I will be the first to admit that this kitchen became a bit of a challenge. This is the original 1970’s cabinets and once I started to work on them, I realized the builder used the cheapest wood. It was a plywood and over the years they were dry and in some places, the finish was coming off. I am always up for a challenge though.
The homeowner decided to take advise, from several people, and give this kitchen a makeover. He called and said if I have anyone do this, I want you. I was very excited that he decided to get this changed. He was concerned that it would have brush marks but I reassured him that it wouldn’t.
I started with a degreaser and a scuff pad and rubbed the surface hard. I found some grease that didn’t want to come off so I scuffed and cleaned a little more. It was also time to remove the hardware and let the cabinets sit over night.
The part that I would do over is use a kilz primer. This wood was so dry and I was painting the doors in the garage and then it rained and the humidity made it take longer to dry between coats. I used a smooth surface roller to paint on the Dutchboy kitchen semigloss paint.
I also painted the window trim, the floor boards and the back entry way. If you look at the top before photo, it looks very dark in the back entryway. Painting all of this white brightened this kitchen up.
He put in nice hardwood floors before I painted and I was using a lot of plastic to cover it. I wished he would have waited but it all worked out. He also installed new countertop and a back splash. Top it off with new appliances and sink it is like new. He is very pleased. I also like that he now has the microwave over the stove and not a big one on the countertop.
Jill R Holland Designs 