katycc79

14 years ago

I have a very dated kitchen that I thought I would be able to update after we moved in, but things have changed and now we don't have the budget to do any renovations for a while. We have laminate cabinets and countertops - yes, it's quite ugly! And I'm sure you've all seen this 70's/early 80's style - the cream color laminate with the "wood" at the bottom and edges. Luckily, it's large and very functional - however, I'm getting the itch to do something in there. I really can't afford to replace or even reface the cabinets right now. We have a lot of cabinets so I don't want to take on painting them if it's not worth the effort. Does anyone have a suggestion? Or experience painting this type of surface?

I'm definitely going to paint the walls. The color of the walls right now is a yellowish cream as well - it kind of all blends together - the walls, counters, and cabinets - can be quite dreary. I really love blues/greens and grey - and right now I really love the combo of very pale aqua (almost greyish with blue/green) and navy. I'm a blue and white lover but not in the old fashioned/formal style. If anyone saw the cover of Coastal Living lately - I'm in LOVE with that room. It inspires me. I'm open to any suggestions - even just a cool wall color or something. I appreciate any feedback! I can take some pictures if someone would like to see it and send any ideas - thanks!!

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Comments (3)

Manon Floreat
14 years ago
Hi, katycc. I'm imagining your kitchen looks something like the below?

If so, you can think about painting the wooden trim. Here's a similar dilema on Houzz:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/okay-this-is-my-kitchen-such-as-it-is-dsvw-vd~53281

You can also paint your counter tops. There is a special paint for formica you can use. You can also lightly sand, prime, paint and seal until you can get the counters you want.

A dove grey counter with walls in the greyish/blue/green color you like sounds nice. You could even do a simple stencil as a backsplash until you can get somthing you like better. Hope these ideas help!

If you can post pics, you'll probably get more ideas specific to your space
Katy
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you both Mannon and houssaon for the comments and suggestions. The sink is actually silver so I think I could paint the counter tops if I can find a product for counter tops that's durable enough.

Mannon, yes, that's exactly what my cabinets look like - although the counter is slightly different but very close. I will try to post some pictures tonight with my kitchen and my inspirations. Do you have the name of any of the counter-top paints or should I just do a search? The link you sent was very helpful too! It was really nice to see a picture of some painted - I've been so unsure about putting the effort into it but I know I'll be happier. The stencil suggestion for a backsplash is excellent too - I had never thought of that and perhaps I could incorporate some navy there.

Again, thank you both so much!
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Manon Floreat
14 years ago
You're welcome, katycc. I don't have a specific brand but I found out about the paint when I faced a similar dilemma. The Home Depot recommends an epoxy paint as opposed to latex. Check out this post on the Home Depot forum:

http://community.homedepot.com/t5/What-s-New-in-our-Paint-Aisles/painting-formica-countertops/td-p/6987