Comments on: Let’s Talk About My Retina Scarring Kitchen Cabinets

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:41:15 +0000

Either way, get honed so you can sand out stains and scratches w scouring cleanser

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:40:55 +0000

Marble counters – NO in kitchen – OK in bath

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:19:57 +0000

I know I’m late to the party – but I’ve painted the cabinets in my kitchen so I have a little experience! We did the two-tone look and i’m really glad we did. Although, we only painted one set of upper cabinets a different color (black). The rest of the cabinets in the U-shape kitchen were all painted a dark green. So when you walk in, the upper cabinets straight in front of you are black (we actually installed frosted glass in them)and everything else is green. It really works to break up the color. (I tried to find a picture of my kitchen on my blog but since we refinished it 8 years ago, I don’t have a picture of it!) I’d love to completely re-do my kitchen (again) but I might break down and just paint them gray. I love gray. Good luck!

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:34:26 +0000

My kitchen was worse than yours: the same red oak cabinets, but they had been whitewashed and glazed, and the glaze had turned yellow, and a very similar granite, called Verde Maritaca. As I researched replacement of the cupboards, I learned that there is no reason to do so unless one wants to change the configuration. My husband and I decided to refinish. Our granite has the pink that yours has, and also the greenish cast, but mostly looks gray. We found that it looks blue gray and gorgeous next to medium blue cupboards. The blue also looks great with stainless steel appliances. To add interest and mimic the black grain in the granite we did a technique called pinstriping. You take a watered-down black paint and quickly outline all of the groove details in the cupboard doors and drawers. On two of the upper doors, we cut out the raised panel and put in a thick, Victorian-style glass. Finally, we replaced the hardware with a combo of stainless steel cup and knob handles. Our cupboards are much older than yours, so we had to install roll-out drawers. The end result was beautiful, and we are glad we didn’t waste money replacing the cabinets or hiring a professional to do the refinishing. I think you will be surprised how little the oak grain will show through, once you get a coat of primer and a couple of coats of paint on your cupboards. Don’t despair.

By: Candace

Candace — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:57:28 +0000

darker & greener all the way.

By: Tobe | Because It's Awesome

Tobe | Because It's Awesome — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:36:38 +0000

an indigoesque charcoal would look NAILS. esp next to your peachy walls and that gold goddess chandy.

By: my favorite and my best- MFAMB to you

my favorite and my best- MFAMB to you — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:46:14 +0000

i think you should do dark on bottom. can you rip out top cabinets and do a little of this: http://pinterest.com/pin/249879479295161892/

i mean that’s not too much of a reno, is it?

i don’t know. i’ve renovated nothing.

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:24:16 +0000

Hmm… that counter close up was not what I was expecting.

I do not like the “darker and greener” option. I think it will feel dated sooner. I like the other two better – they don’t fight the backsplash as much, and I don’t think there’s much you can do ’bout the backsplash till your rip it out.

By: Jenny B

Jenny B — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:52:45 +0000

I would say just start priming everything, you’ll see how the light colored direction takes you, then you can paint up some sample boards different darker colors and see which works best. And can you throw a big rug down, either colorful or neutral, whatever you don’t do in the dinette?

By: erin

erin — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:27:36 +0000

I know it would probably look better if I took some of the doors off (Naomi suggested the same thing), but the stuff that’s in there is not pretty — spices, coffee crap, my ugly plastic cups, etc. I just don’t think I have the storage that the old kitchen had (we did open shelves over the sink there). I’ll examine the options before I make a final decision on that, though.

If humanly possible, we’re going to paint the cabinets. All it will cost is paint and time.

ps: I could never paint all of this myself! I cut, Ben rolls. We’re a good team.