The kitchen was one of our biggest projects in the house, and a lesson in how to paint cabinetry.

First, let’s check out the before pics:

We wanted a new look for the cabinets, but could not afford to replace them. We decided to paint them, which was painstaking, but ultimately looked great. Here’s how you do it:

1.) Wipe the cabinets down with TSP.

2.) Steel wool the wood to ensure that it will take the paint.

3.) Use Sherwin Williams oil-based paint, which will resist the hard wear of a kitchen. Apply it in smooth strokes, using light layers with each coat. It takes a long time, so get comfortable. (Be sure to take off the cabinet doors. Do the boxes first, then the doors separately.)

4.) Replace or restore the hardware, depending on what kind of  shape they are in.

Once the cabinets were done, we also upgraded to granite countertops and added a tile backsplash. The pic below is when the countertops were off, and our cat made a home of it.

And here’s the old porcelain sink, which we replaced with an undermount stainless. (We donated this one to Habitat for Humanity.)

The final result:

We splurged on Anthropologie knobs for the hardware because we’d saved so much on the cabinetry. Plus, I like to create situations where people tell me, “Hey, nice knobs.” The backsplash is mosaic tile that we found on clearance at Home Depot, so we really cleaned up there. My mom created the custom valance from quilting fabric I loved (the Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow collection), which also inspired the retro, 1950s wall color.

The final pantry, with the same finishes as the kitchen.