From Oh No-ing to Glowing: Black and White Kitchen Remodel

 

Looking back at the before photos of the kitchen when we bought our house, I'm happy with every change we were able to make that resulted in what I call the "Oh No-ing to Glowing" kitchen renovation. 

Here is a photo of the kitchen when we bought the house:


Our first step was to replace the outdated appliances and then tackle the cabinets.

Here is what we considered:
* Replace cabinets: We quickly realized that wasn't a wise choice; both because the cost was outrageous for what we wanted, and because our cabinets were in good condition.
* Replace cabinet doors: Again, the cost was quite high to replace doors that had nothing wrong with them other than my dislike for their color and rough texture.
* Stain the cabinets a darker wood tone: I was not in love with the idea of darkening anything in a kitchen that more than anything else needed to be brightened.
* Paint them: We had a winner! My husband turned our rough, builder-grade cabinets into smooth, white beauties. 

How he did it:

After sanding the doors to remove the old finish, he covered them with a brushing putty from Fine Paints of Europe in order to fill in the grain. This extra step before priming and painting helped completely cover the heavy grain and running your hands over the cabinets now, you wouldn't have a clue how rough they were originally. 

He used a Zinsser oil-based primer followed by two coats of Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo in White Dove for the finish and I couldn't be any happier with it. To finish the cabinets off, he added beadboard trim on the sides facing out and crown molding to the top all the way around.

With the money that we saved refinishing the cabinets ourselves, we were able to upgrade the tiny island to a larger one with tons of added storage. My husband built a bump up off the front of the island in order to make a bar area that we use every time we host a dinner to serve snacks or set up cocktails. I take away the barstools and it makes a perfect standing-height snack and drink area. People end up standing around this island no matter where we set up seating.

Here is a closer look at the bump up he built on to the end of our kitchen island:

 We chose black quartz countertops from Lowe's and are very happy with their shine and look in the space.  

After the appliances, cabinets, and counters were updated, our final job was to replace the worn vinyl flooring with new tile. There were nailheads showing through the floor so there wasn't any way we could make it work or cover it with enough rugs to be able to live with it. A large part of the budget for this remodel was spent on the flooring which we hired out rather than do ourselves. This is the only choice I regret choosing for the kitchen and if I could do things differently I would have either used luxury vinyl, as we used in the bathroom remodels, or hardwoods.

We chose Benjamin Moore Platinum Gray and it is exactly what we wanted- never looks blue or lilac in any light. I added some DIY pelmet boxes done in a bold black and white fabric to the window above the kitchen sink and the sliding door to polish off the room. Even after several years, I still love the look of this black and white kitchen!

 

One last look at the before and after photos: