Painted kitchen cabinets give any kitchen a sleek and contemporary feel. Cabinets that are painted also are durable and easy to maintain. They can be purchased already painted, or you can do it yourself. If new cabinets are out of your price range, a great and inexpensive way to transform your kitchen is by painting the cabinets you already have.

Cabinets take up majority of the wall in a kitchen which is why they can be an instant make-over to the look and style of any kitchen. It is simple as lighting up darker cabinets or using bold colors to brighten them. Not all kitchen cabinets will be good with paints, though. Paint does not adhere well to laminate and melamine cabinets. Paints that are recommended for kitchen cabinets are usually either high-gloss or semi-gloss. Semi-gloss often can provide a richer finish.

Painted cabinets can be done in a short amount of time. If your kitchen is modern, perhaps a black color would fit perfectly. If you are looking for a warm and inviting kitchen bright colors such as yellow would be an option. Don’t forget stripes. Cabinets can have more than one color. If your kitchen is bright to begin with, adding painted cabinets with a few colors on each will add more spice.

There are different types of effects that you can do yourself or buy already done.

If you want an old fashioned looking kitchen, the crackle effect would look amazing on the cabinets. Splattering paint that is lighter or darker than the rest of the cabinet color would be an easy task and add another feeling to the kitchen. Another easy effect is distressing the wood. This will make the wood have dents and cracks to give the feeling of older cabinets. You can always make your own technique to add new life to your kitchen.

Once the cabinets are painted, you may want to go even further and add stencil designs. Stencils come in many varieties and can be found perfect for your kitchen. It is fairly simple to do. You can choose form thousands of stencils to find one that will match your kitchen. Not everyone is an artist, so sometimes a little mistake might happen while stenciling. That is fine because it adds a personal touch to your kitchen. This would make a great project on a rainy day.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars to get brand new cabinets for your kitchen, consider painting them. It is the most affordable option. You can choose from a wide variety of colors and effects to add new life to the room. Painted kitchen cabinets are a quick and amazing makeover for the kitchen, but it does not stop there. Painted cabinets would update your other rooms also.

By: Jeff Stevens

About the Author:

Tax Liens – Tax Deed Investing

Do you want to create ‘distressed look’ kitchen cabinets and give a whole new look to your kitchen or other areas? In decorative arts, distressing is the art of making pieces look very old and worn. Distressed cabinets are used to give a kitchen a vintage, antique style.

There are many methods of aging wooden furniture. Mostly these involve removing layers of paint in uneven patches, leaving remnants of layers that show different colors, or even bare wood beneath. The aim is to have a ‘look’ that is rustic, imperfect and aged.

Have you seen those ‘distressed’ pieces in trendy furniture shops where the distressing method has obviously been to press imprints into the timber or wood, with an instrument in places precisely measured to be equidistant from one another? This is not what we are after!

We want to end up with a piece that is very authentic looking and looks as though it has been aged naturally over the decades. You don’t achieve this by whacking at the wood with a sledge-hammer, either! Sandpaper and paint stripper are used to remove old paint and to get back to the bare wood. The finished piece can be refinished with glaze (thinned paint) or varnish, if wanted.

Can I distress kitchen cabinets myself?

Yes, you can easily do this! This is a good ‘finishing’ technique for beginners and as long as you are accepting of how your piece will turn out, you can have a lot of fun creating a set of antique-looking cabinetry in your kitchen. You will need sandpaper of differing grades of coarseness, brushes and some light colored paints. All available from your local hardware store.

These techniques can be applied to many surfaces such as wood, glass, metal, stone, concrete, plaster and paint. The Shabby-Chic style has made antiquing techniques very popular. And, these cabinets look great in a kitchen along with the ‘right’ accessories.

Techniques

Deliberately sand, dent, scrape and gauge out little dents and holes in the cabinet faces and tops. To distress the wood, you can use a chain to throw against the wood, a screwdriver to gauge, a medium sized hammer to implement dents. Keep sanding in between these activities.

Now you can use the and stain or varnish you’ve chosen to darken the wood. You will find that a light colored varnish, such as a marine varnish, will look wonderful as it will bring out all the beauty of the grain of the wood as well as having the added bonus of being waterproof. This is really very necessary for kitchen cabinetry as things are always getting damp, if not wet.

You can buy antiquing paints and varnishes to apply on the top in layers or patches, one layer above
the last. To add to the aging look, water down the colors with thinners or water. This will look like a color wash. As the paint dries, keep sanding little areas to give a worn finish.

If you like, you can add a crackle varnish as the last layer – this will give an antique appearance. Take some off again with a light sand in a few places to show how the cabinet has been worn. Add some lovely knobs or handles in wrought iron to finish the cabinets.

So, you see, totally fool-proof! By following these techniques, you’ll have beautiful distressed kitchen cabinets for your vintage style kitchen. Every piece is of unique interest and once you add some accessories such as open shelving displays of china, you’ll be very pleased with the look you have achieved! This technique is especially good for country style and rustic kitchens.

By: Susan Fuss

About the Author:

Digital Cameras – Digital Photography