Short term kitchen color updates

7 years ago

Hi everyone, I am hoping to get some advice for some simple updates to our kitchen. I say short term in the title because I have other projects going on right now so a complete gut and redesign project is probably out another 2 years at least (unless I decide to sell the house which is also in the cards).

What I am looking for is to get your opinions on kitchen cabinet color choices and our in-kitchen oak kitchen table.

So, here's the deal. We have a home that was built in the late 90s here in Denver. Oak cabinets, oak floors, oak kitchen table. Warm (yellows, beiges, grays) slab granite with SS appliances. Walls were painted a brownish red. It all looked nice but I wanted to get out of that 90s look and update the kitchen. It's time right?

In wanting to update the kitchen, I started with painting the kitchen walls, going from that brownish red to Alpaca (SW). Very light, ,very neutral. Easy to work with right? What a complete difference. Kitchen feels just.. so much more fresh and open.

The challenge now is what color to paint the cabinets. My wife has a personal vendetta against all things OAK. I don't know why, we have beautiful oak floors and the oak cabs aren't gross. Anyway...

We decided on a color for the kitchen cabinets Black Magic from Sherwin Williams. My wife really likes black. We thought if we painted the cabinets white, it would draw out too much yellow from the countertops and the oak floors. Anything resembling gray is out as well.

There's black in the granite, so black seemed fine.

Are we going to regret painting the cabs black? It seems daring. I might paint the island FIRST and see how that looks.

So I'm really here to hear whether black is just stupid.

And also what to do about our kitchen table. I don't want to buy a new kitchen table now. Saving that for when we do the complete remodel. But I want to paint the table. Unfortunately the top of the table is laminate. Everywhere else is solid oak. Same color as the cabinets are now and the floors.

A sea of oak.

Would love to hear your thoughts! Pictures of before and after painting the walls are here

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XZwEgv6ZK3Kgx2rw8

Thanks

-Chris in Denver

Before and after kitchen paint

Featured Answer

ci_lantro

7 years ago

I started with painting the kitchen walls, going from that brownish red to Alpaca (SW). Very light, ,very neutral. Easy to work with right? What a complete difference. Kitchen feels just.. so much more fresh and open.

Yes, big improvement. IMO, black cabinets are going to undo most of the good you accomplished with the repaint.

With plans to gut & remodel two years out, I would not waste time & money doing anything else except buying some inexpensive runners for the floor. Two years, three years...goes by in a flash. Meantime, you've got other things to do with your time & money, right?

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Comments (8)

Cara Lewis-Watts
7 years ago
I think the black cabinets would be a fun update to the place. A bit daring yes, but I think will be great. I wouldn't do anything to the table right away. I think if you put an area rug underneath it, it would take away from all the oak. I'd pick something modern looking with black to tie in the cabinets.

https://www.houzz.com/products/safavieh-brittany-patchwork-hide-rug-ivory-and-black-8x10-prvw-vr~51647789

https://www.wayfair.ca/rugs/pdp/trent-austin-design-amoll-ivoryblack-area-rug-trnt4299.html
ilikefriday
7 years ago
I also have a home with a sea of oak cabinets. I hate my cabinets and am in the process of painting them now. Black. Like your wife, I love black. I think your cabinets will look fabulous.
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K Laurence
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Are you getting them done by a company that specializes in cabinet painting & refinishing?.... if not, nothing looks worse than a less than perfect black paint job. It will show every imperfection. It won’t be cheap, otherwise I’d just live with them untI’ll you remodel or move. If you’re thinking you might sell black cabinets might be an issue. Maybe just the island.

i find this somewhat ironic since the trend is now back to wood toned kitchens, maybe not exactly like yours, but definitely wood tones are back , especially in higher end homes.
jhmarie
7 years ago
My experience with painted oak cabinets - going to open houses, visiting friends, a few of my own painted cabinets, and reading blogs is - if you do a really good job, you will need to touch up in 3 years, more touch ups in 5 and need new cabinets in ten. If you plan to move in 3 to 10 years, they could look a bit sad when trying to sell. I suggest you save your $ and consider replacing the cabinets when you can afford to do so if your heart is set on painted cabinets. A factory finish is just much more durable then a painted over finished cabinets finish.

Here is my wood kitchens idea book. It has both new and refreshed, older kitchens. Perhaps you will find a way to work with the wood. (One start is to turn off HGTV - a marketing tool to make you hate what you have and buy new stuff.)

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/75202366/list/wood-kitchens
cat_ky
7 years ago
I have a friend that painted her cabinets (oak cabinets), proper prep, and proper cabinet paint, black, about 4 yrs ago, and they are beautiful, and still look like new I painted my bathroom vanities black about 6 yrs ago, and they still look very good too.
ilikefriday
7 years ago
cat_ky - Can you please tell me what type of paint you used?
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
7 years ago
I would not do black cabinets in almost any kitchen and I love black. I too dislike oak and even more than your wife since I would not buy a house with oak floors. IMO a white kitchen is timeless but I think we need to see pics of your space.