April 21, 2011

To Paint or Not To Paint?

That is the question.

One of the things that I have been really struggling with on the new house is whether or not to paint certain wood.  The space and vibe are telling me that clean white trim and built ins would really freshen up the look and pull us out of the dated "Golden Oak 80s" feel.  There's always that nagging voice in the back of my head however, (for some reason it sounds exactly like my Dad) that says, "If you paint that wood, someday you'll regret it."

One room where this is really a concern is the kitchen.  Once we do a little work to remove the cabinet over the peninsula, the set up is actually really modern.  Lots of lower cabinets, not so many uppers.  Big, bright windows and open space.  But then, there's that Golden Oak...


I'd like to make the black appliances work if we can, because they're new and in good condition, so I searched the best design blogs to find examples of kitchens with black appliances.   My fav design blog Young House Love created this mood board which I love and could be the answer to my problems.  In our kitchen, it would look something like this:
The cabinets all get painted a nice taupey-gray color that will coordinate with the house color pallet, the trim gets a glossy white and the walls warm up with a slightly lighter shade of gray.  You'll notice I took the liberty to add in some dark wood flooring which we'd love to install some day, as well as a nice pendant light over the kitchen table in addition to the solid black counter tops and great herringbone back splash tile that John & Sherry suggest.  I love this look.  It feels rich and classic, but not at all dated.  But then there's that nagging voice, "You're going to regret painting those cabinets..."

So I went back to the design blogs and sites to find an image of kitchens using the cabinet color we have with black appliances.  It was a pretty sorry search.  There just isn't any great design out there that I could find using golden oak that didn't remind me of my purple legwarmers and Debbie Gibson cassette.  But there was this beauty from Canadian House and Home...

This set up is actually a lot like our kitchen.  And in my trusty little mock up, it looks like this:

This is definitely a more natural, organic vibe that we were going for.  But where the first makeover was more American Idol style, (you know, the obligatory brow tweeze, hair dye and make up,) this bad boy is more like The Swan, a serious face lift make over.  That's because in order to get those cabinets out of Golden Oak and into the new century, we're  going to have to strip the old poly and stain, potentially bleach the wood, sand, re-stain and re-poly these guys.  And even though we can take off cupboard doors and drawers and bring them outside, those base cabinets and the full wall of cabinets on the other side aren't going anywhere, which means we'll have to do a bunch of super messy and really stinky work right inside the center of our home. 

So what do you think?  Is it worth it?  Do you prefer the natural, organic look or do the more classic taupe gray cabinets make the room look more complete? Any other suggestions?  What's your theory on painting wood?  Do you live for today and make it how you want it?  Or does your Dad nagging voice in your head caution you about preserving the natural wood for generations to come?  I really can't decide, and need your help!

11 comments:

  1. Lighter cabinetry will "open" the space, make it more cohesive between kitchen and eating area. I like the lighter version. The white in the first pic is quite nice but may be difficult to keep clean. My 2 cents.:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the organic, light-colored wood look. It is really classy and gives you a clean bright look without the potentially cheap look of painted wood. Sometimes I feel like DIYers jump into painting wood and then they do regret it.

    I would strip and sand one of the smaller doors and then try a glossy coat on the natural wood color. If you cant get it to look the way you want then you can go with paint!

    It does look like an easy structure to sand down (not too much dimension to the panels). Good luck!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really like the natural organic look of design #2. It think it stays truer to the overall feel and flow of the house that you are trying to achieve.
    What program are you using to do your mock-ups. Seem like an awesome tool.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I make mock-ups in PhotoShop. It gives me a lot of options, but I wouldn't call it super easy. I use the pen tool to outline the area/surface I want to change, and then either fill it with color or a pattern. It takes a lot of time, but it's definitely easier than painting a space and regretting it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think I like the second option better, it goes with the beautiful trees out your windows and makes everything look more cohesive. It also makes the room seem warmer; the grayish color makes me think of winter and being cold, not cozy like you want in a kitchen, and I don't think that the natural draws away from the modern theme you're going for.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I actually like the paint from option 1. It's easier, quicker, and more guaranteed to end up looking like you wanted (who's to say that after all that stripping, polying, bleaching, etc. option 2 would even look all that different from its current state or end up looking how you want it?)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like the painted option, too. I think the contrast is nice and you can pair almost any color with it to change the look without a ton of work.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I actually like the paint from option 1. It's easier, quicker, and more guaranteed to end up looking like you wanted (who's to say that after all that stripping, polying, bleaching, etc. option 2 would even look all that different from its current state or end up looking how you want it?)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I really like the natural organic look of design #2. It think it stays truer to the overall feel and flow of the house that you are trying to achieve.
    What program are you using to do your mock-ups. Seem like an awesome tool.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lighter cabinetry will "open" the space, make it more cohesive between kitchen and eating area. I like the lighter version. The white in the first pic is quite nice but may be difficult to keep clean. My 2 cents.:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. for me, it's a toss up between pure white, and the pale wood stain.

    i'm partial to pale white, however. i think it looks amazing against black appliances. my kitchen can be seen over at my blog (it's also horrible 80s/90s solid wood with an orange stain). i'm planning to paint it white, but i'm so scared. my dad, as well, always says, i can't BELIEVE you want to paint solid cedar, you fool! haha. but..it's just plain ugly in my eyes.

    ReplyDelete