I just did a kitchen for a client where I used a deep red base and then a black glaze brushed on top, in several layers. In certain angles/certain times of day, it gives a leathery richness and other times, a venetian plaster look. The kitchen cabinets are a combination of white, espresso and a weathered finish on some accent pieces in a barn red. And the room itself, has lots of natural light. She says everyone who sees it, loves it. If you like the virtual look of your room, your next step should be slapping up a few paint (or paper) samples to see how it will really look.

Perfect timing for me, this thread. We've replaced our 2'x11' kitchen bench seating area (termite damage -- caught early, but still...), and I just finished priming with Stix. In all my reading, I didn't anticipate how thick the primer would be, fresh out of the can -- my stir stick, jammed into the primer, stood at attention without issue! I contacted INSLX customer svc and was told I could thin with water. I did so, but it was still too thick to level well (I didn't want to exceed the amount of water recommended). I had to sand a fair bit to knock down the ridges. (I've repainted every door, spindle, baseboard and trim in this 26 y/o house of ours by now, using Lowes' American Tradition semi-gloss, and always got a smooth finish.) I have a can of Cabinet Coat at the ready, but am concerned about obtaining a flat finish: foam roller vs quality brush. How does one keep a wet edge when painting such a large swath, even if the paint levels well? (And I've read CC dries rather quickly.) I'm crossing fingers that CC will be the proper consistency (after a good stirring), so I won't have to worry about buying an extender (such as Floetrol or whatever INSLX might recommend). Whizz high-density foam rollers were recommended on one DIYer's site. Though, she was painting only cabinet door surfaces and wasn't dealing with the surface area of a wall-to-wall bench.

My kitchen has been done for over a year, so I don't visit this site anymore & just came back because I am out of wax for my soapstone counters & wanted to check if there were any new recommendations. So I was surprised to see a pic of my cabinets! My cabinets are by Brookhaven and I love them (still). The door style is Edgemont recessed panel for the perimeter in Eggshell and Edgemont raised panel on the island in Cherry Cognac. I think the dark hardware looks good on both finishes. Also, I still love my ORB Ephram hardware by RH and my faucets don't match my hardware & I think its ok! I went with brushed stainless faucets or something that looks like brushed stainless (which matches the stainless steel appliances & sinks).

Thank you so much aries61 for posting the link. I just replied to the post with the finished kitchen. I loved it so much. My kitchen is very similar but instead of an L shape , I have a Jshape in a 14 X 10 feet kitchen. I would love something like this for my kitchen. I really like how the door has a shaker look but with an added pizzazz (I had to look up the spelling of Pizzazz as it did not seem right and I was told it could be spelled pizazz, pizzazz, or pizzaz... amazing that I always use this work in sentences but never looked up the spelling). Thank you for sharing the link.