A Dramatic Difference

 

Last spring we painted this house for the wonderful couple who own and live in it. At the time, they casually asked if we painted cabinets and how much would it cost to do this set in the kitchen and family room. I did not think it would go beyond a simple inquiry, but here we were a few weeks ago doing the job.

 

The house was around 30 years old and the old bleached oak cabinets were worn down to raw wood in places. In the above two photos you can see the original finish in places and in other places, the white primer. There was a lot of prep to be done as the wood has to be impeccably clean before today's acrylic paints stick to it.

 

What made this job unique was that the request was for black cabinets, only the second set of black ones we have ever done.

 

Here, the body of the cabinets are complete and the doors have been re-installed and primed white, a nice checker-board effect.

 

And finally, the finished look, with a three coat system in satin black enamel. The change in the room was dramatic. He loved it, but she was not sure and said she had to get used to it.

 

I am sure that when their friends, who strongly suggested that they do this, see the finished product and rave about it, she will feel much better.

 

It was a challenge, but also a lot of fun. There is less room for error when using black than when using white. There is no forgiveness for any mistakes or nicks or crooked lines. The homeowners were fabulous people and we became good friends. I hope we do not lose the friendship when they call me back for touch-ups every few months. Once the paint is hard and cured it should not be a problem. In the meantime, I suggested that they do not even look at the cabinets for the next five weeks. I will probably get to see it after the new brushed metal knobs are installed.