To Paint or Not To Paint (Those Ugly Wood Cabinets!!)

Why is it that some people have such an aversion to painting ugly wood cabinets? I don't understand it. If they're ugly, they're never going to suddenly be NOT UGLY.....unless of course you paint them!!!!!!  Listen carefully:  It is not a sin to paint ugly cabinets. You will not go to hell or pull all your hair out one day saying, "Oh my god, why did I PAINT my cabinets???" Just do it and enjoy a beautifully transformed space for years to come............Take a look at some of my past kitchen makeovers....

(Okay, I'll be honest....I don't have a before shot of this kitchen, but you can see a bit in the background...........bet you can't guess what time of year this was...) All the original cabinetry in this ranch home had been painted years ago in an off white.  Bronze appliances, and a really ugly faux dark wood formica countertop completed the totally dated look of this space.........Homeowners didn't want to invest a lot in this kitchen because the property will probably end up being sold as a "tear down."

Here's what the kitchen looks like after painting the cabinetry in a two tone treatment.  By painting the base colors a dark brown, it allows that ugly countertop to blend right in.......Stainless backsplash, appliances and vintage hardware give the space a great retro industrial feel.

 

 Next example:  A rental kitchen.  You've seen these stock oak cabinets.........Nothing fancy, solid, just not very attractive........Rather than replace them with new boring stock cabinets, why not............PAINT THEM???

 Here you go:  I painted the top cabinets in khaki, and the base, a navy blue. New hardware, and it looks right out of Pottery Barn. (The 2nd person who looked at this apartment rented it...Yay!)

 Here's a kitchen where the homeowner had glazed the top cabinets, but she wasn't happy with the look, and the tone didn't quite work with the tile backsplash.

 I did a two toned treatment: Navajo White for the top cabinets, Silver Sage for the base, and then added a distressed finish with sanding, stains, and a mauve glaze.  Now the upper cabinets blend in beautifully with the tile.

To look at this kitchen you might think the only solution is to gut it........

Well that just wasn't in the budget! I added a beadboard backsplash, and painted all the cabinetry in a sage green to integrate the countertop and added new hardware. Amazing. (Oh, I also got rid of the tape on that cabinet under the sink!)

This next one might get the truly ugly award........This kitchen probably hadn't been touched since the 40's/50's.  Plywood cabinets with a horrible dark wood stain.

Paint is your friend!!!!!!!!! Incredible transformation just by painting and adding some inexpensive new hardware. 

 

 Another dated dark kitchen with pine cabinetry......

Totally improved and opened up with paint.  Next up, stripping the wallpaper......

Here's a little kitchen area at a client's riverhouse.....

...that has been totally freshened up with some beadboard and paint.....even the nasty exhaust hood was painted.

Dark kitchen...........................


Bright kitchen!!!!!!!!!!!

 This client wanted to reduce all the wood in the kitchen but didn't want to deal with having to paint all the moulding throughout the house......

 So I painted only the base cabinets.......A new backsplash and countertop unifies the wood tones that were kept on top and in the trim.

This kitchen wasn't bad but opened up to a great room, and the homeowner wanted more warmth...

So I gave the cabinets a tuscan treatment by layering paint/stains/glazes/distressing, and new hardware, wood countertops and tile backsplash make the space feel like a room now and not just a kitchen.

 This is actually my own kitchen and the first time I painted cabinets.........Yep, there are those ugly honey oak cabinets................

Painted cabinets, beadboard backsplash, wood countertops and open shelving.
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I call this my George Costanza transformation because it's the opposite of what I normally do.  These homeowners wanted to get rid of the formica white cabinets, and have an old world rustic kitchen.


Their son did all the tile work, and I painted all the cabinetry in a faux treatment to make them look like rich cherry. Each door is a piece of art...........I still think this is one of my all time favorite makeovers!


This kitchen was renovated in the 70's.  Again, the cabinets were in great shape, just ugly. Honey oak with brass hardware....

I painted everything.  Look how beautiful and clean this space is now. They absolutely LOVE their kitchen, and they hesitated on painting those cabinets for YEARS.

I rest my case.