerator cabinet using $1 cabinet door finds from ReStore.
Phew…it’s been a lot of work, but seeing the completed doors go up yesterday made it all worth it.
So, just a little disclaimer here. We have a small, galley kitchen, like really small, and taking pictures is not easy in tight quarters. We also built, and installed, a new cabinet on an empty wall so my vantage point for taking some of these photos had to change.
Besides the beautiful new white cabinets, we also have missing cabinet hardware and paint swatches on the wall. Not to mention the unfinished stove hood and unfinished backsplash.
They’re all on the long list but today we focus on the beauty of the kitchen cabinets.
One more thing we did, which is a bit unusual, was to take our cabinets all the way up to the ceiling. We have regular sized cabinets in our kitchen, not extra tall, so it was pretty strange to have them so high. It really does make the room seem taller and it didn’t take long for me to get used to the new look. In a tiny kitchen, all rules go out the door. You use any trick you can.
Our original plan was to put a shelf under each cabinet to bridge the distance between upper cabinet and countertop. We are starting to reconsider that, though. It’s not something we need to decide on right now so we’re still thinking about it. We have so many other things to worry about in here right now.
I’m really loving the white. It’s such a huge difference from the dark, reddish cabinets and now I’m motivated to get the rest of them done so I can start filling them back up. The hardware will go back on in a few weeks, I want to wait for the paint to cure before I mess up all of my hard work.
On the agenda this week is to paint some of the cabinet doors. I also want to paint that horrific wall with the paint and spackle swatches. Then, the next big to-do is to get the countertops, so we can install our subway tile backsplash.
I’ll be back to share some tips I learned from painting my cabinets, I’ve learned a thing or two in the 8 months it took me to get to this point. 😉 I also have something on the other wall that I’m excited to share.
What do you think about putting kitchen cabinets all the way to the ceiling? Would you do it?
I personally think that all cabinets should go to the ceiling. It looks better to my eye and it looks like a custom kitchen, rather than builder grade. Everyone that says they can’t reach them… that’s what stools are for 😉
Anyway, looking good!
xo
So true about using stools Rue. I just didn’t want that weird space between the cabinets and the ceiling and space is at a premium in my kitchen. I think I was reluctant because it’s not the norm but they look so much better to my eye too.
Many thanks for stopping in today!
This is an obvious statement, but what a huge difference from the red to white. Our cabinets (which are 67 yrs old) reach the ceiling and I prefer it that way, less dust and no clutter.
Too right Shirlee…less dust and clutter are always a plus. Thanks for your kind words.
They look great! I am sure you will love your kitchen once it is completed.
Thanks so much. I’m so looking forward to the day we complete our project.
Just love what you have been doing, Ceiling is beautiful. I may have missed this but what kind of paint did you use on your cabinets? Did you spray or roll the paint. I have oak, and so want to paint them white.
You didn’t miss it Dee, I will be posting tomorrow, Wednesday, with the details and some tips. I have an oak vanity and painted it white when we first moved in 2 years ago, https://www.chatfieldcourt.com/painting-my-bathroom-vanity/. You can still see the texture of the wood, but it looks so much better. I love it! Thanks so much for stopping in.
You two have been hard at work and it’s paying off ! 🙂
Awww, thanks Deb, I appreciate it! 🙂
I love the white, so bright and fresh. We have a cathedral ceiling in our kitchen, so there’s no way that our cabinets go up that high! 😉 I do like that look though, very seamless in a small room, too.
I can see where cathedral ceiling would be a problem Kim. I’m still questioning our choice but I don’t want to reserve my judgement until the kitchen is more complete. Thanks for weighing in.
I like the looks of the cabinets to the ceiling but have a hard time reaching even the second shelf. I don’t like the space from top of cabinet to ceiling either, just a dust and grime collector to me. I do love the extra space you have from counter to cabinet. I wouldn’t add a shelf. It makes the room more open.
You did a wonderful job painting the cabinets. I hope you can share some tips on how to get such a great finish.
Debbie
The dust and dirt where a big factor in pushing up the cabinets, plus I’m not one for a lot of stuff on top of cabinets. We’ll see how it goes, I want to see the room finished more before I decide whether I love it or hate it. I’m at a solid “like” right now. 😉
I plan to share some of my painting tips later in the week Debbie. You all will be sick of my kitchen reno posts soon. 😉
Thanks so much for for stopping by and sharing your opinions today.
Well, you are probably wondering why I am sending this so early. I’m home today because over the weekend I jammed my toe, ouch! It is all bruised and still a little swollen so rather than take the chance of going to work and walking on it (although I would have to go with flip-flops on, can’t get anything else on my left foot) I decided to stay home one more day and give my foot a rest.
I love the white cabinets! It does make it look bigger in there. Your idea about moving the cabinets up to the ceiling is a good one. It will give you more space below, although I do like to decorate above my cabinets so I would be torn between moving them up and keeping them the same height. I imagine you will need a step stool to reach the top shelf though.
I accomplished a lot with my bathroom this past week, I’m now ready to paint the tub surround and buy my new floor tiles. Yay! We have decided to go with the beadboard halfway up the wall too. My hubby likes the idea and since it is such a small bathroom we don’t have much to buy.
Great work on your kitchen, can’t wait to see the countertops and backsplash!
Oh my MJ, so sorry to hear about your toe. It’s not fun when your foot is hurt.
It sounds like you have accomplished a lot in your bathroom. Beadboard sounds like a great idea for your space and I think it goes great with your style. I’m sure it will look awesome when you’re done.
I get what you say about decorating the top of the cabinets. My style is very simple though, as I’m sure you noticed, so I wouldn’t decorate the tops. We haven’t had any problems with reaching stuff. We are both tall so I think we’ll be ok. It’s really only 3 cabinets, 3 shelves, that could be unreachable anyway, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem. I do have a great old step stool hanging around, that I snapped up at a garage sale, if we need it.
Thanks for stopping by today and sharing. It was nice to see you so early in the day! 😉 Take care of that toe!
Honestly, if you can reach the cabinets with them being up that high, go for it! I am not tall enough even to use the top shelf in the normal height cabinets in our kitchen! Luckily, I don’t actually need that space, so it’s not a sad thing, but a bit silly to have that many empty shelves hidden away! But having the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling makes much more sense than having empty space – even when that space is “styled” it still seems a bit funny to me!
Also, less worry of stove splatters getting all over the pretty white – or maybe that only happens in my kitchen xD
So true about the stove splatters Jessica, and yes, they happen in my kitchen too. 😉 I wish I had enough cabinets to have empty shelves, but sadly, that’s not the case.
Thanks for weighing in.
Putting regular height cabinets to the ceiling would be too high for me to reach anything other than the bottom shelf. I love the look of to the ceiling cabinets, but from a practical point of view, it wouldn’t be useful for me. I do love your paint job – I painted my oak cabinets white last fall and wish I had done it years and years earlier.
I certainly understand that Pat. I too was worried about them being to high but we are both tall and it hasn’t been a problem. I’m glad to hear that you are happy that you painted your cabinets white. I’m sure I won’t be sorry either.
Thanks so much for stopping in today!