Ok so I started on our kitchen the day after we closed (Jan 4th) and it took me until Jan 13th to get most of it completed. We still need to put up panelling around the island and in front of the bar as well as the crown moulding.
I decided to paint my kitchen the "Pottery Barn blue". I saw it in one of the houses that we looked at and fell in love with the color.
After the kicthen was painted (the easy part) it was time to start on the cabinets.
WARNING! Re-doing your kitchen cabinets may cause anxiety/stress, sleeplessness and a lack of wanting to finish. It is extremely time consuming so don't start unless you think you can get it completed. Ok with the disclaimer out of the way I'll now tell you how to do it...if you think you can make it through lol.
To start off you need to use a primer that can specifically cover laminate. Otherwise you'll get the paint on there and it wont stick (will peel off easily) and you waisted your time. I used Zensser Bulls-Eye multi-surface primer that I picked up from Home Depot. I think it was around $5 bucks. I decided to go with the bottom cabinets first since they were easiest to reach. After all of the doors were taken off I put one coat of primer on the cabinets and followed with the doors. Sounds easy but when you have a million cabinets it takes a couple of hours.
Once the primer is dry you'll need to cover it with two coats of white. Use a satin or gloss because it sticks better.
After the paint on the bottom cabinets dries fully you'll need to shellac them with a good finish. I used Zensser Bulls-Eye clear shellac. It looks yellow when you open the can but will dry clear, it was also around $5.
Now that you're done with the bottow cabinets (whew) it's time for the top! You'll be extreamly exhausted and careless so if it's necessary take a break so you don't crap up the job.
After these pictures were taken I knew I was in the home stretch...however I was loathing the top cabinets and hated to even look at them. BUT keep in mind that while I was working on the kitchen I was also working on other rooms as well so you may not have the same hateful attitude I did...
BUT when I did finally get them done I loved how they complimented the blue paint and was very happy I decided to do them. I had my husband put the hardware on for me because my hands no longer worked after all of the painting was finished.
After we moved in!
When the panelling and crown moulding is done it'll look fabulous! I also plan on getting new countertops in the near future.
