I know you've seen 'em before and probably lived with them a time or two in your lifetime.........those oak laminate cabinets you see everywhere........the ones that are indestructible but U G L Y.
I want to show you what can be done with them! Yes, you CAN reinvent them!!!!!!! Take a walk with me...
Here we are at Sharon's rental apartment......The kitchen has...yep....those oak laminate cabinets.........She is fixing up the apartment for a new rental and wants to know if anything can be done here. The contractor wants to replace them....to the tune of $1500...........SheShe says, "NO!!!! Let me at 'em!"
Bottom cabinets: Note the lack of detail.no dimension, no hardware, just flat laminate.
Here are the top cabinets...more of the same...
This big hole drives me nuts.............I'm sure it was made for a microwave, but there is none........Surely we can come up with a better use of space here....
Here's the granite Sharon had picked out. Quite tasty........
I saw this in a magazine and sent it to Sharon as reference....for approach...She was all over it and said, "Yes! Have your way with it!" I love that kind of client!
So I had my way!!!!!!!
First, the really hard work.........I washed all the cabinets down, and then primed everything with a shellac based primer.
All the doors were removed, and the fronts and backs were primed as well.
And after a weekend of work, here's Sharon's new rental kitchen!!!
I painted the base cabinets in a navy blue.
And the upper ones in a khaki.
I found these awesome Martha Stewart vintage inspired pulls at Home Depot, along with the basic satin nickel knobs.
I love the look of open shelves, so I used a shelf I had in my garage, cut it down, and installed it above the sink to fill the empty space.
I used the navy paint for a wood accent and this little mirror I literally found on top of a trashcan in my alley...(Yes, I'm a dumpster diver and I'm proud of it!)
Sharon loved how everything was looking, but a new problem arose: "Now I have to replace the ugly ceiling fan 'cuz it sticks out like a sore thumb." SheShe said, "NO!!! I'll paint it!"
I removed the blades, painted them navy, and added new glass lamps from Lowes. Instant remodel!!!! Now it perfectly complements the cabinetry in the new kitchen.
Okay. one last revisit:
And after a little SheShe magic:
Sometimes making do with what you have versus buying new is just the right thing to do........New contractor grade cabinets would have looked like...a contractor grade kitchen. But now, Sharon has a designer kitchen! Ralph Lauren, eat your heart out!
