Kitchen Refresh - Get Rid of the Yellow Tones

2 years ago

My kitchen is 13 years old. Cabinets are in good shape. Time for a refresh!

Travertine floors will stay. Want to brighten up things but not too trendy.

Looking for advice/suggestions on:

1. Paint color for the cabinets (Current cabinets are cream, with yellow undertones and antique glaze. In the photos are paint swatches of creamy/warm whites.) Will a warm white make that much of a difference?

2. New backsplash

3. New countertops

4. Install drybar where keg and open shelves currently are (match cabinets and countertop with the rest of the kitchen or bring in another complementary cabinet and countertop?)

5. Paint color for walls

6. Light fixtures

Any and all comments and/or suggestions are welcome! (I will post "after" photos!)

Thank you!

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Beth H. :

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

The first thing I'd do today is get new bulbs for your recessed lights. what you currently have are so dim and yellow, I don't even know how you can work in there!

get bulbs that are a 4000K temp. that alone will make a huge difference in the yellow tones in that space.

Choose your countertop first. Then your cabinet color. Easier to pick a color to match the countertop than vice versa. wall color and backsplash are last.

Are you happy with everything else in the kitchen, layout-wise?

what about the micro? would you rather have a nicer vent and move a diff micro to a built-in portion somewhere?

Is that door your pantry area? if yes, have you thought about doing a diff type of door?

Here is a similar layout like yours, (minus the pantry or garage door)

before

And the after

What is the budget for all these changes? I ask because getting those professionally painted is a big job. expect to spend 5K or so. another 3-5K for countertops. (look into pre-fab countertops)

backsplash could be 800-1800, depending on what you choose and who is doing it.

I would trim out the backside of you peninsula so that it has more of a finished look

you could do something easy like these

your drybar area. going to be hard to match what you have because of the type of trim work you have on your doors.

here's what I did w/mine. I had custom built wood cabs that were 16 years old. still in good shape, but the finish was done. I hated the rope trim, the fluted stuff and the corbels. Also hated the micro above the stove top, and wanted it moved to below the wall oven. I have an island w/open shelving, I wanted large drawers instead.

My kitchen cabinet guy said he could get me all new doors/drawers (solid wood w/MDF center panels) for only 2K more. I have 3x the cabs you do. So I did it. And that's something you can do. If you reface, then you get matching cabs for you beverage bar area.

here's mine so you can see how it look. look at the doors and the top drawers. they don't match

Refaced. ugly trim removed. micro below oven, new vent hood, drawers in my island, new tile/countertops. I did a shade brighter than BM Simply White.

(do not go through big box stores if you want to reface. check yelp for local cabinet painters (not house painters) and only pick the 5 star ratings. have them come out for an estimate. find out EXACTLY what they do to prep and prime. have him list all of the steps. This is what makes or breaks a cabinet painting. If you get a cheap estimate, you'll know they won't be doing any of the proper prepwork and your painting will chip within months. )

pantry area with a coffee bar. You could do open shelving, or get some uppers.