Wow! Really wow! Fantastic!

I love it! It looks so charming and cozy. I particularly love the exposed hinges on your cabinets.

My DD's kitchen has fifty plus year old cabinets that she painted white. Her kitchen is so pretty, and the exposed hinges are my favorite element. Her next step is to install cherry counter tops.

Looks wonderful! You did a great job!

ML

so amazing, great job, you sure kept at it and worked hard !!

It's great. I love that the cabinets go right to the ceiling. You don't find that in a lot of more recent kitchens unless they are custom or "gourmet'. All the paint colors are terrific. Nice job!

Jen, I am SO glad you decided to do all white instead of red on bottom, white on top. You've done a wonderful job updating and beautifying your kitchen. Now you can piddle around with all color combos with accessories that your heart desires! lol

If I had that kitchen I think I would actually cook! It looks like such a happy room. Fantastic job!

Congratulations on your new kitchen! Can't get over your determination and perseverance. You should be walking with your head held high and a smile on your face :-) . Such a pretty change. I do like the continuity of the white cabinets, instead of white top and darker bottom. You will always be able to change wall accents and décor to whatever strikes your fancy. It looks so much larger. Big pat on the back to you for a job well done, Sunny.

What a great transformation. You deserve a big high-five for a job well done! You have to be ready for a celebration now. Thanks for inviting us in to see the before/after.

I love it! It looks beautiful!

wow! I love those cabinets. You literally cannot buy that kind of charm and authenticity

Love the white cabinets, and I really love the green walls with them. A perfect complement to the overall style of your home. Such a warm and inviting kitchen!

Your kitchen looks great!

I'm new here and I just posted about my ugly red kitchen in the 'kitchen' forum. They sent me to your post. Mind if I ask how you covered the red??

" I can't quite believe that I used to think these colors were wonderful! I sure couldn't live with them now."

Thank you for posting the "before" for me. Your comment reminds me of when I wallpapered my entire kitchen and breakfast area in bright floral wallpaper. What was I thinking!

Again, what a wonderful transformation you have made in your kitchen. I know you must have worked overtime on that project. ;)

Your new colors are classy! It's a very nice change!

Amazing transformation. You did a really nice job.

I love the white cabinets and the soft green walls really make a great backdrop. It will be fun to accessorize. Enjoy!

Love love love your kitchen. I'm in awe of your hard work and determination. You really know how to get 'er done. Way to go!

Looks wonderful!

I really love the new look! I like how the cabinets handles play off the edge of the counters. I also love the warmth of the floor paired with the light cabinets. The room looks very cozy.

Charming! It looks so fresh, I am thinking about doing the same to mine which are a kind of tannish green right now-I just need to get up the ambition to do the work. I like the cabinet hardware as well, it goes nicely with your black appliances which I have as well.

I have always loved your style, including the before. Great before and after!

Your range is to die for. I love your cabinets. You are fortunate they have held up so well over the years. They remind me a bit of the cabs in my kitchen before I renovated, but mine were disintegrating. Enjoy your kitchen.

Love the white cabinets and really lightens up your kitchen. They really show off your beautiful Saltillo tile floors!

Just beautiful!

Beautiful! Wonderful job, I especially love how they look with the Saltillo tiles. Very European. :)

Thank you so very much for the kind comments! I especially appreciate the encouragement and inspiration that got me motivated to tackle this job in the first place! I am so loving the change, and am really glad I decided to do this. Finishing the cabinets and getting some of the wallboard painted has helped me to visualize what the space is going to be like once all of the red is gone (I hate that HGTV term "painted out", but in this case, I really do feel like I'm "painting out" that darn red!). The white brings such a fresh feeling, and makes the space seem so much larger.

We plan to replace the hulking black refrigerator (besides being ugly, it has issues and is on its way out anyway), and I want a simple white one. GE makes one that has a little bit of a vintage look about it, and I think once the black fridge is gone, the space will really open up.

Of course, now I'm starting to look around at other things ... the valances, the chandelier shades ... They don't need replacing, but it might be fun to see what's out there!

TheFoxesPad - I was trying to pinpoint exactly when my house transformation started taking place, and it must have coincided with the trip my mother and I took to the Cotswolds in the spring of 2011. It actually seems like I've been at it longer than that -- the "Mexican fiesta" riot of colors feels like ages ago.

MommyD76 - I used Benjamin Moore Advance paint, and highly recommend it! It's an alkyd that is self-leveling, which helps minimize brush and roller marks. The salesman at the paint store convinced me that I wouldn't need to prime before using this paint, so I didn't. I started out sanding lightly, but stopped doing that after a couple of cabinets, as it just didn't make a difference. I did clean all of the wood thoroughly though. Coverage with the first coat was skimpy and made me think each time, "Ew, this looks awful!" The second gave me hope that the red really was didsappearing, and the third coat was magic! The paint dries quickly too, so recoating went pretty fast.

Thank you again for your nice words. You really made my morning! I'll post a photo of the entire space - kitchen and breakfast area - once all of the red is white. I've still got miles to go before I'm finished with everything.

MommyD76 - Just wanted to add that I'll be able to finish my kitchen and breakfast room with two gallons of paint, and the cost, including a couple of good brushes and a roller/tray, will come to less than $200. That's pretty good bang for the buck, I think! :-)

I would feel right at home in your "new" kitchen. I think it even looks bigger with the lighter colors. And I spent alot of time browsing teapot lamps when I was remodeling my kitchen - love yours. I ended up with a Dollar General Eiffel Tower lamp as a temp. until I find the right one.

Thanks, schoolhouse! I too searched high and low for exactly the "right" teapot lamp, and found this one on Etsy.

The more I look at my valences in these pics, the more I think they're too fussy. (And I thought they were da' bomb when I hung them not terribly long ago!) Any thoughts on what kind of valences would look better? I feel like I need something on the windows, but am feeling more drawn to a simpler feel ... something along these lines ...

What a pretty "vintage" green color you've paired with the white. Perfect!

I don't really think you need a valance over your windows as you already have one between the cabinets. Just the simple cafe curtains are enough window dressing. If you have privacy concerns, then I'd think about doing a stained glass window hanging in the upper window that would give you a bit of obscurity. I've even made them out of an old window and Plaid Gallery Glass faux stained glass if I couldn't find a period piece with the right accent colors.

Or there's always the windows where they use vintage plates etc to create "stained" glass.
{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by live_wire_oak on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 11:37

Looks lovely! The white really makes the room feel so light and fresh.

Great job!

Hmmm ... I guess the wood valence between the cabinets is a ... valence! ;-) I'll try taking it down and living without it for awhile. I also like the idea of hanging a stained glass piece there, but I also like my little plates and pitchers displayed on the window ledge. I think I've gotten so used to having a fabric valence so I'm just not used to it "nekkid", but you're right - there really doesn't need to be more there than the lace cafe curtain. Or if I do feel like I just have to have a valence there, it definitely needs to be less fussy.

Those are very pretty pieces of glass you've shared. Are they yours? The last piece is especially intriguing!

Thank you Caroleoh! :-)

So very wonderful. Your last entry says what I was about to say. The wood valance is the valance, and please, please don't take it down! I love it. For a fabric valance, I think it would look better if it was just over the glass, on a tension rod, so that the wood of the window is still showing, like the bottom curtain appears to be. Maybe try the valance, which you do/did like, trimmed down so that it is a flat panel. Not so gathered.

I will gaze at your pictures a lot! Love your kitchen!

Removed ... (I had posted ugly curtains. Nobody needs to see that. ;-))

This post was edited by SunnyCottage on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 14:53

Onedogedie - I would definitely not remove the wood valence. I hear ya on the placement of a fabric valence, if I keep one up there. And yes, I think a less gathered fabric would be better too.

I dunno ... looking again at the ball-fringed valence pic I posted above - I don't think so. It's not really the direction I was headed. Lost my mind for a minute there.
;-)

For my breakfast room windows, what do you think of a couple of these valances? This check makes me feel terribly nostalgic ... Mom had a tablecloth just like this and it reminds me of my childhood. :-)

My current valances - Waverly Norfolk Rose - aren't really doing much for me against the white paint.

Also like this shape ... Again, for the breakfast room windows, not the kitchen sink window.

wow!!! what alot of work, but well worth it! looks great! i think your floors look better with the white trim and cabinetry too!

A vote for the Waverly checked valances -- or a simple fresh white set of café curtains (valance and curtain)

Thank you, busybee! And thank you, teacats for the vote and the suggestion! I would like to keep my sheer tiers if I can make them work. Tonight instead of painting I've been playing around with old tea towels - see pic -- but I think it may look a bit TOO DIY. ;-)

Jen, that is a very charming and cozy photo of the sheers and tea towel. Love it. so sweet.

Oh, thank you Patricia! I was really just playing ... But I KINDA like that little pop of color there! The window feels a bit nude to me with nothing there ...

There is something so beautfully understated when white is contrasted with a pale, pastel shade.

I tend to be a fan of contrast, doing navy/ white but cant deny how striking in a classic, gentle way white accents such a soft color.

Plus combined, they both make the black accenting pop. You should be very pleased.

Your kitchen is absolutely charming! And I loved the tea towel that you had up at the window along with the sheers. Such a cozy and welcoming room!

I like it with the tea towels or without. Pretty.

Anything that makes you nostalgic and reminds you of your mother gets an A+ from me. I completely understand and applaud decorating efforts that have an emotional tie.

Perhaps a green valance would reference the wall color and thus seem like it belonged?

BTW - laughing that you deleted the "ugly" valances.

I just purchased this vintage pair of green gingham valances from Etsy. I'm going to hang them on tension rods inside the window frames in the breakfast area instead of hanging them outside the frames as my current valances are hung. That way the window trim will be highlighted and should look nice, fresh and crisp once painted white. At any rate, these gingham valances were practically a steal so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to at least conducted this little experiment! Plus they really remind me of curtains I had in my room as a child. Apparently we lived with a lot of green and white checks in our house when I was growing up!

And you know what I mean by the snowball effect, right? If the valances work, then my chandelier shades will likely need replacing. And I just realized my kitchen ceiling fan blades have GOT to be sprayed white now. Never. Ending.

I LOVE your kitchen! It reminds me of a wonderful Cottage-style kitchen, which is my favorite style of architecture and decorating. I wish you many, many happy, cozy hours in there!
Lynn

Love those checks! And the painting is stunning, what a great look - your kitchen just keeps getting better and better. :)