When you assess the scope of some home improvement projects, you may discover that you are dangerously under-equipped to handle the majority of them. Unless you have some experience with power tools and a good feel for cutting wood and assembling structures, you should probably limit your own work to cosmetic tasks. Painting kitchen cabinets is a simple and relatively inexpensive home improvement project. Cabinets that have become worn or drab over time can give your kitchen an unappealing appearance first thing in the morning. Follow these five steps to properly paint them.
Because it is the heart of the home, your kitchen should be a place of joy and comfort. Due to the current state of the economy, many people do not have a lot of money to invest in a new kitchen. I live in a 1964 house with flat paneled cabinet doors and hinges that extend halfway across the door. Transforming this kitchen was much less expensive and much easier than I had anticipated. The first thing I did was consider what I wanted to accomplish in this kitchen; I wanted a bright space that my family would enjoy. I didn't want to spend the money on a new kitchen because I didn't want to spend it on my house.
I removed all of the cabinet doors and the soffits around the top kitchen cabinets. Removing the soffits and the large black hinges made a significant difference in updating the room. I used a palm sander to sand the front and back of the doors, as well as the inside of the cabinets, before cleaning them with mineral spirits. The next step was to install crown molding along the top of the upper cabinets. I then took bead board and applied it to the sides of the kitchen cabinets, and I added other thin molding on cabinets where there were imperfections.
My next goal was to modernize these doors in some way by paint sprayers in Windsor so I took a small picture frame molding and measured about two inches from the edge of the door all the way around the wall. I measured the space inside the frame and cut a piece of bead board to fit inside; this gave the door a completely different appearance.
I also removed the old countertop, which was an unsightly dark green, and a peninsula that protruded from the floor. I took a section of the peninsula and turned it into an island, adding furniture legs, bead board, and painting it chocolate brown to contrast with the lighter color of the cabinets.
I used Kitchen spray painters in Ascot to spray the cabinets and doors simply white. It's white, but not a boring bright white, and it's very pretty when it's all put together. I applied a primer and a finish coat to the cabinets; the improve paint is self-leveling, so any minor imperfections vanished.
I added chrome hardware to the doors and hinges, and the hinges are now hidden rather than halfway on the door as the old hinges were. I bought a new countertop made of formica that looks like granite; it's not the standard formica you'd find at Home Depot, but an upgraded version.
I purchased new stainless steel appliances and installed hardwood floors after painting the cabinets and installing the new counter. The end result is absolutely stunning; I took a drab kitchen that no one wanted to spend time in and transformed it into the best room in the house.
