Filed under: Color, Kitchen, Projects
A splash of color and a long weekend turned a dingy kitchen into my dream kitchen.True story: I moved from Brooklyn, NY to Kansas City, MO for an apartment. After sharing tiny spaces with roommates and (shudder) large bugs for nearly nine years, I was lured back to my hometown by real estate. Huge, cheap real estate.
On a visit to Missouri to promote my cookbook, I happened upon my dream home. Sort of. As I always do when I visit a city, I checked out the real estate on Craigslist, but this time I actually went to look at an apartment. I had no intention of moving, but as soon as I walked through the front door, my heart stopped. The space was perfect with its two bedrooms, office, clawfoot tub, hardwood floors, fireplace and balcony. Well, I should say it was almost perfect; the kitchen was hideous. The cabinets were made of pressed plywood with a dingy white plastic laminate and they had veneer trim that was peeling in every direction. The drawers down below the counter were in better shape, but they were a completely different material and cut than the cabinets up top.
Emily Farris
Other food-centric people might have moved on to the next Craigslist listing, but after confirming with the landlord that it was okay to "make improvements" to the kitchen, I signed the lease.
Still, after I moved in, I avoided that kitchen like the Plague. I kept my dishes in the butler's pantry (did I mention it also had a butler's pantry?) and only used the stove when absolutely necessary. I had ideas of what I wanted to do, but I didn't have the time or the money to do much of anything. Then, one Thursday night (probably after too much coffee and HGTV viewing), I decided the only way I was ever going to get anything done was to take down the cabinet doors right that moment. So I did.
The next morning, still inspired and more than a little desperate to get my cabinet doors back up, I canceled my weekend plans, put off my work for the day and went to the paint store. I was immediately drawn to a shade of turquoise (my favorite color), Sherwin Williams' Mariner. The friendly paint professional told me that an acrylic-latex would be the best for painting over laminate and that I probably wouldn't need a primer. While at the store, I remembered I also had a small, unopened can of charcoal-colored paint I could use for the structure of the cabinets. I couldn't make the drawers match the doors, but I could at least make everything the same color.
As soon as I was home, I got to work removing hardware, scrubbing down the cabinets, removing peeling trim, masking the back of the doors and painting. And painting. And painting. And waiting for paint to dry. And painting some more. I only left the house once to get food and wine.
Emily Farris
The process was tedious, but pretty much painless. Because I hadn't primed (if I could do it over again, I would), the doors required two coats of paint, but one quart was more than enough to give my kitchen cabinets an extreme makeover. The real fun came when I tried to rehang them on my own. I did it, but not without copious amounts of curse words. (NOTE: If you ever take down your kitchen cabinets, do yourself a favor and get someone to help you put them back up.)
Once the cabinets were rehung, I got to work rearranging accessories I already owned. By Sunday night, I had my dream kitchen--or as close to it as I'm going to get until Oprah gives me my own show. All it took was a can of paint, a few brushes, a long weekend, and patience. Lots and lots of patience. Oh, and that bottle of wine.
What to budget if you try this at home:
$20 (or less) for a quart of thick acrylic-latex paint of your choice
$12 for a bottle of wine
$5 brushes and masking tape
$10 for a small can of a flat accent color if you need it
$40 for take out, because your kitchen will be pretty much unusable for a weekend
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$87 Total