You guys! We just finished our little studio kitchenette last week and I COULD NOT LOVE IT MORE!!!
When we moved in to our new studio we knew we wanted to put in a small kitchenette – mostly just a small row of cabinets with a sink and a fridge.
You probably remember when we got this space, the walls were yellowy cream and brown. Not totally my style :)
We started by white washing everything in here – the walls and even the ceilings got painted the perfect clean, sunny white hue, called Designer White (33-1). from Pratt & Lambert®. It is beautiful and so bright!! I was so impressed with the coverage of their Accolade® Interior Premium Paint & Primer. One coat of this paint and all that brown was covered!
Once all the walls were a bright white, we started to feel adventurous! It seemed like a great opportunity to go a little bold with our cabinet color and green was the OBVIOUS choice!! :)
We used the amazing (and new) Aquanamel™ Waterborne Alkyd Enamel paint from Pratt & Lambert for our white shaker cabinets and I couldn’t be happier with the results! If you are thinking of painting your cabinets, this low VOC paint, made specifically for use on cabinets, doors and trim, is a really great option and I will definitely be using it again! It is self-leveling, which means it will give you a super even and uniform finish.
We started out with white ready-made shaker cabinets from a local company called Madera. We didn’t even need to sand or prime these before painting because Aquanamel has a primer built in!!
The trick to painting your own cabinets is to apply super thin, light coats with a 4″ foam roller, letting the layers dry before starting the next. This will ensure you get a really even coat without drips or streaks!
If you are thinking of using this paint on older cabinets, we recommend giving your cabinets a thorough cleaning and sand with a sanding block or a liquid sander before starting. Here’s what our cabinets looked like after one coat, but I knew the color was going to look amazing after another coat!
The self-leveling paint makes it so you won’t really have brush marks – it really is so amazing! If you get a little heavy handed though and you end up having some drips, you can just use a sanding block to smooth any of that out!
Here’s what the cabinets looked like after two coats of Pratt & Lambert’s Aquanamel Waterborne Alkyd Enamel. SO pretty! The color we chose was Sierra Night (18-17). It’s the absolute perfect dark olive color!
We have a few separate posts coming later about our countertops, the DIY open shelving and how we made over our fridge so stay tuned for those posts! I love the contrast of colors here with the soft white honed marble counters and our matte black fixtures and fridge!
And here she is!! Our beautiful new kitchen!!
We had Lucent Light Shop make us these amazing wall sconces called the Studio Sconce!! They are exactly what we wanted for this space and we couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.
round cutting board // black plates // cabinet hardware
I just can’t get enough of these new paint colors! That gorgeous, bright white paired with that perfect shade of green makes my heart skip a beat! It was so easy to make these simple cabinets look and feel so much more custom and expensive with the new paint job and hardware!
white mugs // bowls
salt cellar // butter keeper // white plates // splatter plates
I hope you guys love this little makeover as much as we do! Do you have any questions about how to paint your own? It’s SO easy! :)
1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9
1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9
SOURCE LIST!
Cabinet Paint: Pratt & Lambert Aquanamel™ Waterborne Alkyd Enamel. Color is Sierra Night (33-1).
Wall Paint: Pratt & Lambert Accolade® Interior Premium Paint & Primer. Color is Designer White (33-1).
Cabinets: Madera
Counter tops: Honed Calacatta Marble from G3 Granite and Glass
Sconces: Lucent Lightshop
Island: Design by me and made by our carpenter
Shelf and brackets: DIY (post coming soon!)
Rug: Vintage, similar here
This post was brought to you in partnership with Pratt & Lambert® Paints! Thank you for supporting our sponsors!
Wow. Now do tell what you did to the fridge!
TES! I am stunned by the fridge!
Agreed, I need to know about that fridge hardware…
Yes! I was wondering the same thing!
Also the stripped basket on the fridge, I’m having a harder time finding one that size without a strap…
The green is sooooo lovely, it really feels like a timeless color.
Do you have a guide on mixing serve ware? I like what you have going on here with the mixing and matching. I always feel like that can go thrift store feeling quickly and have trouble mixing and matching when they don’t have a common thread. To me none of it would normally blend together intuitively but the result is collectively beautiful so do you have any tips? I always just end up with white since I can’t decide…
Me too! What did you do to it?!
Wow. One of my favorites kitchens ever! I love the cabinet color with the brass hardware.
Thank you Amanda!! I love it too!! :) :)
CAN. NOT. thank you enough for this post! We have been “finishing” our basement for months now, and by finishing I mean in major pause trying to figure out how to accomplish a little bar/kitchenette area with a full size fridge (but no upper cabinetry) without it seeming unfinished or like a first apartment layout in a sprawling lower level. You totally nailed it and I LOVE the way you brought height in with objects above the fridge, and balanced it with the planter. I also had my mind set on navy painted cabinets with copper hardware, but now I’m *green* with envy… ;) Thank you so much!!
Thanks Elizabeth! Novy and copper sounds amazing too! Hard choice! We’re so happy with this Sierra Night color though! :)
Hahaha like everyone else I want to know about that amazing fridge! Teach me your ways Jenny, you are truly the transformation queen!
It is STUNNING. I love it!
Great cabinet color. Will you add a microwave?
We have one inside the cabinet to the right of the sink! :)
LOVE! What type of paint do you use for your cabinets? Satin, semi-gloss? What has the best look but also is durable for surfaces that get wiped down a lot?
Pratt & Lambert has a sheen called Velvet that I LOVE. It’s a low sheen, sort of satin look, but washes up really well.
SO freaking gorgeous. You’re inspiring me to attempt our kitchen. Here is my major question, though…we have solid oak cabinets, the sides are more of a veneer. It’s hard to tell from the pics if you had the same on the ends? If so, how do you handle painting veneer vs. solid wood??
Curious about this too! I have a basic rental kitchen with old veneer cabinet bodies and wood doors. Would this paint work on the veneer and cabinet insides as well as solid wood?
OMG so excited about the cabinet paint you used. I love it all and can’t wait to try it on my kitchen. Love, love, love it!
At first when I saw your cabinets, I said, ” not sure if I am going to like dark green cabinets”, but you nailed your kitchen. I love it all. Thank you fr daring and showing us that it’s ok to think outside the box. To do the unexpected, and expect the best, as you did.
Yes! …Info on fridge hardware. #swoon
Jenny you are always ahead of the trends and this is no exception. I haven’t seen anything like this on the web but I’nm sure I will see imitators soon. How I wish I could afford to hire you to help design my future kitchen remodel. You always do something daring but classic and I love it.
I also would LOVE to know what you did to that fridge!
How would it work to use that paint on cabinets that are stained wood? Do you still have to do all the stripping and sanding prep work?
Now I want green cabinetry! So gorgeous. Love the contrast with the gold.
I think the link for the butter keeper is wrong. The link goes to a marble one not the black splattered one in the photo. Edit? I need that butter dish in my life :)
Jenny, why are you ignoring all the fridge questions? Give it up, please.
I loved the green cabinets. It looks unique in the kitchen. You can even place bonsai plants in your kitchen.
Stunning Jenny, well done!
where is the beautiful oil painting from?
gorgeous as usual!!!
does the black plantar and stand come together ..or do you have to buy separate
It came together, Stafanie! :)
I don’t know if the paint would work on the veneer or not. Maybe you could test it, and see how it works. But if it doesn’t work out, you could always “skin” the side of the cabinet with a thin panel of wood and paint that to match the oak fronts. Most cabinets have a little “ear” where the face frame on the front of the cabinet protrudes about 1/4″ past the sides of the cabinet.
Hi I was wondering if you ever got around to doing a post on the shelves and brackets in this beautiful kitchen and you direct me to that post. These shelves are everything!!!!
Hi Jenny,
The planter has been sold out for months and IM OBSESSED! Any ideas where something similar can be found? Not having much luck
I love this update Jenny. Remodeling the kitchen always seems to make it look like the old one is some old thing that should have been getting rid of very long. I actually like how the passage in the picture was designed, not too shiny and not dull. Definitely gives the whole thing a new look.
Jenny, do you normally go for matte or satin finish for cabinets? I’ve heard pros and cons on both. Any suggestions?
I go with satin on cabinetry and trim! FOR SURE! Not shiny but super durable/wipeable!
Love the color! But I can’t quite figure out why you continue to ignore the refrigerator question. Your audience keeps asking, yet you refuse to answer. Is there a reason you won’t share?