Kitchen Makeover Update: Cabinet Hardware
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With each pass of the roller and swipe of my paint brush I am making my way around the kitchen. Going back to standard time has slowed me down since it gets dark around 5 o’clock now.
I like to paint in daylight, using electrical lights casts too many shadows and I miss spots. It is also getting colder outside. I was painting in the garage, but the temps have to be above 50 to paint, so I brought my painting set-up inside.
See that bottle of wine on the counter? At the end of the day of painting… I flop down on the sofa and chill.
We plan to remove the wood valance over the sink and replace the light fixture behind it, but the start-up company that Ed is working with is starting to take off. I don’t think he is going to have the time to help me do it in the next few weeks, so as I was painting, I just painted it so it would at least look OK for the time being.
I thought I would share what I used to update the cabinet hardware to bring the cabinets into the the present. Here is a close-up shot of one of the drawers. As you can see… they are lovely :-)
The cabinets were custom made using high quality plywood and are sturdy and well-made, but have not been updated since the 1970’s. The house was a second home for the previous owners. When they came to the house, they came to enjoy the lake, not to work.
Back in the 1970’s, big ornate center door pulls with back plates were the rage. I removed the backplates when we first moved into the house and just kept the pulls on the drawers. I filled the holes with wood filler, then sanded smooth before painting.
I find it interesting that the builder of these cabinets stained the cabinets after they put the pulls on.
The previous drawer pull holes are spaced 3-inches apart. They are pretty color, but to my eye look wimpy.
I wanted to beef the look up without having to drill new holes to fit a longer pull. After an extensive search, I found these Chrome Bar Pulls at D. Lawless Hardware. I found all the cabinet hardware there. They had everything I needed, plus they offer a price match so you know you are getting the best price.
Hello 2016! The cabinets are not perfect but they look 150% better.
I am in the process of writing up the post on the cabinet painting method I used and will get it posted soon.
For the cabinet doors, I like to mix up the hardware and used glass knobs with a chrome accent.
I love the look of glass knobs. They add a touch of vintage… and a little bling.
I love the star/snowflake design inside the glass you see when you look at them straight on. They are from D. Lawless Hardware, too. They are called, Octagon Cut Glass Knobs in the color Clear.
I wanted white cabinet door hinges and didn’t want to paint the original antique brass hinges since they were rusty and crusty, plus painted hinges always get chippy since there are moving parts.
TIP: When I remove cabinet or furniture doors, I always mark where the door and where each hinge was placed. This makes putting them back up easy. If you mix them up, the doors may not hang correctly.
I knew I would have to get the exact hinge or the doors would not go back on correctly.
With some trial and error and the help of Dave at D. Lawless Hardware, I found the right ones. So many looked like exact matches when I held them up to each other, but I found I needed to use these Amerock hinges. They fit perfectly and have a little chrome accent at the top and bottom that accents the chrome drawer pulls.
One side of the kitchen is almost complete. I was waiting for the backsplash tile to be cut for around the outlets, they are now cut. Now I need my handy electrician, Ed to move the outlets out 1/4″ so they are in line with the tiles. Once that is done, I am going to use white grout on the subway tiles.
I am painting the oven doors, too. You can’t really see the difference in this photo, but the top oven is painted. The previous owner of the house had them painted an off-white. They were originally avocado green. I used high temp car engine paint.
More on this soon and of course all the details of how I am getting this kitchen makeover completed. That’s it for now.
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Hi Diane, I am so darned impressed with the work you are doing on your kitchen cabinets. We have high end oak cabinets painted in a washed white finish and they need a refresher too. I am going to follow your lead and try and do them myself. I am a novice at this but, you give such excellent instructions that I feel I can do it, starting in January. I want our island to be a dark, almost blue/black finish and the other cupboards done in white. Love yours. I am going to do the counter tops with the paint (Carrara Marble) if I can find it in Canada. I think Home Depot will sell it. I have one big problem. When we originally had our kitchen done back in 1987, they put corrian edging around the edges and I want it taken off. Do you have any suggestions on what to put there to replace it? A friend suggested putting a wood molding there and just painting it too. I just don’t know if it would stand up. Help! Love your great ideas. Thanks so much, Peggy
Peggy…… I would try to work with the Corian edging rather than replace with wood. Further, I would suggest that you try to ‘match’ the painted countertop to the color/veins of the Corian so it all looks like it was done as a whole. Just my opinion……. ;-)
Your kitchen is looking beautiful. White paint is a miracle worker…so are you. I have an old 1970’s GE oven that looks just like yours. It’s a great oven and still works perfectly. I had the door, which was originally light brown, re-enameled years ago when I painted my kitchen white. It’s held up beautifully. I just wish I had two ovens like yours. Sure would come in handy for holiday cooking.
I did a little google search to see what color my oven (and sink and cooktop and bathroom) used to be. It was called Mexican sand. I also once had olive green washer, dryer, freezer and refrigerator. Oh my, we thought we were really stylin’ back in the good old 70’s. I cringe when I see a photo of myself in the fashion of the day too. I miss my youthful look, but not the styles.
Wow – it’s looking fantastic!! I’m looking forward to more progress updates, especially on how you’ve painted the ovens.
You have tenacity Diane. And good taste. Love the hardware and knobs you got. I can see the difference in the top oven door also. Looking forward to full reveal.
Wow, its looking great and really coming together. Did you use stick on tiles for the kitchen? I too have ugly hinges and have to tackle them. Do I just contact the hardware company and describe what I have? The cabinets in my home appear to be handmade by the original owner but the hinges are the black iron wrought look that was so popular back in the day. Love the glass cabinet knobs too!
Beautiful as always!!! You are amazing!
I am going to replace my builder cabinet knobs with the glass ones! Thanks for the inspiration!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Nancy
Beat Army!!