Future Project: Kitchen Makeover

Help me decide!

I want to make over my kitchen, but I just don’t know how.  I’ve taken my time making the decision (as I strongly recommend!), but no flashes of brilliance are coming at me.  No lightening bolts from the sky.  No booming voice that says “This is what thou shalt do!”  So…read this post and help me decide.  (Note: I know the final decision will be mine.)

Here are my decision points:

Cabinets

• My cabinets are badly in need of something.  They’re worn out.  Either re-staining or painting.
• I love the look of white cabinets, but I’m afraid of badly painted cabinets.
• I love the look of darkly stained cabinets, but I have a small kitchen and am afraid that will make it look even smaller.

Walls

• I’m not going to repaint the walls.  I don’t mind some decorative painting like a border or a stripe or something, but I had those walls freshly painted just a few months ago when we moved in.  And I like the color still.

Countertops

• I don’t want to replace the countertops.  At least in the near term.  While they aren’t my favorite color & texture (blue laminate), they’re in good condition and get the job done for now.

So, really, it’s just that I want to do something with the cabinets.  Paint or stain?

• Whatever I do, I’ll do it myself.  (Hence the fear of a bad paint job).
• And whatever I do, I’ll practice on my bathroom first.  (Less opportunity for messing up and cheaper to fix if I do mess up.)
• Cost isn’t really a factor.  I don’t have an unlimited budget or anything, but I suspect that the costs involved with painting or staining is pretty darn similar and pretty reasonable.

Kitchens like these make me want to paint:

Polish the Stars
Her kitchen is painted blue, which gives me an idea of what the white cabinets would look like with my blue countertops.

517 Creations

The Creative Crate
She added beadboard to the front of her cabinets which totally relieves my pressure to get an absolute perfect paint job on the fronts (the area that I’m most worried about).

Kitchens like these make me want to stain:

Traditional Kitchen By Houzz

Found on Pinterest:

Found on Pinterest:

As I look at the kitchens with stained cabinets, I’m struck by the fact that those kitchens are things that my kitchen isn’t: HUGE and have dark countertops.  Maybe the wise choice is paint?

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