Kitchen Project #2: Cabinets

With project #1 finished, we wasted no time beginning on the next - painting the cabinets. The cabinets were an off-white color when we took possession. My dream kitchen would be white cabinets, but all of the trim in our house is an off-white color. We debated painting the kitchen trim white, but that would leave it the only room in the house with white (because realistically we will not paint trim in the rest of the house for a looong time, if we ever do.) We decided white was not an option, and neither was keeping them off-white. I searched for inspiration online and found gray cabinets to be calling my name. I usually shy away from trends, but knowing we will gut this someday made it easier to go with something trendy.

Here's my inspiration:

We did debate doing a lighter color on the top cabinets - but I'm not that gutsy. Now came the tough part: choosing a color. You think gray is easy? Think again.

We decided on steeple gray. Before painting, we removed all knobs and handles. As we took down the doors we numbered them to make putting them back much easier. Same plan with the drawers. We laid the cabinet doors on plastic in the basement and put the drawers facing up so we could paint the front. We did not remove the brackets, but were very careful when painting. We found using a roller was fastest and spread the paint the best. We used a brush in the hard to reach areas and to go around the brackets. We did not prime (WE SHOULD HAVE) and had to do 3-4 coats on each side.

Wine was very necessary.

After several coats in the basement, we reattached all the doors and put the drawers back. The lighting in the basement was poor, so there was still touch ups to do. 

After the last coat, I enjoyed this glass in my favorite spot. Cabinets are done - next project, countertops!