There is so much good discussion out there on various blogs about this topic so I won’t try to link it all but trust me, you won’t have to look far to find an abundance of photos and information! So I am going to just scratch the surface and use my new client’s kitchen to illustrate how simple paint can change the look of basic builder cabinets. Oh and by the way, the only thing that might upset your husband more than smocking and peter pan collars on his little boy, mention painting the wood cabinets! Luckily, the husband in this house is on board. We just need to choose the right color!

{My client’s current kitchen with oak cabinets and green walls}

My client loves white, cottage kitchens BUT she also has WHITE corian counters that are not going to be switched out. I should mention she also has white chairs, white breakfast table, white barstools BUT the appliances are black (for now) and the island could be black or another color. 

Add in the fact that the kitchen is an open floor plan and it can be a complicated puzzle.  Thank goodness for technology! What do you think of painting the cabinets white??  Too sterile?  It actually looks okay in this photo because the counters appear darker here than they are in real life..they are actually very white! So we can’t TOTALLY rely on technology, still have to paint the test boards y’all! But I am feeling the neutral walls. (Don’t you love how I was too lazy to remove the old color behind her accessories, that is the green cast in the photo)….I do love her quirky old chair on top of the cabinet! 

So perhaps this too white, but how about black cabinets (SW Caviar to be exact)? By the way, they are installling white beadboard backsplash (there will be beadboard in the breakfast room, around island and around bar) and glass knobs to “cottage” it up. And floors, she is getting warm tone wood floors that lucky girl! The island is SW Aquasphere.

Or how about SW Classic French Gray on the cabinets, with SW Kilim Beige on the walls??  I think I liked Toasted Pine Nut better on the walls. Again, please ignore the green color “remants” above the cabinets.

The cabinet color is SW Classic French Gray. Notice how the island appears more gray and the cabinets more blue. The photo below is SW Library Pewter. Warning! Must. be. careful. not to cross the 1980s blue country kitchen line.  I think we are okay here with all of our options. But I think I prefer the more gray??!

So what do you think??  Do you prefer wood cabinets, black, white, or a color?? Have you painted your basic builder cabinets?  I would love to hear any tips or suggestions for this client and others.  I personally think this is the biggest thing you can do to change the look of a suburban home and make it more unique and custom!

I am excited to show y’all the cute little light Camille retrofitted for over her kitchen sink!  She converted this little basket into something so unique and inexpensive.  I am sure she will tell us more in the comments. Looks like she just drilled a hole in the bottom of the basket and inserted a basic little light kit! (notice the glass shade that came with the light, not needed, we have a basket!)

{ta da!}

All she needs to finish it off  is a cute window treatment..I am thinking roman shade. She sews so  I know she can pull of anything we she decides on..mainly we just need to find an adorable fabric and we don’t need much so it can even be a splurge..loving that!

Love this lattice chippendale fabric from fabric.com that I showed you on the previous kitchen post. Or this deer valley lodge from the same source. I pulled together a few other choices on the design board below! 

So there are some ideas for windows and rug. Do you have any suggestions? … I think something larger and with some black. If she finds a bold rug she likes then she can do a simple linen shade on the window..maybe edge in black. I would love for her to take off a lower cabinet door somewhere for a fabric cover/little drape in linen. (Hello, It’s Complicated comes out on dvd next week..I keep thinking about the linen drape in that kitchen!)  Just an idea! Her husband Kyle is rolling his eyes as he reads!  He just adores me;;

My friend Camille has done so much work to her kitchen, I am amazed and love it all! The house was built in the 1960s and according to Camille, it looked like it (too bad we don’t have an original picture to show but I take her word)!  She did a great job painting the dated cabinets a fresh green and the walls a buttery yellow an adding new appliances and hardware on the cabinets.

Camille said “when we moved in the cabinets were dingy yellow beige (65+years old) and there was a wall oven where the “pantry” is now. We cut up the cabinets to install a slide in stainless gas range…the jewel of my kitchen.  Also had my husband install a lit potrack above and ripped out the vent-a-hood!”

Camille didn’t want to invest in solid surface counters, but wanted something besides formica, so went she went with tile. She had it installed all the way up the backsplash and on a diagonal and has been very happy with the decision.

On to other areas..She says “the fridge and dishwasher were black and I painted them stainless paint!”  Did y’all hear that??  She painted her appliances with stainless paint!

I love it, this is the woman who taught me so well about “hack and sew” long before I had heard of mistreatments..the stainless paint is so her! So she was almost content but then Camille found the piece of furniture  below to go where the table and chairs are shown above (this is the area directly across from the kitchen sink) and give the feel of extended cabinets.  The family eats its meals in the nearby dining room so this area wasn’t really used and she wanted more space to store DISHES..she is a dish freak.  So she drug this home.  Her husband was so excited.

 and after, in place of the table and chairs!

The sideboard looks great finished but it needed more heft above, I bluntly told her and she received it in love (I think she actually already had plans for more). I also suggested a pop of orangey red in an accessory..I was thinking “Keep Calm” poster but she just happend to have the tea towel you see framed below…even better. Just give her a day or two and voila! New shelving and light and vintage tea towel. That’s my girl! Oh and work, lots of elbow grease!

Yes she installed a new little light too.  Yep, she does wiring (just wait until you see the over the sink project)! But don’t hate her, she is kind of a slob notice below, she doesn’t  even shut her cabinet doors..ha! 

Painting the sideboard really made her want to paint all of the cabinets but I convinced her to just do the lower! So the cabinets, once all green, now have black on the bottom..I love how it works with the sideboard and black in the appliances. All black would have been to dark in my humble opinion.

 …and we have to replace that rooster rug, again in love..I am thinking something larger.  Stay tuned for more this week on Camille’s darling kitchen. She has the cutest lighting project for over the sink..can’t wait for y’all to see.  And I have fabric suggestions for the windows and rug ideas too! I would love to see a pattern like this on the window or floor. {From housefabric.com}

She is also going to give us tips for painting, what type she likes and other really technical information.

Have you painted your cabinets?? Any tips?

I (along with several other blogs) received an amazing email last night…from a blogger named Grace..she said:

You have been quite an inspiration during the renovation of our home that my husband renovated in just 30 days. I felt the need to share the before and after pics, as your blog has given me such design direction. I want to thank you for your blog, and how much you inspired me. I would LOVE for you to visit me over at www.nameisgrace.blogspot.com , to see Part I of our reveal. My husband and I worked very hard so that our family could move in. We had a deadline of 1 month to finish an entire house. We are in our late 20′s, and are in now way shape or form professionals when it comes to interior design, nor do we have a lot of experience. Not having a budget to hire a professional interior designer, I gained most of my knowledge from blogs, including yours, so THANK YOU!!!!! I Hope you like what you see because there is more to come…kitchen and bathrooms:)

What is that Rachel Zoe says?? I die. well, yall. I DIE. this kitchen is so good..i thought she was joking at first…look at the lights?! and they did it in a MONTH! MORE TO COME??? Bring it on Grace, we can’t wait to see.

AMAZING GRACE, indeed! THANKS FOR SHARING. blogs really are an amazing thing they way they connect ideas and people with similar interests..,in the tradition of magazines and catalogs..now blogs… Lauren at Pure Style Home (who is amazing herself and about to have a baby!) calls this, the sharing and honing of style and ideas among “non pros,” the “democratization of interior design” and i agree and i love it!

yall go check out Grace’s lovely home, her cute stockings and adorable baby!