Hey there!
We’re back with a few more shots of our neighbors kitchen today! If you didn’t see the ones we featured in our e-zine, you can check them out here.
Here’s a shot of what the kitchen looked like when they bought the house back in 1999…
Among other things, they removed the bar that separated the kitchen from the dining room, replaced all the light fixtures (with salvaged ones), and took down the 70’s style linoleum backsplash.
Here’s a shot of the stove area, before and after…
Peter reconstructed some of the cabinets on the left so that things would look a little more symmetrical. He used a set of salvaged doors on the cabinet above the fridge, and they removed the soffit up above the upper cabs to make room for some of the vintage kitchen items they’ve collected.
Here’s another piece of their collection that I absolutely LOVE…
And here’s a shot of Josette’s potato masher collection…
She started collecting them as a young girl and especially treasures the one from her Grandmother. (The shortest one in the photo above) You can see the salvaged window Peter installed (sideways) over the kitchen sink in that photo too.
This is a shot of the garden window he removed….
To make for a smoother transition during the switcheroo, Peter installed the salvaged window first, then removed the existing window. Smart idea!
This last shot seemed to be one of the most popular pics in our e-zine, so we thought we post it here again…
It shows how Peter and Josette transformed their kitchen cabinets by giving them a facelift with thin strips of wood before painting them. What a fantastic way to create a shaker style door, huh?
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that is just pure brilliance with those shaker doors!
and that poppy colored door on the bottom- LOVE!
Love how they used strips of wood to re-create their cabinets – why didn’t I think of that!?!? The poppy red door is fabulous :O)
I can’t even believe that is the same kitchen! It is amazing and I just love that new color scheme, the red door and stools add a charming retroish touch!
Pandora from Home and Decor
What a transformation. Love the shaker style cabinets.
I am wowed by your “happily ever after” transformation.
Top 5 favorites….
1. Love the idea of matching cabinet and wall color.
2. Love the door style & color.
3. Love any colors that remind me of fabric. Burlap. Awesome.
4. Um love that snake!
5. Of course, love the diy cabinets are ingenius!
Congrats. Hope you are enjoying your fabulous kitchen 🙂
I love that they were able to reconstruct the cabinets. They look amazing. What a great inspiration.
Love the contrast between the red door and the wood floor, love the use of RED!
What unbelievable kitchen!!
Amazing transformation! It’s hard to believe what it looked like before because it is so beautiful now. They did a great job!
Love the blog and LOVE the cabinet transformation!! I am trying to convince my husband that we can do the same thing! Can you tell me what type of wood and adhesive you used to create the Shaker style? We are so doing this now!!
We used 1/4″ birch plywood. I bought a 4′ x 8′ sheet and we ripped it into two different width strips, one width for the edges and a narrower center strip for the Shaker effect. We used a combination of Liquid Nails adhesive and some small finishing nails to secure the strips. After we primed the doors, we caulked the gap between the strips and the original cabinet doors.
For those who may have wondered, the cabinet door idea just kind of came to me when I was holding a couple paint stirrers one day. They were too narrow so I taped pieces of cardboard to one door to get an idea of how it might look. We had already gotten a quote for refacing the cabinets with very light colored Maple, which was in style at the time and it was more than we could afford. I also felt bad about junking the well constructed and serviceable doors that we already had, despite their ugliness.
Overall, fixing the strips to the doors really only took a few minutes per door after we got it down. I’d love to see some pictures when some of you use this idea.
Peter
This was pure genius! What did you do for the drawer fronts?
Hi, We have similar cabinets in our old home. I am going to attempt your idea. I hate to throw out good cabinets but I dislike the doors. So I found your website and pictures. Did you sand the cabinets prior to priming? Also, did you sand or prime BEFORE you added the strips? I am refinishing my cabinets to use in the laundry room for storage. Great green Idea!
Wow! This kitchen SCREAMS the colors I love. And it’s called “burlap”?!! Love it!
The “before” pictures of the kitchen look very similar to kitchen in the house we might be buying.
This is great inspiration!
I am painting my kitchen door RED!!!!
Gorgeous house, and as usual, beautiful photos from you and the Mr. 🙂
That is GENUIS idea for the cabinet fronts!!! I have been struggling about what to do with my kitchen cabinets. I don’t have the money to replace them and I’m so sick of the raised panel, curved top design…..now I have a plan!!!!
Swooooooonn. The red pops make my hands clammy. And those countertops! Lovely lovely.
Wow! Such an amazing change. I love it!
Potato Mashers!! Love them!
And no stinky little openings to clean like in the (plastic) one I use. I need to keep my eyes peeled for a wooden one 🙂
That’s SO creative!! I love it!!
I’m new to your blog and I have to say-I Love, Love, Love it!! I’m enjoying seeing all the changes you are making in your own home as well as others who share your passion for decorating! Can you tell me the type of wood pieces and where Peter and Josette got the wood, the size, etc., that they used to transform their cabinets? I’m new to this whole DIY stuff and am encouraged by you and your friends!
I love LOVE this Kitchen!! It’s the inspiration I have been looking for to redo my own. Has anyone tried looking for the paint color Ralph Lauren’s “Burlapâ€? I’ve looked at Home Depot and at a local store carrying Ralph Lauren. But the only “Burlap” I can find is dark brown/green. Any suggestions?
thanks so much for this idea, and thank you peter for outlining above the exact method/materials you used. i plan to look into this further for my horrible looking kitchen.
Layla & Kevin,
You’ve inspired me to not only paint my kitchen door red, but to blog again.
Thank you!
Lisa @ Red Door Kitchen
What an amazing kitchen transformation! We went out today to get the Ralph Lauren Burlap for our cabinets we are painting, and it is a darker brown than what is pictured…did they lighten the paint at all? Thanks so much for posting this! What a beautiful kitchen!!
I love the small “House Rules” sign by the back door. Do you know where it came from?
I stumbled upon this post when I was looking for aqua and red kitchen color schemes. Instantly, I loved the red door and the color of the cabinets. However, I had Home Depot put burlap in a sample of the Behr Ultra Premium today. While I understand lighting, camera, monitor calibration, etc. all make a difference, it is definitely not the color in the pictures shown above. It is more of an olive brownish color. So that is definitely a no go. Also, I bought a quart of the California Poppy color to paint my door with, but it was more pink than red. The jury’s still out on that until I put on a second coat though.
Hey Mindy!
I’m sorry those colors didn’t work out in your kitchen!
You’re right about the paint looking different on the monitor- their cabs are definitely a olive brownish color in real life.
Hope you can find the perfect color for your space soon…it’s such a tricky thing, isn’t it? Drives me nuts sometimes! 😀
I am in brown wood hell and have just about finished painting out massive amounts of wood in our house by the beach. The next on my list is our kitchen where the tackiest part of the 70’s went to die! First step: painting out the dark wood cabinets — all 22 of them…and a pantry. *sigh*
This post has given me the will to go on. 😉
This cabinet redo is amazing. I have the same dated cupboards and was going to use beadboard for the doord but think this is great. One question: What did they do for the drawer fronts?
HOORAY! I have those exact cabinets with the soffit above them as well. Now it’s time to put the hubby to work. How did y’all remove the soffit?
I love this color on the cabinets… trying to get a color like this. What did you use?
Thank you so much for sharing this! It looks awesome and it gives me hope that I can do something to transform my ugly kitchen too!
Love your cabinets but having a hard time finding the right color. Show that you used Behr paint and Ralph Lauren color, Would you mind sharing what color you used? As are walls are becoming a checker board of BAD colors.
Thanks so much
My cabinets look just like these and could really use a makeover! Is there any way to get additional information on how they determined how wide to make the strips of wood? As I see in their with their cabinets, they are different sizes but the strips of wood still have a consistent look no matter what size the cabinet is. Also, did they do the same to their drawers?
On your kitchen remodel, how did you address the issue of your drawer facings? They looked different at the end, but no explanation as to how yu changed them. This is an amazing idea, our cabinets are exactly like yours but with even uglier hardware !!!! Yuck !!!! But the cabinets are made of solid wood, so we didn’t want to tear them out. Can you please share what you did with your drawer fronts??
Hmmm…I’m not sure, Lisa! I’ll have to ask them the next time I see them! 😀
Any answers on what was done for the drawers? We have similar cabinets and have been searching and searching for ideas to freshen up our kitchen cabinets and this may be our solution. Thanks!
First, I love what you’ve done with this kitchen and can appreciate updating a Tudor style home on a budget as I am about to embark on many projects with my husband in our “new” home. I wanted to find out where you found your wood strips to reface the cabinet doors? Were these available in your local hardware store or did you buy the thin wood then cut these down to size? Any details you have or link to a “how to” would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for sharing your work!
I was researching and found a product called Reclaim, by Country Living. I says it requires no sanding, priming, etc. We have the typical oak cabinets and we are thinking of going all white. Am am afraid to go too white. Our trip and molding is high gloss white, but not sure if that would look good on the cabinets. So your friends didn’t sand? They only primed?
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Those before cabinets are the same as in the house I’m in the process of buying. No money for new cabinets and I was wondering WHAT on earth I was going to do! This is perfect! Can’t wait to get started!
Lisa, and Kelli, to me it looks like they filled the grooves. This is what I was planning on doing with all of the cabinets. You can buy the Durham’s rock hard water putty at any hardware store and mix it yourself, or for better results I have used Zinsser’s wood filler (don’t know the exact name) but found it at Home Depot. It goes on really smooth and comes in a pre-mixed can that looks like paint. Buy it by the quart or gallon. Love the stuff! Both require a LOT of ventilation and would be best done outside – with a mask. You’ll need some passes of increasingly finer grits of sand when you’re done. Good luck!
You’ll need some passes of increasingly finer grits of sand*paper* when you’re done. Good luck!
I also have those cabinets. Must have been a big sale back in the 1970s. Showed it to my husband who immediately said the strips of wood would be too expensive. Did you buy them somewhere or cut strips yourself. Did you glue, nail, or both? More information would be appreciated.
I absolutely love this! So much so, that my own kitchen is getting this treatment in about 4 months. I have a few questions though.
*What kind of wood did they use to add to the cabinet doors?
*I have been thinking about mitering the corners and leaving out the center bit. Will that cause any problems in the usefulness of the cabinet?
*Last one – how did they attach the wood to the doors? Liquid nails?
Thank you so much for any help you can give! I am crazy excited to update my kitchen in this fun, easy way. Your inspiration is so appreciated!
Blessings,
Val
Hi Valerie!
I’m not sure about all the specifics right off hand, but I know they used birch plywood and construction adhesive.
There’s a big article about it all this month’s Country Woman magazine:
https://theletteredcottage.net/inspiring-designs-2/
I hope that helps!
Layla
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Great way to revive old cabinets for cheap!
I love the shaker cabinet doors! How did you attach the thin strips of wood, glue or nails?
How thick are the boards used to redo cabinets, also what wood was used?
What kind of paint did you use?
I have been needing new kitchen cabinets for a long time and now have decided I don’t need new cabinets, I just need some pieces of thin wood. going to get busy on cutting these strips and see what it looks like. thank you
I love the way you took the old doors and made them look like shaker style doors. I am going to do this to my kitchen. I can only hope mine will look as great as yours. Your kitchen is just beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing.
Love the refacing idea on the cabinet doors! Did you order new drawers all together or how did you update the drawers? Thanks for your input.
Just wanted to say that you just solved a problem for me! My backsplash ! I wanted breadboard for my old home but didn’t know what to put behind the stove. Where did you get the stainless or is it a stainless look-a-like?
Those are MY kitchen cabinets! Seriously, I have those exact old doors, and I have been trying and trying to decide how to update them. I’d love to know exactly how you attached the wood pieces….I’m guessing some glue and little nails? Details would be appreciated!
OK, in my excitement I posted before reading others’ comments. I do see some details that help a lot. This is inspiring!
We have the exact same cabinets and I have been looking for a way to revive them. This shaker style may be just the ticket!
Question: Are the edges of the cabinets in this post straight or rounded? If they were rounded, how did you go about a straight an even edge?
Ours are a smidgen rounded and I’m now sure how to move forward with the birch plywood, as I’ll need the edge to be straight once all said and done.
I love the cabinets, and I would like to do something similar to my 60’s very plain cabinet doors. I would like to know where your husband got his wood strips? Did he cut them himself,or buy them like that? Thanks for any help you can give!
This is just inspiring my husband and I are looking at houses and they all have bad kitchens!!!! I can’t get past the kitchen. I’m a stay at home mom and I spend most of my days cooking lol.. But wow you did amazing job and now rethinking some of the houses we looked. What a great blog you have 🙂