$95 Kitchen Cabinet Makeover
Painting kitchen cabinets was $95 well spent! Paint can go a LONG way to modernize your space. A more expensive remodel is in our future. By spending less on this refresh, we can pay it forward for more expensive upgrades in the future. More changes to come! (Check out all of our kitchen upgrades here!)
$95 Kitchen Refresh With Paint
At the time I posted this, our kitchen “remodel” (aka: paint supplies) cost $95! Now we add inexpensive decor elements to enhance the space. There is still a lot left to do, but we’re happy with the results so far.
When Mark and I put an offer in on this house in July 2018, we knew that a kitchen remodel was in our future. While we are saving for a more expensive remodel, we know first hand that updating your kitchen cabinetry with a fresh coat of paint can increase the show-ability and the value of your home. This is our 5th cabinetry paint project!
Kitchen Cabinet Paint Colors:
- Kitchen Cabinets // Valspar Cabinet Enamels paint line at Lowe’s — tinted in a Benjamin Moore color called “Graystone”.
- Kitchen Island // Valspar Cabinet Enamels paint line at Lowe’s — tinted in a Benjamin Moore color called “Peppercorn”.
Kitchen Projects You Might Like
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- Our 2024 Kitchen Design Plan
- $70 Thrifted Chandelier in Our Kitchen
- My advice for painting cabinets
- Vintage Mirror Gallery Wall
- Tour the kitchen in our previous house
- Oak Cabinets: How to Hide Wood Grain Before You Paint
- $200 kitchen backsplash (previous house)
- Pergo flooring in our kitchen (previous house)
- Kitchen Island Makeover (previous house)
This kitchen mini-remodel took a lot less time than my previous house. I lightly sanded and cleaned the cabinets. Then gave them a light coat of Kilz 2 Primer. Followed by 2 coats of enamel (I always recommend enamel paint which dries harder than latex.
Open wood grain cabinets require a completely different approach, these were smooth grain and saved a lot of time.
I didn’t remove the cabinets and used an artist brush around the hinges and around the door openings. I only had to lightly hand sand (I had to do heavy sanding with the deep grain oak in the past). I applied primer followed by 2 coats of Valspar. So easy this time!
Kitchen Remodel To-Do List:
The paint and hardware is just a temporary solution for the kitchen but there are a few things we still would like to change:
- New countertops // The pale pink just doesn’t quite suit us :)
- New sink & update appliances // we would like a white or stainless sink. The current black sink is pretty scratched up. We want our appliances to also look like part of the cabinetry.
- Tiled Backsplash // this time, tile. We had a stenciled kitchen backsplash before, so we’d like to upgrade just a bit in this kitchen.
- Add open shelving // We’d like to remove a few of the upper cabinets and redesign our pantry (the big, obtrusive cabinet on the right).
- Rebuild & extend the island // We’ve repurposed our kitchen island in our previous house, so we’d like something a little prettier and more substantial. We’d also like to extend the seating arrangement in there.
- Add window seating // I’d like to change the bay area into a smaller seating arrangement.
Change chandelier& add pendants // I’m thinking 2-3 pendant lights over the “new” island, another over the sink.Then of course, changing the chandelier.New Hardware // we are waiting for new antique brass cup pulls to arrive tomorrow, just in time for Christmas.Done!- New flooring // we miss our dark floors from the old house, but these can’t be installed until we make some final decisions about our island layout.
New Kitchen Feature Wall in the Works
Kitchen Sources
I shared a tip during my appearance on the Rachael Ray Show about hiding mail. The baskets and all sources can be found below!
Just found this on Pinterest and am impressed with your inexpensive kitchen remodel. To think that pain could so transform a commonplace kitchen into an extraordinary one! Thank you for documenting the change! Your tips and insights have inspired us to try this in our kitchen. So glad I found your blog!
Jeanette,
I love your kitchen remodel with paint!
The paint hue ‘Peppercorn’ has been used in our garage make~over. . .and we l o v e it!
First time visit and I will definitely return.
May this be the happiest of New Year’s for you!
Pat
Thank you Pat! Same to you!
Wow, that looks fantastic! Better than new since it was only $95. Happy New Year, Kippi
I love the new color! I’ve been debating on painting our cabinets or not. We have cheap laminate cabinets and the bottom cabinets are actually peeling on the bottom exposing the mdf. Replacing them is kinda out of the budget right now so I’ve just been living with it!
I must of missed the post when you moved! I loved your old house! The design of your kitchen and dining room is what drew me to your blog!
How is your cabine paint holding up?
Wow that looks amazing. Great choice of painting. Worth the price !
Found this info today❣️ How inspiring. I’m going to start painting my kitchen ❣️Yeah👌
Thank you for sharing 😘
Sachiko
Outstanding! Best of luck you will love the outcome! :)
What color did you paint the walls?
Simply white by Benjamin Moore :)
Gorgeous after results!!!! Love the final look.
I need help with putting together colors !!! I have a double-wide home with a front to back kitchen and “great room” – used to have white walls in the great room and a wine colored print in the kitchen (the entire house was wine colored … wall to wall carpet, white walls throughout, and wine colored countertops in the kitchen. In the great room is an 8′ pool table with, you guessed it, wine colored cloth. I want to do over the two rooms together using the wine colored pool table and kitchen counter tops in the mix. I was going to apply a light grey for all the walls with a darker grey for the kitchen cabinets, then put down a wood floor that you snap together. My husband stopped me half way through and said NO the all the gray … now what do I do? I just cannot put the right colors together. Can you help me out ? I would appreciate it so much !!!
Hi Katie! Paint can be very hard to get right, I often second guess myself! I often paint cardboard using samples and hang them in the space for several days if I’m really stumped on a paint color. I’m not sure how far you have gotten with the gray, but when I think of a wine color I think of pairing it with a warmer color. You can use some great online tools (Sherwin Williams has one) where you take a photo of the room and upload it. You can select the walls / cabinets and experiment with the colors using that tool. https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer#/active/default
If you ever look back at my earlier posts and pictures on my blog, there was a time that NONE of my colors looked right. I had to remind myself that the entire space was going through a transformation and eventually it would all come together. I ended up stopping or a bit and used the online Sherwin Williams tool to make sure I was on the right track.
I hope this helps!
The cabinets look amazing! I have oak cabinets and would like to paint them. Do you have instructions on how to paint them? You said that there would be different steps in doing them. Thanks! I like following you with such good ideas.
Yes I actually think while oak is more work, it holds enamel paint much better! Here is the link and suggestions for painting oak!
Thank you!
What is your mix ratio of the Valspar Cabinet Enamels paint line at Lowe’s — they mixed in a Benjamin Moore color called “Graystone”.?
I used a Valspar Cabinet Enamels base – you choose a color. I asked if they could match the Benjamin Moore color “Graystone” and they did. I think it varies by store whether they will do this or not. But I love the gray. We are replacing the island soon with a custom made wood island. New floors are also coming soon.
Is the “Peppercorn” by Valspar or by Benjamin Morre?
I used a Valspar base, but asked Lowe’s to match the Valspar paint to match Benjamin Moore’s “Peppercorn”.
Love the new look by just painting your cabinets! Thank you for sharing
Awesome job!. Did you use the satin or semi-gloss base?
Thanks so much! I used the satin base.
So funny to me how standard all those kitchens got to be. You’re before pic looks like so many other kitchens from that time period.
But what a great change with just $95 and some elbow grease/design know-how. Such an improvement. I’ve done some of these repainted cabinets for my clients when they just didn’t have the budget for a total makeover, and the cool thing is they come back when they do have the budget. Win, win.
Great color choices. I like the contrasting island color too. It looks like you changed the oven but is the frig the same? Was it pulled out weird in the listing/before photo?
-Jamie
Thank you! I agree. More changes coming in this space. We want a different island (I would prefer a natural wood that isn’t orange). As for realtor photo is wide angle so it probably looks different in the photo. We will be keeping the fridge and stove location, but changing the island and upper cabinets will be changed a bit as well. :)
Do you like your microwave over your stove? Trying to decide if this is what I want in a new kitchen or putting the microwave in the island.
Good catch! We still have that old microwave above the stove but hopefully not for long. Installing an aesthetically pleasing range hood isn’t a project that my husband is totally on board with…yet. Our goal is to see what we can pull off with some new cabinetry and possibly set up an appliance “garage”. I have my eye on a range hood – and I’d love to downsize and relocate the microwave since we only seem to use it to warm up our coffee :)