Hi friends, thanks for all the fab tv suggestions to get me through the plague that has decimated our house… Luther? Yes. Sherlock? Up next. Also, have you watched the first episode of The Americans yet? It’s all perestroika and high waist jeans with an awesome 80s soundtrack. Can’t miss.
So notice my title suggests that the kitchen PLANS have progressed… alas, the actual kitchen is as barfy as ever. We’ve yet to take a sledgehammer to anything, but we’re getting closer. I’ve all but convinced Ben to knock the soffit completely out and see what happens, largely thanks to your comments. It helps to show that I’m not completely nuts when I embark on these grand projects. Also, I have started speaking about the soffit demo as if it were fait accompli, e.g., “after we knock the soffit out…” I think the power of suggestion is working.
So the next step is to figure out what to do with the cabinets once the ceiling is (hopefully) raised. The lovely Naomi at Design Manifest sent over this picture a few weeks ago:
Raise existing cabinets and add shelf below to fill in the space. Brazilliant. But then, Miss Naomi is a professional kitchen designer so she is smart like that.
You know who else is smart like that? Lisa, who commented on my white kitchen post. Behold her horrifying before picture:
And her glorious after:
Let’s discuss how much shuffling those uppers around opened up this kitchen. A whole big lot, that’s how much.
Here’s another reader redo from Justine, who transformed the most hideous ranch oak cabinets into this oasis of soffitless delight, replete with new Ikea cabinet fronts. Oh how I wish! One thing I’m eyeing is the space over the pantry where the soffit used to be. I had planned on building the cases up to the ceiling and ordering new doors, but maybe I don’t have to?
Let’s review the situation:
Oy. My eyes!
Ok, now for the plans:
1. Remove soffit and drywall in beam. Maybe add simple molding.
2. Raise upper cabinets and add shelves below. New glass doors for the uppers. Like this:
What the hell, just give me the entire kitchen.
3. Decide what to do with the floor to ceiling cabinets… build cases up and add new doors? Or maybe something like this?
But I think this is way more than the 12″ soffit removal will give me. This part is confusing … not sure what to do yet.
4. Paint.
And this is where things get really nutty. I’m pretty set on white/cream uppers, but the lowers… well. First of all, I believe the floor to ceiling cabinets should be the same colors as the lowers, right?
Except what about the free standing pantry/fridge cabinet? White, or lower color?
As for the paint scheme, I know I could pull off something like this — even with my bung counters:
This is kinda what our floors look like now.
And this is the color our floors will be someday.
Here’s the two tone white/gray look again…
And yet again… The Inspired Room did a real super good reno that pretty much matches exactly what I had originally planned.
Now, I know this is going to make me sound like an asshole, but the fact that this look has been done (and done beautifully), makes me not want to do it anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still my awesome backup plan.
But now I am hatching a new crazy plan…
Namely, I am considering replacing the wood lowers with… wood lowers. Wait — not even replacing, because we’re keeping the old cabinets. The old SOLID WOOD cabinets.
But what if we stripped them, and stained them darker to tame the grain, and then we waxed or oil finished so they wouldn’t be 80s lacquer perestroika shiny, and then we added some awesome brass hardware?
What if?
I know you probably think I’m crazy, and maybe I am. But just wait until I unleash a torrent of super dope wood kitchens on you. A tiny taste:
Now, how hard will this be to execute???
Remember that I’m sick. Please be gentle.
Related posts:
SOLID WOOD LOWERS!!!!LOVE THAT!!! And the dark wood bottom, white cabinet upper look will be off the hook! Plus, I love a good re-use, recycle story. Oh, and then brass hardware, Yowza! Great sexy idea. Wow, lots of “!”. It’s like industrial acid wasp. So “the look” is back on track. It won’t work so well with the pink dining room (sorry). I would just lift everything of that last image and raid French Elle Decor for inspiration (please note the French one).
Love it. Do it!
Will be just as labour intensive as painting anyway so why not have really rich, tactile, touchable timber?
If you do do paint, I reckon floor to ceilings should be white (same colour as uppers.) otherwise they’ll dominate?
Love the wood kitchens. Do it! Do it!!!!!!!
I love the idea! You don’t see wood lowers and painted uppers very often, but I always like them when I do see them. My only concern would be that wood grain, so if it’s possible to test the darker stain on the back of a door or a door that’s going to be replaced, I would do so before committing to the whole project.
For the full height cabinets, I noticed that the second gray and white image you posted used white on the full cabinets around the fridge and it looks better than I would have expected. So you probably can’t lose either way.
Look forward to seeing how it progesses!
Kim, I totally did not notice that… thanks for pointing it out!
Pink is getting kicked to the curb no matter what.
And yes, the grain is scary. I love the look of a fabulous wood kitchen, but not sure I can make those cabinets fabulous or not. They are truly solid wood so I kind of hate to paint over them without at least trying to stain them.
Has anyone actually stripped and restained cabinets before? What about wax finishing? Is it durable?
Sneaky what you did at the end there! I am no kitchen expert, but my eyeballs did love the wood/brass combo. I hope it works out, because it does read very “what’s next” in a sea of trendy (and yes, well done) white on white.
Thanks for showing my $500 kitchen before/after!
Verrrrry interesting idea about the wood lowers. I love the clean look of the painted white kitchen, and I would still be happily living with mine if we hadn’t moved, but I’m loathe to repeat what I’ve already done, and what everyone else is doing. I’m quite sure we will sell this place within four years, though, so I do have to consider that danged “resale” concept. Still, I might copy you.
I think what you’re proposing will look great, and that either white or wood could work for your fridge/pantry area, but I would lean to white to cut the heavy/imposing factor there. You’re lucky your lower cabinets have the right-angle millwork rather than the arch like your uppers. ALL mine have the bell-shaped arch, ew! But they are solid wood, and so much higher quality than the ones I painted before. Also, they are oak but the grain is not as dramatic as yours.
I’m confused about soffits (not yours, just soffits in general) Obviously they’re not ideal and cabinets all the way to the ceiling is best, but in some cases wouldn’t a soffit be preferable to that shadowy empty space above prefab cabinets? Can a soffit be done well?
I love the wood cabinets idea.
Lisa, you’re a star. I’m sure whatever you do with kitchen #2 will rule the school/
Kyle, I agree a soffit is generally better than that dust collecting empty space… I have some soffits pinned that added mega crown molding at the top and it helped to frame it in. And I’ve seen some that added beadboard to the fronts to help tie it to the woodwork of upper cabinets.
So yes, they can be done well. Too bad mine isn’t!
Lisa, you’re a star. I’m sure whatever you do with kitchen #2 will rule the school.
Kyle, I agree a soffit is generally better than that dust collecting empty space… I have some soffits pinned that added mega crown molding at the top and it helped to frame it in. And I’ve seen some that added beadboard to the fronts to help tie it to the woodwork of upper cabinets.
So yes, they can be done well. Too bad mine isn’t!
I have mad love for your blog and my dream kitchen is something very woody, but, and I mean this in the most gentle way, I don’t think all the elbow grease in the world is going to get your lowers looking like the kitchen inside your brain. I think you’re still going to have that bad 80s front that all the wonderful stain and brass hardware isn’t going to change. Maybe I’m wrong and you and all the other commenters will show me how it could be done. Just my .02. Good luck and keep us updated!
Jane, this is my fear. I know I’m not going to end up with a sleek euro front. Hoping for perhaps a vintage card catalog look?
But maybe it’s not possible. I’m not sure.
Eek – sorry for the 5 comments…operator error! Doing this on my iPad and had some sort of glitch. Perhaps you can delete the excess (or all if you see fit).
Jenny Komenda from Littlegreennotebook used grain filler on her kitchen cabinets. She painting over then, but here is her experience with the product:
http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2012/10/diy-shaker-style-cabinet-doors.html
http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2012/11/diy-shaker-style-cabinets-part-2.html
There is a tutorial link here (http://alisongieseinteriors.blogspot.com – second post down) on – I think – a less sweat equity way of refinishing wood cabinets, worth a look.
I vote wood! If I had decent cabinets that’s what I would do. So glad you brought up the two tone paint situation with the floor to ceiling cabinets. Contemplating that myself right now, not that we have floor to ceiling cabinets but with the future banquette…it’ll have to be painted the same color as the bottom cabinets. Do I want a navy or charcoal banquette? Ugh…decisions, decisions. Hope your answers are coming easier than mine!
I CAN HELP! I hope! Because I have kind of done this. Staining oak dark doesn’t really tame the grain, in my experience, because the…um…we’ll call them peaks and troughs…naturally take stain differently, creating the high contrast. With dark stain or light. If it’s just the “1992″ look you hate, though, dark stain will tame that. BUT! I have good news! If you use gel stain OVER the existing varnish (after a bit of deglosser or at least degreaser, since they’re kitchen cabinets and all), it basically works more like glaze or a sort of transparent paint. (Let me clarify here that it does not LOOK like glaze; if you wipe it off properly, it looks like stain. And if it goes on bare wood, it acts just like normal stain, except thicker.) So what I’m saying is, if you put it over existing varnish (this is an off-label use but I promise it works), it won’t absorb more into the troughs and less into the peaks. It will cover everything evenly, and thus a dark stain will calm down the existing contrast created by your present honey-colored stain. (In this application, the stain takes a LONG time to dry – 24 hours minimum, and I’d give it 48.) The even better news: no sanding and no stripping. You just have to put a new protective coat over it (just as if you had stained bare wood, of course), and here AGAIN I have good news, because I have used “satin-finish” varnish and it really does come out satin and it looks so much nicer (to me) than high gloss. I also love the look of wax, but I’m thinking that for kitchen cabinets you might want the durability of varnish. ALSO: I used water-based satin finish, which is less toxic and smelly and dries super-fast and you could totally do yourself. (Though it is quite expensive – $40/gallon – and the internet disagrees with itself over whether it is as durable as oil-based.)
You can TOTALLY do this – it won’t even be hard. Although to get the look of that first (awesome!) stained-cabinet inspiration photo, you may have to beat up your cabinet fronts a bit? And find the perfect hardware, naturally. Which of course you will do!
I am sorry to be a killjoy but I have to agree with Jane’s comment. I just don’t think the shape of your cabinets is going to give you the look you want in wood even if you refinish them. I would go with paint — so amazingly transformative. You can certainly still do the rockin’ brass hardware though.
ALSO, within probably half an hour of application over a fully varnished surface, you can get gel stain all the way off. I did so by accident (I was trying to even my application, and I pulled all the gel stain off instead) using Howard’s Restor-A-Finish, which, by the way, is the world’s most useless product. I have no idea which ingredient in Howard’s achieved this helpful effect (mineral spirits might well do the job, too, and whatever it says on the can, they do NOT remove lacquer), so you could just buy Howard’s, but I think calling it furniture refinisher (its effect is basically that of smelly tea) is a fraud on the unsuspecting consumer, so I can’t recommend anyone give that company money.
I am following up my behemoth first comment with a behemoth second comment for this reason: I would take one lower cabinet door (or upper, if you’re sure you’re going to replace those) off the hinges, spend $15 on a quart (probably all you’ll need for the whole kitchen) of Minwax’s gel stain in a dark color, use cleaner with bleach to clean the door, and give the door a nice even coat with a rag and see how you like it.
Also, I think wax will give you closer to the look you want, and I am told that multiple coats of furniture wax are quite durable. Varnish is MORE durable, of course, but you can always touch up wax, right?
Finally, I am not being paid off by Minwax, or any other product – my resume is not such that any company on the planet would pay me for an endorsement. I’m just a lowly DIYer who is bowled over whenever a product enables me to get where I’m headed without disaster.
i love your idea. i would start testing stains now. can you take out a drawer and get the show on the road?
i am maybe more excited than i should be about this. but i LOVE some rusticness and some modernness and some glossiness all making sweet love together.
there are a lot of stains to choose from. gels etc… also i think sandpaper is your friend. this is a messy job too btw. REAL messy.
I have to second the misfit’s experience with gel stain. It’s a miracle worker. I’ve “refinished” some oak vintage furniture by cleaning it then gloping a dark walnut gel stain over it. Let it sit 10-15 minutes and then wipe to remove the extra. (A word of caution if you let it sit too long it gets gummy and hard to remove. If that happens just add more gel stain to soften everything up then wipe off.) I use a paper towel and it leaves little grain like lines in the finish. Just enough so it still looks like wood and not paint. I haven’t even sealed it after this process. It has darkened my wood color, evened out a finish that was wearing in places, hidden any scratches and dings and overall freshened up the piece without stripping and sanding and staining, etc. The process takes minutes to do.
I love the olivey-taupey color of the first photo — and it would look great with your existing countertops! I’m launching a “Save Erin’s lovely granite countertops” campaign, btw.
I found all this discussion fascinating. I’m inclined to think the dark-wood looks (while terrific in your inspiration pics) would be difficult to make cool with your existing countertops, floor and especially, backsplash. But you could prove me wrong!
Those are some gorgeous kitchens you posted. I can’t even pick a fave.
Cassie! Yes, probably not the chicest with the other bits, but (sorry Erica) I’m planning to do white oak floors and white counters/backsplash in a year or two. Should I plan for the future???
Would that I could do it all at once!
I love your idea of solid/dark lowers. I took the leap and am painting cabinets tomorrow. I had pinned MANY of the same pics you posted, but while those ladies are rock stars, and I’m singing backup…or let’s face it…a roadie…I’m going cream uppers and dark browny grey lowers. Tomorrow, tomorrow! Can’t wait to see your progress. Oh, and flat out ganked your opinion after your inciteful post me confused the hell out of me. Let’s see if I pull it off or if it falls flat. Fingers crossed. I may turn out to be one of those “don’t let this happen to your kitchen!” pics.
Yeah! If you don’t like it, you can always paint them white, ha ha! Noel hates the soffits in our kitchen and all over the house. What was up with that space wasting trend??
P.S. love both redos in the post, and gel stain sounds amazing. We sanded, stained and refinished the lower cabinets in our old house and it was a huge pain in the ass, so don’t hate me if you do it! But it looked soooo much better.
Oh! And I’m a little late on the TV recs, but I’ll vouch for Sherlock. In addition to Martin Freeman’s charms, there’s a lot of great wallpaper in it. Really.
TV: Netflix series House of Cards with Kevin Spacey is a darker political drama. Really good.
I think keeping the lower cabinets in a wood finish with painted uppers can work in your kitchen because the lower door/drawers have straight recessed panels & it looks like only the uppers have arched recessed panels. You can create a look of different cabinet door styles along with the two different finishes. The door panel design should also help determine what finish your full height pantry doors/cabinets will be so that they coordinate with either the uppers or lowers depending on their existing style (paint or wood/light or dark, etc…). I like the aesthetic of the raised upper cabinets to the ceiling with a shelf below but the recess it creates over the fridge throws the look off for me. I think your idea about some sort of customized cabinet/shelf/niche should be incorporated above the fridge which shouldn’t be difficult if the finish will be painted or a more opaque stained is used.
I have stripped, sanded, stained and lime waxed a bathroom vanity. The door style is almost just like your lowers (red oak with a ‘golden’ stain, straight recessed panel). What a pain in the ass it was! If you can avoid stripping & use the gel stain on top of the varnish I would try to do that first. I wanted a natural oak look under the lime wax. I also wanted the lime wax to really get in the grain so I used a brass brush to raise it. That was fine & easy but applying the lime wax to the raw oak created an awful pickled finish which was opposite of what I wanted. I did a lot of trial & error over many days on the back of a door with various stains, methods of applying wax, etc…wound up staining it all a brown tone I didn’t really want (i couldnt stand to do any more stripping/sanding) but did find an easy way to apply the lime wax how I wanted it (highlighting the grain only). The wax finish is durable enough on the vanity, even though it’s recommended for furniture only, but I wouldn’t trust a wax finish in a kitchen. Oils and grease easily get splashed/smudged (I’m looking at my two year old with peanut butter on his fingers opening a drawer right now) that a flat clear coat would save all your cabinet resurfacing efforts.
I’m painting my kitchen this summer with white uppers; navy/blue-black lowers, fridge cabinet surround & island; crisp white walls; aged brass cabinet hardware and an ebony stained pedestal table with a limed finish. Or at least that’s my 8 months pregnant plan is right now. I’m nesting in a major way.
Good luck with your kitchen! Can’t wait to see what you decide upon.
Not that you need any more validation, but depending on what is leading in my kitchen wallpaper debate, dark wood lowers wins. It isn’t untested–the first 2-tone kitchen coverage in shelter mags had a tone. It always looked classic.
Almost too much information for my feeble brain. But after reading all your comments, I think you should give that gel stain a whirl. Do it, sick girl. Hope you’re feeling better! I’m still hobbling.