The other day, I spent almost 3 hours at Ikea attempting to get some advice about an upcoming project at a time when they were having a kitchen sale. It was CRAZY and while I was twiddling my thumbs waiting for my turn, I began thinking about the blog I wrote back in 2008 about painting my kitchen. .
You see, my purchase isn’t for me and, as much as I hate the style of my kitchen cabinets, they are still functional and the housing market being what it is, must remain.
So, where this ramble is leading is back to our decision to have our kitchen cabinets painted by a Catchlight Painting professional because we simply could not afford to replace perfectly good wood cabinets. 4 years later, I am impressed by how well the hand applied paint has held up. Granted, there are a few nicks in the places you would expect; the corner of the dish and glass cabinet where I seem to be unable to not at least once a week as I unload our dish drain (did I mention I don’t suffer from excess co-ordination?), and the edge of the counter nearest the stove where cooking spills and their necessary scrubbing would take its toll on most counters.
What impresses me the most is the painted band that edges our countertop. I thought this would be the first section to revert back to it’s original dark cherry color and I am happy to say that there are relatively few chips and dings.
And, while I am at it, did I mention that our tile backsplash was also painted. Now, I will admit to not being the world’s best housekeeper (‘though I am a very good homemaker) but even I notice when tomato sauce has splashed on a white surface and in 4 years we have not managed to scrub the tile down to the original paint.
Below is my original blog, presented to remind us that sometimes paint, applied by a professional, can take us a long way towards contentment.
Kim
Simply, Paint (2008)
Earlier this year, I wrote a bit about our new house and the impact paint had in making it a home. Since then, I have given quite a bit more thought about where I felt the greatest change happened. That moment when it felt that our decision was “exactly right” and I wanted to share these thoughts with you.We’d stretched as far as we could and were able to get a place we would be happy with for quite some time. But, there was that catch. The rooms were the right size, the house was structurally sound, the yard gave us a tingle just looking out the windows. But oh … that kitchen
The layout was great and so much more than we had in our apartment. The cabinets were in good condition and the appliances and fixtures were white so, very workable. But the color of the cabinets just weren’t bringing us any joy. What to do?
Our house is sunny throughout the day and, even though the kitchen is in the back of the house, with the open layout, it gets plenty of sun. The existing cabinets didn’t bring any of the light into the space.
Most professionals will not recommend that you paint your kitchen cabinets. This is generally because the paint will never stand up as well as the original factory finish. That being said, we go back to that “tight budget” problem. We could have blown our entire budget and replaced the cabinets but we had other work we wanted done. So we had them painted.
We didn’t consider doing it ourselves. If you have ever tried to paint on anything previously factory finished, you will know the difficulties. Unless you do this for a living, you probably won’t be happy with the results. Painting is also about prep and there is an art to preparing the surfaces to be painted, especially prepping to apply an oil-based paint, which is what is needed to stand up the moisture, wear and tear of a kitchen or bathroom cabinet.
The Catchlight professional who painted our cabinets, preferred to use a brush. Some painters prefer to spray or use a roller. It isn’t about the application method as much as is it about the end result. There is not a brush stroke to be found. And trust me, we looked.
Using an all natural non-toxic product, my husband and I removed the old paint from the tiles. We had hoped they were white to match the border design. Alas, they were not.
Painting the cabinets a lighter color and the tiles white to match the border made a world of difference, but you can see that for yourself.
It is … simply, paint.
If you’re a homeowner living in Greater Boston, we invite you to learn more about our interior painting services.
