One well known fact is that redoing a kitchen brings one of the the biggest bangs for the buck. I think I would have to totally agree with that. Most kitchen renovations I see on TV are done for $25,000 or more. Well, prepare to be amazed at what you can DIY for less than $3,000. My old kitchen in Georgia was built in 1985 and had all the original appliances, as well as the Euro-style cabinets that I just insisted on having when the house was originally built. The house building was overseen by my preacher dad, who also happened to know a thing or two about building. This was the first house (and only house) I lived in when I was a single girl in my late 20’s. It was an exciting time, to get my own house for the very first time and I lived in this house for 20 years, from single to married. But, back to those oh-so-trendy Euro cabinets. Why I fell in love with them, I’ll never know…but, I did…and the kitchen looked like this.
Aren’t they just the most stylish things you’ve ever seen? I had to have that wallpaper too, somewhere around 1994 or so. Wallpaper was still a desirable thing back then. I’ve about changed my mind on all things wallpaper these days, but I still like a pretty paper in a certain spot. So, I was married to someone else during that time and my ex and I decided to update this awful kitchen to something more up to date and exciting in 2002. Those painted and glazed cabinets were just coming into vogue in the showrooms and my first exposure was at the Home Depot Expo in Atlanta, a great place to get inspiration. Since I was keeping the almond appliances, I decided to paint them a close match to that and then do a glaze on top. My ex was also quite handy with the tools and built new doors from scratch, as well as added LOTS of wood moldings and extra bling to the space & this was done with his expertise. You won’t recognize it now…..
New beadboard doors, hardware, granite tile countertops, tumbled marble backsplash, sink & faucet and WOWIE, what a kitchen now. It was a dream kitchen to me and took a long 6 weeks of hard work to complete, working every day on it. You can see the island that was built for this space, which is now residing in my laundryroom. It was too pretty to leave behind.
Another view BEFORE
And AFTER
That 3 paned window you see was actually cut from the top of an old door and added in for a pretty new detail. Lots of molding and corbels made up this redo. That rectangular piece above the sink was a lightweight resin piece that I painted & glazed to match the cabinets and then just hung up on nails.
Same thing for those 2 pieces above the cubby, they are plaster pieces. The cubby used to have those two small doors on it and those were taken off to make this cute little display space. Those square pieces were free standing pieces mounted with liquid nails for security. You can see from the befores and afters that plywood boxes were added to take the cabinets up to the ceiling in 2 places with crown molding added. This really added some needed architectural interest in this otherwise bland kitchen. He was very handy with the tools and did an outstanding job. I have no doubt that this was one reason the house sold when it did. She fell in love with this kitchen!
Lots of beadboard and extra rope and other molding was added. Made a world of difference.
I used a Ben Moore color called Vellum as the base color, then added Ralph Lauren Teastain glaze to them, wiping most off with a wet rag. Glazing is really not hard, just takes a little time, but is a very forgiving process. Seeded (looks like old) glass was added to the doors.
I loved murals, but didn’t want to pay for one, so I took a cue from Donna at The Decorated House blog (she’s SO creative and gave us all many tips on faux painting over the years that I’ve known her online) and printed these fruits that I found online off on paper and decoupaged them directly to the tumbled stone. No one ever knew that they weren’t handpainted. 
This is granite tiles with an edging installed. I won’t even go into how hard this was to do, but I’ve heard there are improvements out there now on granite edgings. Using granite tiles really saves a LOT of money over slab. Of course, I’d love to have slab now, but would consider doing granite tiles again in my current house. This color was called Giallo Espirito and was a great color. Couldn’t even see crumbs when it was dirty. I’ve just heard about a new granite tile product with built-in bullnose edging that is as easy to install as regular tile. Go here to read about Benissimo granite tile systems. One of my online friends, Kat in Washington, just did this in her kitchen if you want to take a look at her DIY project. It really is beautiful.
I loved these fleur de lis knobs that I special ordered from HD Expo, as well as the bin pulls. I added these cute little feet from a bed post project that was laying around the house…they really aren’t feet, but I made them work. I might have to add some feet to my current cabinets too, since I’ve seen them out there lately in other kitchens and still love them.
Closeup of the glazing and knobs. Painting and glazing cabinets is really not a hard project, just takes some time and effort. I primed the base of the cabinets well for the first step, put on 2 coats of the creamy paint, then after all was dry, went back with the glaze and added that. Brush on the glaze with a paintbrush & keep a damp rag handy to wipe most of it off. The glaze helps keep it wet longer so you can work with it.
Sink was a Kohler sink and very nice in an off-white shade. I started a trend with this Price Pfister Marielle faucet at the time and lots of my decorating buddies went out and bought the same one. It now comes in oil-rubbed bronze and when I do a little redo in my current kitchen, I’ll probably get the same one in bronze. I loved that faucet!
A few fleur de lis tiles were added along the black/cream border for a lot of detail.
Sigh….I did love that kitchen, but it was time to move on to Birmingham and we are very happy in our current home, me and hubby. My current kitchen is pretty with white cabinets and a tumbled tile countertop and backsplash, but I would love to do a little update in there too. I may end up adding some rope molding along the top of my crown molding & painting to match the cabinets. And, I’d love to do a dark granite countertop one day, along with a Silgranite sink (granite composite) and that beautiful oil-rubbed bronze faucet. I don’t want to do a total renovation, just a couple of things.
I know many of us are looking to update kitchens, old and new, so hopefully you got some inspiration from this oldie but goodie of mine. I did love that kitchen!
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Rhoda I remember that kitchen well. It sat in my inspiration file for years. I had to gain some confidence before attempting a kitchen remodel. Many years later Im finally doing it. I love a thrifty remodel.
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Loved your kitchen redo…you have given me some great ideas…I have a question regarding the cabinets. You said you used Ralph Lauren TeaStain glaze, where did you purchase this? I thought you said Homedepot but I cannot seem to find this color glaze. Did you mix Teastain color with regular glaze? What color did the Teastain come out because online it looks a shade of green. And also the Ben Moore Vellum is this a creme color? My cabinets are white right now and I was going to try your Teastain over my white if I can find it, what do you think??? I really appreciate the info and for you indepth information inregards to your beautiful makeover. Look forward to seeing more.
Hi, Perfectionist, I hope you come back to see this, since I have no way to get in touch with you. Ralph Lauren paint is sold at Home Depot & they also have glaze. You can ask them to mix the Teastain glaze for you at HD & they should still be able to do this. If you can't find the RL glaze, then I would buy a quart of glaze at the home center & mix your own. You can use Raw Umber craft paint from any of the craft stores. Raw Umber is very similar to what they use in the Ralph Lauren colors. It's a brown/mushroom color after it is mixed. You can mix it as dark or light as you want. The Teastain was rather light/medium, not really dark.
Ben Moore Vellum is a dark cream, not real light, but a little darker than most creams are. You can definitely go over white cabinets with the teastain glaze too, just use it sparingly as a little goes a long way. I brushed on the glaze where I wanted it and then went back with a damp rag to wipe it off, not letting too much settle in the crevices. If your cabinets are laminate, you probably will not be very successful using the glaze, since that surface is rather slick. It works best on real wood.
Hi there! Thank you for the awesome advice!
I did a kitchen in a house we built and used that same faucet which I loved. I just love the glaze on the cabinets and want to do that same look in my laundry room. Is the Ralph Lauren Tea Stain a ready mixed glaze? Or is it the paint mixed with glaze? If so, what proportions did you use. I’m going to get those fleur de lis knobs to replace my round stainless ones. Thanks for the inspiration!