We visited the house again.

[house]

My inlaws were visiting and DH wanted to share so back we went for a short visit. I casually mentioned we might paint the cabinets and MIL cringed! She said WHY! They are in good condition! LOL! DH and both his parents are completely against painting wood. MIL also said she used to have painted trim and they are harder to maintain (?). So she was also against painting any trim.

So here's the kitchen. The upper cabinets are newer and don't match the lower ones. WWYD? Leave as is? Then eventually replace all the cabinets? I guess my reasoning for painting was that if we were going to go for all new cabinets anyway then why not paint the current ones now, right?

[Blueper]

Painting cabinets is a huge B- if you are going to replace the cabinets within the next 2 years I wouldn't bother with it. Besides if you want to CL the cabs then it might be easier to sell them unpainted. If you really want to paint something, I would buy a countertop transformation kit and redo the counters.

[wawa]

Nov 5, 2012 10:13:25 GMT -5 Blueper said:

Painting cabinets is a huge B- if you are going to replace the cabinets within the next 2 years I wouldn't bother with it. Besides if you want to CL the cabs then it might be easier to sell them unpainted. If you really want to paint something, I would buy a countertop transformation kit and redo the counters.

I agree with this.

Do those appliances work? That cooktop looks creaky.

[thewop]

They're not THAT bad. If I was planning on replacing them in the near future, I wouldn't waste my time painting them. And like pp said, you could totally sell those things. People in my area are always looking for used stuff like that for garages and workshops.

[house]

I can live with the cabinets as is. The appliances do work. They were top of the line when the house was built. I can't remember what brand they are.

What else can we do to update the look without major renovations?

[house]

Nov 5, 2012 10:13:25 GMT -5 Blueper said:

Painting cabinets is a huge B- if you are going to replace the cabinets within the next 2 years I wouldn't bother with it. Besides if you want to CL the cabs then it might be easier to sell them unpainted. If you really want to paint something, I would buy a countertop transformation kit and redo the counters.

I thought about the countertop transformation kit but would it look weird with old appliances?

[TBM]

Nov 5, 2012 10:33:09 GMT -5 house said:

Nov 5, 2012 10:13:25 GMT -5 Blueper said:

Painting cabinets is a huge B- if you are going to replace the cabinets within the next 2 years I wouldn't bother with it. Besides if you want to CL the cabs then it might be easier to sell them unpainted. If you really want to paint something, I would buy a countertop transformation kit and redo the counters.

I thought about the countertop transformation kit but would it look weird with old appliances?

I think the cabinet transformations stuff looks weird anyway.

Honestly, your old formica is not a great color, but if it is like the stuff my mom has on her breakfast bar, it is pretty easy to clean. I would be afraid that the transformation stuff would not stand up to scrubbing and would look out of place with the older kitchen.

If it was my kitchen, I would be really torn between trying to do a temporary fix and saving every penny toward a full kitchen redo sooner rather than later. It would make the most sense to save the money, but I would be tempted to at least change the color of the upper cabinets to brighten things up, downplay the counter color, and maybe help the mismatch look intentional....just to help me wait out the time before I could do it right.

[adhdfashion]

:-( Why doesn't anyone respect wood! JK


Don't paint the cabinets, they aren't that bad. The counter tops on the other hand need some serious help.

[house]

Nov 5, 2012 10:43:15 GMT -5 TBM said:

Nov 5, 2012 10:33:09 GMT -5 house said:

I thought about the countertop transformation kit but would it look weird with old appliances?

I think the cabinet transformations stuff looks weird anyway.

Honestly, your old formica is not a great color, but if it is like the stuff my mom has on her breakfast bar, it is pretty easy to clean. I would be afraid that the transformation stuff would not stand up to scrubbing and would look out of place with the older kitchen.

If it was my kitchen, I would be really torn between trying to do a temporary fix and saving every penny toward a full kitchen redo sooner rather than later. It would make the most sense to save the money, but I would be tempted to at least change the color of the upper cabinets to brighten things up, downplay the counter color, and maybe help the mismatch look intentional....just to help me wait out the time before I could do it right.

My feelings exactly. Ugh, I think we will just stick with taking the wall paper borders off the top and side wall on the left (not pictured) and just paint the kitchen.

Any paint color recommendations? Counter top and appliances are staying. We are going to start saving money.

[house]

Nov 5, 2012 10:45:15 GMT -5 adhdfashion said:

Why doesn't anyone respect wood! JK


Don't paint the cabinets, they aren't that bad. The counter tops on the other hand need some serious help.

Haha.. actually I do respect wood. I don't have a single painted wood furniture in our house. Ok, one, just the headboard we made out of a hollow closet door, but nothing else.

[FoxInFiji]

Nov 5, 2012 10:31:12 GMT -5 house said:

What else can we do to update the look without major renovations?

Nothing. You paint the walls a nice white, tear down the wallpaper border, and buy some cute kitchen towels that have blue in them. You live with it for 2 years and joke about how retro your kitchen is when you have people over. Then you tear it all and have an amazing transformation when it's all done! This is what we did/are doing (see my before and after bathroom remodel post from last week). Anything else is a waste of time and money for just two years IMO. Kitchens and bathrooms are not able to easily change without a major renovation. Those kits for the countertop look like crap and start to peal and get scratched after a while. At least the blue countertop is durable and easy to clean. I really don't think the kitchen is that bad. Oh and the doors do match they often used arch tops only on the upper cabinets and rectangular shaped matching doors on the bottom...it was a detail back in the day LOL.

[emoflamingo]

Nov 5, 2012 11:21:07 GMT -5 FoxInFiji said:

Nov 5, 2012 10:31:12 GMT -5 house said:

What else can we do to update the look without major renovations?

Nothing. You paint the walls a nice white, tear down the wallpaper border, and buy some cute kitchen towels that have blue in them. You live with it for 2 years and joke about how retro your kitchen is when you have people over. Then you tear it all and have an amazing transformation when it's all done! This is what we did/are doing (see my before and after bathroom remodel post from last week). Anything else is a waste of time and money for just two years IMO. Kitchens and bathrooms are not able to easily change without a major renovation. Those kits for the countertop look like crap and start to peal and get scratched after a while. At least the blue countertop is durable and easy to clean. I really don't think the kitchen is that bad. Oh and the doors do match they often used arch tops only on the upper cabinets and rectangular shaped matching doors on the bottom...it was a detail back in the day LOL.

This. I had PINK counters and apple border/tile in my kitchen. For 5 years. It was awful but now, the kitchen looks a lot nicer and I didn't even get new cabinets.

And to think I always say patience is a virtue I don't have.

[sailorgray]

I agree with everyone who said to do nothing. Two years is nothing. I hear painting is a bitch and the upkeep can be ongoing. Your cabinets aren't bad. Get some cute accessories and tell people that you are planning a renovation and call it a day. Honestly, that kitchen isn't bad at all.

[house]

Thanks ladies. 2yrs is actually too soon. I am sure we won't be ready financially for that untill atleast 5 yrs.

[thewop]

Nov 5, 2012 11:46:19 GMT -5 house said:

Thanks ladies. 2yrs is actually too soon. I am sure we won't be ready financially for that untill atleast 5 yrs.

I know how you feel. Our kitchen has been the exact same since DH bought the house 6 years ago, with no plans to renovate any time soon. I've just learned to live with it. It's fully functional, just really ugly. We needed to take care of the parts of the house that were falling apart first. It's been a slow going process. I could paint the backsplash and countertops, but it's just not worth my time. I've made peace with my ugly kitchen.

[house]

Yeah we need a new roof first. The house doesn't come with a fridge so we will have a brand new fridge with all old appliances. LOL! That's another headache. What fridge should I go with without knowing what will go with my brand new kitchen 5-7 yrs later?

[thewop]

Nov 5, 2012 11:58:48 GMT -5 house said:

Yeah we need a new roof first. The house doesn't come with a fridge so we will have a brand new fridge with all old appliances. LOL! That's another headache. What fridge should I go with without knowing what will go with my brand new kitchen 5-7 yrs later?

Yep. We've put on a new roof, put in a new water heater, furnace and A/C, gutted the bathroom, re-did most of the floors.....We still need a new deck/patio. It's bad. Yet another thing before the kitchen. *sigh* Personally, I'd go to the scratch and dent section and pick out something functional and cheap. The way appliances are today, you might need another one in 7 years anyway. If you still have that fridge in 5-7 years when you finally redo your kitchen, put it in the basement or sell it. No need to spend $$$ and energy stressing about it now.

[sierramist03]

I'd just change the countertop the cabinet dont bother me the way they are but the cabinet transformation would be a good choice if you do want to paint