White cabinets are not for me but I never get sick of looking at other people's white kitchens. Your update is great. Your kitchen looks so fresh and stylish. While your kitchen was fine before now it is fabulous. Love the way you filled in the gap above the cabinets. Your backsplash is gorgeous. The Stonington Grey wall color looks perfect.

Give yourselves a pat on the back for a well done DIY.

It looks great!

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!

Looks really great!

May I ask, what exact pieces did you use to make up your crown above your cabinets? Also, how much space did you have to fill?

Thanks!

What a good job! Clearly, you took the time and made the effort to do things right and it shows. Love the way you brought cabs to the ceiling and your backsplash and wall color choices. Enjoy!

Yours makes me wish I had gone with my original plan to do a DIY refresh.

Is that base shoe around the range?

What a gorgeous transformation. I like the way you filled in the space above the cabinets with the crown molding and I also like the way the new white affects your floors - the colour is beautiful.

I have painted cabinets and all the doors before and always paint brush - just like the results better.

Lovely, lovely kitchen! It does blend beautifully with your home. Love the Stonington Gray - it goes so well.

You and DH did a fabulous job. You should feel so proud!

Very nice! The marble backsplash is really lovely. I too just remodeled a kitchen in a 1920's bungalow and agree that the white shaker cabinetry really does complement this style of house. I post photos of my new kitchen once I settle back in and get everything in order. Congratulations on a great DIY!

You did a great job. Bright, clean, open work spaces. I love the way you brought the top of the cabinet up to the ceiling. It makes a huge difference in the feel of the space.

Really pretty! I am so impressed by DIY jobs! Do you love the London Grey? I just used it on a kitchen remodel and we get so many compliments.

I am impressed that you had such a functional layout to start with. What luck!

I AM SO SICK OF WHITE KIT--hey, that looks really nice! A much better flow, especially considering it's so open to the rest of the house. Now it fits right in. Congratulations.

Very pretty and fresh! Love the crown, backsplash, and the way the room flows into the seating area - your sofa pillows and kitchen rug are perfect!

Certainly won't skip your wonderful kitchen!

Great upgrade, I like your backsplash pattern.

Don't forget that Moen has a lifetime warranty and sends replacement parts for free (even the entire faucet if required).

Just beautiful!! Love how you filled in the gap above the cabinets, your faucet, counters, and I adore your backsplash so much!!! There isn't anything I DON'T like!

I love a white kitchen & I love yours. I read the whole intro (sometimes I skip right to the pics & then go back & read). I didn't expect such a dramatic change. I love the combination of the London Grey & marble backsplash. The backsplash is gorgeous. The soffit & crown is genius - it really changed the whole look of your kitchen, especially the frig wall.
Congratulations on your new kitchen! Perfect!

Many thanks to all for the positive feedback!

Ellen1234, we used plywood to extend the cabinet "front" face up to the ceiling, and then found crown to match what was in place on the adjacent wall. We had about 10 inches to fill. Here's an in-process picture.

Errant, the range is on a small platform (was like that when we bought the house, we're assuming things weren't quite level and it was a workaround), which is trimmed out with quarter round as are the base cabinets.

MarinaGal, yes, I love the London Grey. I am too uptight to handle marble and this was my favorite look alike. The counters were the hardest decision, but I'm so happy with them.

Jillius, yes, we were truly blessed to have a solid layout to start with and some great features already in place (like a super susan, pull out drawers, a great pantry, etc.). We inherited a thoughtfully designed kitchen.

flyingkite, thanks for the heads up on the Moen warranty, I somehow missed that detail. How fantastic!

It looks fantastic! It seems much bigger and seems like a huge change even though it's really the same and mostly cosmetic changes. Well done!

Wow! You did such a wonderful job reimagining what was already there. I'm biased, since I used similar quartz (Silestone Lagoon) and a similar marble herringbone backsplash. Your end result is just perfect!

Wow - it looks amazing!

I've considered replacing the arched, raised panel doors on my cabinets before painting them and even priced out Barker replacement doors. Now I'm thinking that it might be worth the extra cost.

Was it difficult to measure different sizes than your current doors to get the full overlay look?

I think it looks fabulous! I never tire of white kitchens. Your kitchen is so fresh and bright! What a transformation. You did a fabulous job of picking out just the right materials (Paint, backsplash etc etc). So well done!

Really beautiful job! Enjoy!

May I ask a question about the length of the cabinets that span the two door openings? I am starting a kitchen remodel of a very similar bungalow layout to yours. Two doors (one to dining room, one to basement) open at right angles in a corner of the kitchen. We will need to stagger the cabinet length on the refrigerator side with a smaller one near the dining room door (as you have) and perhaps angle the cabinet on the stove side (as you also have). Right now the length between the two (that is, the room a person has entering the kitchen between the two cabinets) is only 23"!

Perfect improvement. Space above cabinets is such a waste. Usually filled with greasy knick knacks.

I love what you've done here! It looks amazing, and much more era-appropriate. Congrats, beautiful job!

How fresh! Really lovely.

It pleases me to hear of someone doing a great paint job, with great prep and patience. Truly, painting cabinets correctly -- or painting them to get the finish you want -- is not for those needing immediate gratification. I also don't like roller marks on wood. I don't care how tiny your little roller is, it's still ... well, let's say rushed, OK?

I think you did a lovely job and just love the feel of your kitchen. Enjoy it and give yourselves a great pat on the backs when you see someone either paying a $$gudzillion or someone who rushed.

Just lovely.

I also always paint cabinetry by hand with with a good brush. Never rolled, and I even prefer it to a sprayed factory finish which I find too perfect.

Lovely kitchen!

You mentioned that you brush painted the cabinets but then you said you sprayed them. This is probably a newbie question, but can you explain what that means?

Hi juddgirl! The photos may be deceiving, but the doors I ordered were exactly the same size as those they were replacing. And even then, it was super-stressful. I think I checked them two additional times after measuring, but it was worth it for the peace of mind. :-) That said, I think the Barker site was really helpful in terms of how to measure, etc.

Hi marita40! At the narrowest point we have 39 inches between the cabinets.

Hi playing_hookie! We brush-painted the boxes, but spray painted the (new) doors. I don't think I explained it very well.

It is absolutely beautiful! From what I can see of the rest of your house, the kitchen ties in perfectly.

It looks clean and fresh and in keeping with your home's architecture. Well done! I love the backsplash tile.

Absolutely amazing!

How does the brush painted framework look against the spray painted doors? Also, what paint did you use? What wood species did you get the doors in??

I have this same project in my future (next year after retirement) so I am fact-gathering :).

Awesome work, very impressive that you did that yourselves. I don't think I will ever tire of white kitchens.

I think your fill-in above the cabinets was a stroke of design genius! It looks so much better. I am always in awe of those who DIY. While I consider myself a good remodeler, I would not be the one painting my own cabinets, so huge kudos to you for doing that!!

Your transformation is fabulous. I love a pretty white kitchen :)

Oh I love your smarts in seeing beyond the awful brown cabinets to what this kitchen could be when buying your house! I actually did a 'search' on 'London Grey' because it's one of the countertops we are considering for our white kitchen and your post popped up (we had already decided on the exact same backsplash in real marble! So loving that I found your post!!) We are thinking through doing a 'cosmetic' upgrade to our (cheap) white kitchen vs ripping everything out and starting new (just moved in to house) and like the combination of london grey counters and the herringbone backsplash… in your post it was difficult to see the 'greyness' in the countertops so I am hoping you could post some more pics of the counter next to the tile in close up and your dimensions of the kitchen as well as the dimensions of the peninsula (we currently have a wall where we may put in a peninsula - we think it will open up a small kitchen (8x16) and make it feel bigger if it flows in to the dining room (13x13) but I am nervous about it since I am not sure how the end result will feel and whether I will like seeing dirty dishes etc (the wall now hides EVERYTHING lol!!) - how do you like the open space especially with the sink in the peninsula? Do you mind sharing the reno cost - don't mind if you provide a ballpark but it would help greatly for somebody starting out… you have inspired me to try a partly cosmetic reno rather than the full overhaul!! (Our house has a similar look)

I keep coming back to look at your before and afters - very nice! It's really helping me decide whether to get new doors before I paint my cabinets.

Thanks for the info on measuring. I'm a little worried about getting that right since I'd be going from partial to full overlay.

Are you happy with the Westminster style? I'm considering that one or the New York.

hi fpmom,

Here are some answers for your questions!

I'll attach a drawing of the kitchen counter w/ dimensions on it.

>> how do you like the open space especially with the sink in the peninsula?

I like it, but we do have a deep sink so it's easy to hide a few dishes if we're not on tops of things. Although I've never had a peninsula/island with a "step," so it's hard to comment. I will say that it makes the kitchen feel nice and spacious.

> Do you mind sharing the reno cost - don't mind if you provide a ballpark but it would help greatly for somebody starting out… you have inspired me to try a partly cosmetic reno rather than the full overhaul!!

NOT including counters, we spent about $3K, biggest expense in there being a little over $1K for the new cabinet doors.

I will also try to find some close up pics and if not, I'll post them tomorrow when I have good light. :-)

Hope this helps!

juddgirl2, Yes, we are VERY happy with the Westminster style. I think of it as a "softened" Shaker, and the "bead" detail matches the original doors in our home, so it just felt right.

for fpmom: the counters really are quite warm... I think if you want a closer match for carrara marble (vs. the generic "white marble" we used from lowe's), maybe one of the other caesarstone colors might be better? I think one is misty carrera and one is frosty carrina?

one more...

the last one

Thank you so much for the quick reply! Am so glad I came across your kitchen - fyi I would be screaming that impressive reno cost from the rooftops! You did very well (I just wish I had a well thought out kitchen like you had to play with! I think we will need to re-do the cabinetry completely but keep the appliances in same space) My husband wants to keep the sink in the peninsula to minimize costs in moving it etc whereas I would prefer to move it and have a peninsula with nothing in it so it is very helpful to get your drawing of dimensions to help me visualize what things could look like - thank you so much :) Again so impressed with what you achieved on that budget!! PS So it the backsplash actual marble or a stone product - looks like marble to me

Beautiful, love your backsplash, looks really great.

Really nice. Wow I like that Westminster style - wish I had looked into that before doing my white kitchen : )

I keep coming back to look at your kitchen - not only loving the looks, but love your budget! I am quite shocked at the reasonable price for the Barker doors.

I do have a couple of questions:

Re: The corner bottom cabinet(s) to the left of your range. Are there two actual doors there or one fold out door with the piano type hinge? Do you have a lazy susan behind the door(s)? I have a cabinet like that with the fold out door which I don't like - just exploring some options.

Also, how does the brush painted frames compare to the spray painted doors? Do they "blend" well. Does the brush painted frames feel/look as tough as the spray paint??

TIA
Tuesday

Hi, tuesday_2008!

To the left of the range, there are three actual doors on the bottom cabinet--we keep skillets, pans, and cutting boards in there. To the right of the range, we have a super susan with a fold out door. While the fold out door is a little clunky, you can't beat the lazy susan for storing small appliances. I would miss it if we didn't have one.

I think the brush painted frames and spray painted doors blend well. Most of the cabinet box area is covered by the doors, and the primer was sandable so we were able to ensure a pretty smooth finish.

We did tell ourselves we would leave the option open to brush paint the final coat on the cabinet doors if needed, but we didn't find it necessary. I've also heard of people quickly running a brush over the final sprayed coat to give it a lightly brushed look.

They seem to be wearing equally well, thank goodness. I think as long as you have good surface prep, you'll be great.

Hope this helps!

With the under cabinet lighting - did you do this yourselves (i.e. is it easy?) or did you have an electrician do it?
Thanks again!

I love the look of the "false" dropped soffits. What a creative solution. Thanks for showing the in process picture. I'll file that away for future projects. Neat solution.

Looks great! Can you tell me the paint color in the OTHER room (with the couch)? And also the details on the couch - where you got it, color, etc. Thanks!

Not sure that you'll see this question, but what sheen did you use from ProClassic? I've heard that Satin is now more of the trend?