Update Your Old Kitchen To White

written by:Cassity Kmetzsch
Update Your Old Kitchen To White 

contributed by Jamielyn @ I Heart Nap Time
So our kitchen is FINALLY done! YAY!! We knew moving into our house that we were going to get a nice tax refund, so we decided to put some in savings, and some into our house. The kitchen is where a lot of it went, and I can’t think of a better place I’d want it to go! 🙂 It’s pretty much complete, and the only thing that is missing is a light to hang over my sink. I just can’t find one I like. It is so nice to have my house back to normal, and we are really enjoying our new kitchen.



So first things first…we took off the cabinet doors, and then emptied all of our cabinets and put everything in our room. Yikes…that was a big fat mess!



So I can’t say I did it all with out my hubby. My husband did all the dirty work such a sanding, drilling, and putting up the molding, etc. But I can say I did 100% of the painting! 🙂


So after my husband sanded the cupboards I vacuumed all the dust off, and then wiped them down with an all-purpose spray.

Here is Carson being a great helper! 😉 Most the day he spent playing with our neighbors, so that was really nice!! Big thank you to Brit!


I think this was my least favorite part…


We put thumb tacks on the backs of the cupboards, so we could flip sides and paint A LOT faster. This way they rested on the thumbtacks instead of the ground. It actually worked out pretty well.


First coat of primer. I used kilz 2. I highly suggest buying a spray painter instead of using a brush. It’s about 50 bucks, and it looks a whole lot better! This is the one we got, and it worked great.


My husband ripping off the old molding…while I’m outside painting. 🙂


First coat done!


Sanded all the boards… then cleaned them of course.


We made plenty of trips to Home Depot and Lowes… Good thing they are both 1/2 mile from our house. We had our 10% move-in coupon as well, which made it even better!


I think this was the toughest part. My husband and I have never done a project this big, and really don’t know that much about remodeling. However we thought, “How hard can it be?” Cut the molding…then glue. Well on a straight angle that might be the case but not when you have a 63 degree angle. It may have been a little easier if we had more then just a plain miter box…but we didn’t so we made it work. Luckily my husband is smart at math and we have a nice neighbor that helped and who has done crown molding, so it actually turned out good!


First coat of paint in kitchen…with the brush. Bad mistake. Ever wonder how to paint white kitchen cabinets? Read on…


First things first- get a paint sprayer!! It made my life a whole lot easier! Especially since I did 4 coats of paint total….yes they were pretty thin coats! haha. BTW in between in each coat of paint I lightly sanded (300 grit) each layer and then wiped it all down again. It better last now! haha.


So after we saw the results with the spray painter, we realized we needed to tape everything up and spray the kitchen down. Who knew taping took SOOOOO long. It really did. But I am so glad we did, because the spray paint looks sooo much cleaner and professional.


All the molding and bead board is up!


I really love the bead board! It makes such a difference! Especially for only 40 bucks!


So here she is all done and WHITE! She’s just missing something…



Oh yes the hardware! I love the black hardware!


AND…the black granite. We actually ended up spending ALOT less on our kitchen then we thought and decided to go for it. We found a really cheap guy on craiglist, that I was a little nervous about, but I’m sooo happy with the way it looks. They did a really good job!! It pays to get a lot of differnent bids.


I also loooove the under mount sink. It’s so nice to just wipe things straight into the sink. You can find great deals on sinks and hardware on ebay FYI.



Here is my hot hubby playing Mr. Plumber. He thinks he can figure everything out on his own…and he usually can. I’m glad I have a handy husband, even if that means getting a few broken things, while he’s figuring it out. 😉



Cooking in my new kitchen!



This was the 63 degree angle I was talking about. 🙂

Bead board and baseboard added around the island. 
So after 4 long days she is beautiful! I can’t say I’d want to do it again, but it is definitely SOOOO worth it!
I will be participating in some of these link parties

*edited to add* I had a few questions so I’ll add them onto this post for future reference.

-I used the wagner paint sprayer found at home depot. Here is the link
-I also did have to thin my paint. Follow the directions and do the paint test. Also in b/w each coat clean out with water and clean with thumbtack or needle so it doesn’t glob. Also in between each coat I put a new sheet of plastic down to keep my cabinets dust free.
– Paint breakdown 1 gallon of paint-20
primer-8
beadboard and molding- around100
hardware- 40(found on ebay)
paint sprayer-55
caulking glue- 15
total cost to paint, add molding and hardware= 238 ….NOT bad!!
-I used a latex paint…the home depot brand glidden was on sale, so I bought that.

Cassity Kmetzsch
Website | + posts

Cassity Kmetzsch started Remodelaholic after graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Interior Design. Remodelaholic is the place to share her love for knocking out walls, and building everything back up again to not only add function but beauty to her home. Together with her husband Justin, they have remodeled 6 homes and are working on a seventh. She is a mother of four amazing girls. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.

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20 Comments

  2. >This is beautiful! We are going to be renovating our kitchen in the next year and I too love the look of white! Great ideas and you did awesome with cost too!

    Reply

  7. >Wow! You're inspiring me, girl! I've been toying with the idea of painting my kitchen cabinets! I may have to go for it!!

    Reply

  9. >Your kitchen looks amazing! Great work! Did you have to thin the paint, when using the paint sprayer? Contemplating buying one and wondered how hard it was to use.

    Reply

  10. >Thanks so much for featuring my kitchen! That made my day! I totally forgot I submitted this. lol

    Reply

  18. >Looks fabulous! We are looking to do the same thing, but adding a glaze on top. I'm just wondering, did you add baseboard to the bottoms of the entire kitchen or just the bar?

    Reply

  19. I am SO excited to find your post about painting cabinets white! I am planning to do this and it is great to get this information before hand. I wonder what paint you used? I have a sander but not a paint sprayer. Thanks for all the useful tips.

    Reply

  20. I am in the process of painting my cabinets white too! Your tutorial has been so helpful! Where did you get those cute polka dot curtains?

    Reply