Matthew and I had done lots of research and decided we wanted to do a dark expresso stain on our cabinets. We liked the painted cabinets but couldn't decide on a color that excited us. We had also decied to extend our cabinets all the way to the ceiling. Prep work was done by Matthew of building up the extension and removing doors and prepping our kitchen to make the smallest amount of a mess in our condo.
After spending a whole weekend on stripping, sanding, and staining, we realized we hated the results we were getting because of how dark some portions of the oak grain was taking. So we through up our hands and decied to walk away from them to think about it.
Then I did some more research and found a paint that was suppose to be a miracle for oak cabinets. I contacted a sales rep for the product and decided to give that a try. It was a thick paint that was made to cover up the grain of the oak and be easy to apply because it didn't require any sanding. But after wasting another weekend and more money on it, we realized we hated how this was looking also. The paint was so thick that it didn't have a smooth finish. So we took another week off to recope and decide what to do next.
The next weekend we were so frustrated with our house in disarray and putting so much work into something that didn't look good that we resorted to plain old paint and just finish them off. We decided on a cream paint that we have used on all of our walls for all the cabinets but the island which we painted black. I have been happy with the results and even more excited that it is completed. So a suggestion to any of you thinking about refinishing your cabinets.........................just go with the paint. Don't follow our process of elimation!!!!
Here are some pictures...
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| Before Oak Cabinets |
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| During Stained Cabinets |
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| After Painted Cabinets |
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| After Painted Black Island |
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| After Painted Cabinets (we also had to paint this wall because it was the same cream color and was just too much cream) |
I think they look great!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh I like the black on the island, nice choice! And I'll keep that paint first tip in mind. I really want to paint my oak dining room table but have been dreading even starting the project. It might be a while yet before I get up enough weekend warrior energy to start that whole thing. I'll have to think up an excuse to come up and see them. Maybe tomorrow ;)
ReplyDeleteAWESOME. So glad you could go before me on this one so now I know what to do. I think we were always going to go with paint- after numerous projects that required stripping and sanding, there was no way in you know what that I was going to do that on my cabinets. I think it all turned out great. Way to go again you two!
ReplyDeleteBTW- are you guys going to add hardware? Just curious. I plan to- you know, when I eventually get around to my cabinets- in 50 years. :0)
ReplyDelete