Throwback Thursday – Kitchen Refresh

Our kitchen cupboards need a fresh coat of paint. It’s no wonder, really, when I look back and notice that it was almost eight full years ago that we redid the whole thing. 

This wasn’t a full gutting. I’ve lived through one of those and it’s not fun, although ultimately it’s worth it. Washing dishes in the bathtub and living on takeout most of the time. Having no access to a kitchen sink or stove. The fridge in the living room and dust everywhere. So much dust! And we had two dogs that had to be kept off the new flooring or a small man doing the tiling would yell and swear at us in another language.

This kitchen was just old and dated. We took its original 1950s self and updated it. There wasn’t anything we could do about its size but we could make it function better. Half a wall came out, new cupboards were built into the lower wall and new countertop and backsplash went in. But the rest of it was a matter of refacing the old, routed cupboard doors and turning them into shaker style. I’m proud to say the design was my idea but all of the work was done by Derek!

A photo of the new, white shaker-style cupboards on top with the old, dingy wood cupboards below the new granite-look countertopWe spent a lot of time choosing details, keeping them budget-friendly with a higher-end look. The counter is granite-look laminate. Over the years, several people have expressed surprise when they got up close and noticed it wasn’t actual granite like they thought it was. The flooring is cork-look vinyl tile that has also been mistaken for the real thing.

Ah, but time marches on and the cupboards are due for a new coat. We had used a melamine paint that, at the time, was the best thing available for high-use cupboard doors. However, it’s now off the market because it yellows, just enough to look off compared to the white appliances. So we have purchased the same colour in the current “best thing” for frequent use. I loathe the idea of taking off the doors and painting them one by one but it has to be done. I think I’ll do it in sections to minimize the disruption. Still, it’s nice to look back and see how far it’s come!

1 thought on “Throwback Thursday – Kitchen Refresh”

  1. If you end up with some left over paint and some time, my kitchen cupboard doors are in a serious need of a fresh coat of paint. It’s got to be nearly 20 years since they were last done. Hey, I’ll even take them off for you.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *