Kitchen update on a budget

7 years ago

I'd like to paint our cabinets BM Sea Haze and perhaps the walls SW Agreeable gray. I can't decide what countertop and backsplash would go best with these colors. Any ideas?

Featured Answer

Debbie Downer

7 years ago

Nooo -l eave the whatsit! Thats your classic 1950s budget kitchen right there, something that is now finally appreciated... at least in some circles .... for its kitschy charm.

Yknow, those look like the spittin image of some cabs I had a few houses ago that were solid maple with those center squares being veneer maple - is that what you have? Those were the days when cheap and middle class was still mostly pretty decent quality.

If so, sanding, staining + applying poly finish is indeed a good idea, but a good quality paint job I think is reasonable too esp. if theres a lot of damage to the veneer (hard to see). I say good quality cos you might decide to keep them , or if not, they would have value to someone else who wants a cute 1950s kitchen.

If it was me, Id go full on retro with real linoleum on the floor and color scheme taken from my fav 1950s flower pattern table cloth. If you dont want to go whole hog, thats ok, a lot of current furnishings/colors would work well with a 50s kitchen - since so much of todays style comes from that era (or evolved from is prob more accurate way of saying it).

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Comments (6)

Helen
7 years ago
Painting kitchen cabinets is not inexpensive if done correctly and requires quite a bit of work in terms of preparation if you DIY.

I would leave the cabinets as they are because the wood stain is actually quite attractive. I recently remodeled an chose a medium tone wood stain that is quite similar.

Your layout doesn't have any lower drawers which most people consider to be functional. Do the lower cabinets have rollout/pullouts? If not, I would spend money to have those installed in order to make them more functional.

Given the age of your cabinets, I personally wouldn't spend much money for a high end counter. If the aesthetics of your current counters are not attractive, I would think you could install a nice laminate relatively inexpensively. Take a look at Wilsonart or Formica websites because it's not the "old" formica anymore.

You can update your knobs and pulls relatively inexpensively for a nicer look and I would also get a new kitchen faucet as the one you have is the one I had in my rental years ago. A new kitchen faucet is also relatively inexpensive - check out Moen and Delta as both have high quality faucets that are relatively inexpensive.

A new backsplash would liven things up but you would have to choose between a backsplash and the current riser as one generally has either one or the other.
PRO
Sina Sadeddin Architectural Design
7 years ago
Helen is correct, you should take the age of those cabinets into consideration before doing anything. Painting cabinets is a long and difficult process to do correctly. I wouldn't recommend in investing in new coutnertops for those cabinets, they'll likely need to be replaced soon and the new countertop would then be a waste.

A new wall paint color, new backsplash, and new hardware should update it a bit. But if you're wanting to do a more serious remodel save up until you can do it all at once.
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chelsea carvin
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks everyone. This is not our forever home, so not looking to put a lot of money into it. I do want to be happy in the space for however long we're here though and the cabinets as is just don't do it for me.
PRO
Sina Sadeddin Architectural Design
7 years ago
If you really want to paint the cabinets go ahead, but I wouldn't recommend investing in new countertops.
Cyndy
7 years ago
I would saw off the decorative whatsit over the sink and prep the heck out of those cabinets before painting. We had a grey textured laminate counter in our old kitchen that was inexpensive and looked really nice (in photos people thought it was concrete.). Change the cabinet hardware and enjoy your 'new' kitchen!