I’ve been watching for years as those plain builder’s grade oak cabinets have been painted all over blogland. And I still get a little gleeful when I see those beautiful After shots. There’s nothing sacred about builder’s grade oak, so if you have them and they make you crazy, here’s another great kitchen that just might push you over the edge.
Pssst, you can paint that oak. Yes, really!
Just look at what Erin (who is a Wanna-Be Decorator) has done in her beautifully redone kitchen. When she sent me an email showing off her kitchen, I knew it would be perfect to share with all of you. Y’all love Before and Afters as much as I do, I know!
Of course, this is the Before.
You’ve seen these cabinets all across America. Yep, builder’s love ’em. Erin brought in her great grandmother’s little table as an island to help give it a vintage feel. That wasn’t enough. Cue the white paint. And throw in a little granite on the countertops. 
And you have an instantly lighter and brighter vibe in this vintagey kitchen. It just sings now, don’t you think?
Sleek granite replaced the old formica. New bin pulls and knobs in a beautiful bronze tone really accent those white cabinets. 
She added a pretty striped rug and painted her great grandmother’s table.
This is cute Erin enjoying her new space. I sure don’t blame her for that.
She’s definitely got the WOW factor going on now. 
Check out her genius old vintage ladder turned decorative hanger. Not exactly a pot hanger, but I love how she stacked these cute old boxes and baskets on top. 
Perfect accent in her soaring ceilings. I love that Kitchen sign too.
So, I hope you will take a note from this if you have some oak cabinets that just drive you bonkers. Painting them could be just the ticket to liven up your space too.
Do you… have oak you are dying to paint?
What are you waiting for?
Rhoda, could you please repost your blog explaining how to make the shutters on your deck?
Thanks so much,
Jamie C
Boy…that is what I call a makeover! I hope somebody sends out a memo when the last of the oak kitchen cabinets have been painted 🙂
Beautiful!!! I am just LOVING the transformation!
What paint colors did she use in her kitchen? They’re beautiful! Sources, please. 🙂
Love this make over! I just painted our kitchen and hit a decorating wall with my own make over. Great inspiration! I would love to paint my cabinets…but that would be a tough sell at my house. Thanks.
HOLY COW! What a make over! I love the ladder over the breakfast bar. Its fabulous! Thanks for sharing! <3
hi rhoda,
popping over from marion at miss mustard seed…love erin’s new kitchen and the old ladder hanging from above.
i might be tarred and feathered for saying this but i’d love to paint our vintage ice box. we had a carpenter fix up one that had rotted out from sitting on a cold damp dirt floor. now, it’s too perfect and too oak!
Hi Rhoda!
That kitchen looks amazing. I just love it. I have some cabinets in my kitchen that really need a redo! This gave me some great ideas.
I love it! I wish I had that kitchen in my house.
Could you tell me where you bought the paper towel holder? It is adorable! Thanks for sharing!
Hi, I’m from the Netherlands and I love your blog. This kitchen is beautifully renewed, we are also doing here a lot of painting old oak and pine furniture, so that we can give them a new look. It is just lovely to do it and to see what you can do with your old furniture, without just buying new. I’m now going to have a look in your house, it’s beautiful. Thanks and love, Ineke
I have pine cabinets in my basement that I want to paint white and use your beadboard wallpaper to transform them. I am “re-claiming” my basement after 14 years of renting it to two college girls. So, I will be making over the space as my “WOman Cave”. I do want to be like you and not be afraid to change them and do the trim, etc. all by myself! I hope I can!
I remembered this great post, and I thought you might like to see what we did with our kitchen. We are loving it. Here is the link.
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/02/the-evolution-of-our-kitchen.html
Love the pictures of the kitchen re-do. I already have white cabinets,
but they are the builders grade thermefoil. I do not like how stark
white they are, its sort of like hospital white and I would like to warm
up my space by having warmer white and chaging out my old formica
countertops to granite like is in the pictures. unfortunately my cabinets would probably not paint well like real wood. I dont have the
money right now for new cabinets, have thought about replacing the doors, but still can be a little costly. Can anyone point me in the right
direction?
LOVE everything here! This is such a “MUST-DO” for those dated type of cabinets, and I recommend it all the time for clients, especially ones getting ready to sell. I often to light on top, dark on bottom, which looks so fab too. It seems that the male species is always so opposed to painting the wood! Once that hurdle is leapt though, the results are always fantastic! Great Job Erin!