New Kitchen on a Budget

Pamela
by Pamela
8 Materials
$350
4 Days
Medium

How I updated my kitchen, on a budget and got rid of the outdated 1970's look !

Old , tired and mismatched

After buying our first home , we had tons of projects planned , every room needed to be brought out of the 1970's ! The kitchen got pushed to the back of the list , new cabinets and countertops would have to wait.

I thought I could do some quick inexpensive updates to hold me over.

Ugh...

First , I took off all the cabinet doors ***BIG TIP *** number all your doors so you know where they went and put the hardware for each door in its own zip lock bag with the coordinating doors number on it , this will save you tons of time and aggravation later on .

I cleaned the cabinets and doors with 2 products made by Krud Kutter, 1st a de greaser, then a de glosser - this stuff works GREAT !!! It not only cleans , but it gets rid of the

Shiny surfaces from oils , grease and polishes .

I hated the scalloped edges in the door fronts. I bought a 1/2 sheet of beadboard from Lowe's. I measured the part of the door I wanted to cover , then marked the beadboard . My husband cut it for me , then I glued it to the door fronts using lock tight super glue , then taped it in place while while it dried so it couldn't shift while drying .

Next step , time to paint !

I used advance paint from Benjamin Moore, it dries and cures like an enamel paint , but brushes and hands wash off with soap and water.

* PLEASE NOTE : brushes and hands wash off fairly easily ONLY if you cleans things right away !!! If you wait a little while ,

You will have to do some heavy duty scrubbing.

* I DID NOT USE PRIMER !!!

I did 2 coats of paint , letting the 1st coat dry before doing the second coat . The guy at the store said to use a small foam roller, but even though the paint is self leveling, I didn't like the texture and switched to a small brush . Next we put up the doors and hardware . I used the same handles.

It was looking so much better !

Next step - paint the countertops , yes you can paint them ! I used the Benjamin Moore's advance paint in wrought iron . To prep the counters, I used Krud Kutter, then used a sanding sponge and lightly scuffed the countertops. Then using a damp cloth I wiped off any dust and let the counters dry . For the countertops, I did use a primer , also from Benjamin Moore's. I did one coat of primer and then 2 coats of paint , letting each coat dry before doing the next one . For the countertops, I used the small foam roller. As you can see , I did not remove the sink , I just covered it and carefully taped around it .

This is with one coat if primer

Here is how it looked after 2 coats of paint .

Next came the new faucet...

Hmmm...Now that my cabinets were painted white , it made my beige floor tiles look pink , yuk !

I purchased a textured wood look ( called silver spruce ) peel and stick vinyl floor planks ,at a super low price , off Amazon .

My husband placed it down in the kitchen and entryway.

At this point , the kitchen was looking so much better , for so little money , about $350 , for paint , primer ,rollers ,cleaning products , new faucet , beadboard , glue , and flooring !

Lowe's was having a sale , 40 % off appliances , so we decided to get rid of the broken dishwasher and mis matched appliances and bought a GE

Refrigerator, double oven /stove and a dishwasher in a slate finish.

* this was not included in the re do cost !

Another view

Well , I thought I was done ...

But my husband asked me why I didn't paint the inside of the cabinet doors , they look unfinished ...ugh... I knew I wasn't going to take those doors off again , so I came up with the perfect solution!

I picked up some chalk paint and painted just the inset section of all the inside doors.

Now I have a place to keep lists , menus & appointments.

I am so happy with my kitchen re do !!!

An update: it has been 2 years since I painted the cabinets and countertops, and they are holding up great ! The surface is easy to clean & they still look great !

What a difference !!!

Old kitchen

New kitchen

New kitchen
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  • O.shag O.shag on Apr 19, 2019

    What a nice update. How long did it take to do the countertop? How long before it can be used? I'd like to paint bathroom counter but it's the only bathroom in the house and it's not feasible to have the sink area out of commission for long.

  • Joyce Hopkins Joyce Hopkins on Apr 20, 2019

    Did you use any kind of top coat on countertops? How well have the countertops held up?

  • Judith DeMello Judith DeMello on Feb 18, 2021

    This looks fantastic! My cabinet doors have this quarter circle edging and your solution is just perfect. Thanks so much for sharing

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