I'm Dreaming of a White Kitchen

I love white kitchen cabinets! And after 12 years of real adulting, I finally have 'em (high-fives!). 

Let's just take a moment to celebrate their brilliance. So light, so bright! Rocks my world. And who knew that we could transform such a large space for just under $200?! Paint is seriously the bomb dot com.

Now let's take a look at where we started. I should mention that our "before" photos were snapped a while ago and not necessarily with the intention of being shared. Please also excuse the alarming amount of Christmas dinnerware on the counters -- our extensive dish collection is a small problem and we were party prepping. Alright...that's my disclaimer...have a look!

We started with traditional oak cabinets, original to our home. They were in really great condition, and the hardware had already been updated to simple rubbed bronze handles. The kitchen island had been refinished with a light creamy taupe, and it was actually quite nice with the granite countertops.

That kitchen island was really where the decision to paint the cabinets white began. It gave us courage (because it was already painted!) and allowed us to see how well the lighter color complimented the countertops and the oak floors. Add my love for white and dreams for a super-fresh space, and it was done! My music man was off to Home Depot for supplies while I'll prepped the space, and just one week and $200 later, our lives were brighter.

It's been months since we completed this project, and I'm still in love. We opted for a contrasting color on the island and went with a beautiful grayish-green that adds dimension to the space and compliments surrounding rooms. If you're curious about the actual paint colors, the cabinets are Behr's Polar Bear and the island is Behr's Island Palm. Both winners -- would choose 'em again and again! Also, you'll notice the wall color is different in the before pics -- we painted those, too! That's a story for another day.

Behr is our primer and paint brand of choice. It's all we use, and we've had great success! We went with Behr's All-In-One Primer & Sealer and Behr's Interior/Exterior Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel. We didn't sand the cabinets before priming, we simply removed the doors, the drawers and all hardware, gave everything a good scrub and got busy. There are many tutorials on the inter webs about painting cabinets, and some may disagree with our no-sanding process. I'm certain there are cases where sanding is necessary for the best results. For us, we were confident in the products we were using and felt our cabinets were in solid shape. We've had zero issues and have continued using this method in other areas of the house.

So there you have it! A total transformation, all completed with two gallons of primer, three gallons of paint and a few small supplies. Admittedly, we're beyond thrilled to be on the other side of this project. It absolutely disrupted life for a full seven or eight days, but we pressed on, fueled-up on Portillo's (cheese fries, holla!) and now get to bask in all the dreaminess.

Anyone else tackling big painting projects? Share your stuff! We love updates.

xo, all the love.