Conn 123: the door is old, and it is one of my favorite things in my kitchen. The door is original to the house, which was built in 1894. It, like everything else in the house, had about 20 layers of paint on it. We sent all the kitchen doors and hardware out to be dipped and stripped, with the intent of painting them. But we decided to just put a clear poly on the dining room door to see how it would look, and we love how it turned out. It has some dents and scrapes, but with the finish, it looks good. Definitely not for everyone, becuase it is quite "rustic." I'm sure my mother is horrified because the door is kind of beat up, and she always wants everything to look perfect and new, but I like it, and the house is really old, so it fits. We had one other door that we planned to leave unpainted, that was actually in better shape, but a worker painted it. We've left it so far (we didn't make it crystal clear that we didn't want it painted, so we didn't make a huge stink about it). I would think that if your own doors are not in good enough shape to leave unpainted, you might try a salvage place. Not sure where you would find a new door that looked old.

What you want is graining liquid which will create the dark aging effect. Once the graining liquid is dried, you'll need to protect it with a clear coat product. You can do an internet search for graining liquid to find suitable and compatible products. When glazing kitchen cabinets... 1) clean the surface 2) lightly sand the surface 3) Paint - but careful here. you need to determine what you are painting over top of. You need the new paint to adhere properly. The sanding in step #2 works well, but you may need to apply primer. Test it to be sure. 4) Apply graining liquid. 5) Optionally, apply a clear coat for protection. Good luck, Paul

People thought I was crazy when I said I was going to paint our fp brick wall in our FR black. I am the least decisive person around, but I KNEW it just had to be black, and that it would look good. And you know what? We think it looks terrific, and all the naysayers really like it, too! Sometimes you have to go with your gut. That said, realize that black will show dust, much more so than other stain colors. Our MB vanity is black and I could wipe it down daily. Or more often than that. Our hall bath vanity, same style/size, but Bordeaux stain, shows nothing.

amylville: The range of pewter IS part of my problem. Would it be weird to order one knob? ella socal: No photos yet, the cabinets aren't in! :) But it's down to the last couple weeks before they begin. My hardware is included in cost by the cabinet maker so can't wait until after. This will sound odd, the drapes arrived the other day and the lighting (inc. pendant for over table) showed up today. I suddenly found a table that works and it's all looking like it needs pewter because it's turned out to be SO much more "country" than I had been thinking. Had this white/gray/black vision with "silver" knobs. But the other half of the room has morphed. I'm just kind of wary about the pewter since there isn't ONE photo online of a kitchen with white 'antiqued' cabinets and pewter. SIGH. Probably going out on a limb here but it wont' be the first time. It's hard for me to visualize all the elements together. (I know...try squinting harder!)