DH says I can paint the kitchen cabinets!

[ktgrok]

They are grungy, and that dated red maple, and a mess. At first he was reluctant, but after seeing how well some other stuff I panted came out, he's on board. Plus, in a few years we will likely redo the kitchen entirely, so as long as I don't make them worse than they are, whatever, lol. 

He does want to put in new laminate countertops now too, and then in a few years do granite when we redo the whole kitchen. Don't want to put the money into granite until ready to put in new cabinets. (Will do something with lots of drawers instead of builder grade basic cabinets...but not for a few years)

So, show me pictures of your painted cabinets! I'm leaning toward a sage green...but DH is color blind so not a huge fan of green. But he usually lets me do what I want, lol. This is one color I like...I'd actually love to do the top cabinets white and the bottom this color, but he's not sold on that either, lol. He might change his mind though...

https://www.melangepaints.com/shop/p/onethistle

I'm also going to refinish/paint/something the table. Photo shows the current kitchen...excuse the mess. I was making lunch, unpacking groceries, and cleaning up an art project while taking these. 

[Catwoman]

Are you sure you wouldn’t be better off leaving them as they are, but adding some really stylish door pulls?

[Catwoman]

Also, a different wall color might make the existing cabinet color look much richer.

[Catwoman]

One last thing and then I will finally shut up!

Before you settle on laminate countertops, be sure to check places like Lowe’s and Home Depot to make sure their most basic stock granite countertops aren’t pretty close to the same price as the laminate. You might get lucky and find a granite color you like at a very low price.

[cjzimmer1]

From the pictures I would have said, your cabinets look in great shape and I really like the color.  But then again, I'm the kind of person who would take natural wood in just about any color over painted cabinets.  But yeah I agree with Catwoman, change the paint, change the counter top and I think your kitchen would look great without messing with the cabinets.

[lmrich]

Just another idea... you can paint the laminate counter tops instead of buying new ones. I mimiced a marble look for laminate counter tops. It was not hard, but took time to let it dry and cure.  I also put high end contact paper that looked like marble over old laminate counter tops. It is in a small college apartment, but it has held up great for 1 1/2 years. 

I have painted cabinets three times now. Not hard but long.... especially with so many cabinets. 

[Carrie12345]

DO IT!!!
They look fine in the pictures, but you said grungy, and I know grungy doesn’t always show up in pics, but can be AWFUL in person.

I’d recommend getting a paint sprayer. That’s just as someone who has done it with much, much fewer cabinets and now wants a basic sprayer for just the 5’ island I’ll be making one day, lol.

[Katy]

I love that color!  Also consider these sage greens that are a little more neutral because that tone might make color sensitive people anxious. 

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/1495/october-mist?color=1495

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW9130-evergreen-fog
 

I’ve heard very good things about a countertop painting kit from Amazon, but I’ve never tried it: Giani Carrara White Marble Epoxy Countertop Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y8P9YBS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_926C74BWYHKMVFGEN86X

 

[Drama Llama]

Ok I want your kitchen.  It is so nice and big!!!

We did ours with navy cabinets and I think it looks really good, or it would if it were big like yours.  

So jealous!

[alisoncooks]

The sage is lovely!

I painted my cabinets Benjamin Moore Caribbean Teal a few years ago.  Here’s a pic that was already saved on here. 

[alisoncooks]

I will say, mine are at the point of needing a touch up. Lots of dings, even though I did the job proper. 

Do your dogs jump against the cabinets ever? Just considering the damage claws could do to paint vs wood…

[KSera]

48 minutes ago, Katy said:

I’ve heard very good things about a countertop painting kit from Amazon, but I’ve never tried it: Giani Carrara White Marble Epoxy Countertop Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y8P9YBS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_926C74BWYHKMVFGEN86X

 

I agree with catwoman's comments and if you're thinking you will get granite in the future, I'd be tempted to try the kit Katy linked above. That along with your current cabinets with some nice pulls would be a really nice update. A tile backsplash would be an easy enough upgrade as well. It seems a waste to buy new countertops if you will replace them again in a few years. I like painted cabinets, and the sage is nice, but with your cabinets I wouldn't be inclined to paint. That's a nice wood really, and I don't think that is what is dating the kitchen. Our cabinets were painted by the previous owner, and they look nice from a distance, but they're awful up close. The paint doesn't wipe down well either. If we can redo it one day, I have to figure out what can be done differently so they will wipe clean.

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Catwoman said:

Are you sure you wouldn’t be better off leaving them as they are, but adding some really stylish door pulls?

So the finish on the cabinets is wearing off, with some spots sticky from the old finish wearing down, and a lot of spots where you can scratch the finish off with your finger nails. So no meatier what I’ll be dealing with that, plus on the kick plates some exposed wood from well, kicking I guess. At that point, after sanding damaged spots and removing much of the old finish I will need to do something with them.

47 minutes ago, alisoncooks said:

I will say, mine are at the point of needing a touch up. Lots of dings, even though I did the job proper. 

Do your dogs jump against the cabinets ever? Just considering the damage claws could do to paint vs wood…

No, they are tall enough they can steal food with jumping up, lol. 

[ktgrok]

59 minutes ago, Katy said:

I love that color!  Also consider these sage greens that are a little more neutral because that tone might make color sensitive people anxious. 

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/1495/october-mist?color=1495

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW9130-evergreen-fog
 

I’ve heard very good things about a countertop painting kit from Amazon, but I’ve never tried it: Giani Carrara White Marble Epoxy Countertop Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y8P9YBS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_926C74BWYHKMVFGEN86X

 

I do love that October mist! I was looking at it earlier today.

[Chelli]

4 hours ago, ktgrok said:

They are grungy, and that dated red maple, and a mess. At first he was reluctant, but after seeing how well some other stuff I panted came out, he's on board. Plus, in a few years we will likely redo the kitchen entirely, so as long as I don't make them worse than they are, whatever, lol. 

He does want to put in new laminate countertops now too, and then in a few years do granite when we redo the whole kitchen. Don't want to put the money into granite until ready to put in new cabinets. (Will do something with lots of drawers instead of builder grade basic cabinets...but not for a few years)

So, show me pictures of your painted cabinets! I'm leaning toward a sage green...but DH is color blind so not a huge fan of green. But he usually lets me do what I want, lol. This is one color I like...I'd actually love to do the top cabinets white and the bottom this color, but he's not sold on that either, lol. He might change his mind though...

https://www.melangepaints.com/shop/p/onethistle

I'm also going to refinish/paint/something the table. Photo shows the current kitchen...excuse the mess. I was making lunch, unpacking groceries, and cleaning up an art project while taking these. 

 

My best friend from Texas owns that paint company. She is super talented and one of the best furniture / cabinet painters I've ever known. She developed her paint specifically for those uses. I love that color. 

[Scarlett]

I am very happy with my blue.  And butcher block counter tops.  I have a 50 year old kitchen and although not perfect looks 100 times better than it did.  
 

I have been seeing some really lovely greens on HGTV.  

[ktgrok]

17 hours ago, Chelli said:

My best friend from Texas owns that paint company. She is super talented and one of the best furniture / cabinet painters I've ever known. She developed her paint specifically for those uses. I love that color. 

Oh, how cool! I can say that so far customer service is wonderful - I realized today I wanted more sample sizes of different colors, so ordered and them emailed asking if they could combine the orders for shipping. They got right back to me and said of course, and refunded me instantly for the shipping cost of the second order. And the colors are fantastic - and I LOVE the names...and laughed at the "Friends" names of the brushes, lol. 

11 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I am very happy with my blue.  And butcher block counter tops.  I have a 50 year old kitchen and although not perfect looks 100 times better than it did.  
 

I have been seeing some really lovely greens on HGTV.  

How is the butcher block with water?  One blog I read said it doesn't do with well with water..a.nd well...kitchens have water, lol. I WILL spill/splash/etc on it. I love the LOOK of painted cabinets with butcher block countertops, and that you can sand them if need be, etc..but if water will make them swell/warp that won't work. 

 

[Scarlett]

36 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Oh, how cool! I can say that so far customer service is wonderful - I realized today I wanted more sample sizes of different colors, so ordered and them emailed asking if they could combine the orders for shipping. They got right back to me and said of course, and refunded me instantly for the shipping cost of the second order. And the colors are fantastic - and I LOVE the names...and laughed at the "Friends" names of the brushes, lol. 

How is the butcher block with water?  One blog I read said it doesn't do with well with water..a.nd well...kitchens have water, lol. I WILL spill/splash/etc on it. I love the LOOK of painted cabinets with butcher block countertops, and that you can sand them if need be, etc..but if water will make them swell/warp that won't work. 

 

Treating the butcher block with mineral oil is very important.  We did two heavy coats and I think we need a third one.  No warpage or anything at all so far.  

[Scarlett]

Dh said this butcher block was easier to install then  sheets of laminate would be. 

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Scarlett

[Scarlett]

[Katy]

Beautiful @Scarlett

[kristin0713]

On 3/7/2022 at 8:50 PM, ktgrok said:

I'd actually love to do the top cabinets white and the bottom this color

That’s what I would do. I think all green would be too much green. But I’m partial to white with sporadic pops of color. 

[ktgrok]

14 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Pretty. 

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, kristin0713 said:

That’s what I would do. I think all green would be too much green. But I’m partial to white with sporadic pops of color. 

I'm collecting photos of tat kind of thing to show DH, as he's not sure about the idea. But I think it would be perfect. Bottoms in a color (muted green or blue or grey) and uppers in white. 

[Scarlett]

2 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I'm collecting photos of tat kind of thing to show DH, as he's not sure about the idea. But I think it would be perfect. Bottoms in a color (muted green or blue or grey) and uppers in white. 

My floors are lighter tile than yours.  That is the main reason I did not go with white.  I love white cabinets.  We do plan on redoing the floors but I did not want my kitchen to all blend together until then.  

[alisoncooks]

Here’s mine. I toyed with the idea of two color (white on top) but decided against — our appliances are various whites, so white cabinets felt off. 
(Excuse the mess — needs a tidy!)

Edited March 9, 2022 by alisoncooks

[KSera]

You could consider leaving the island maple. That’s a pretty coming look right now to mix wood bottom cabinets and/or island with painted uppers. 
 

If you’re considering butcher block countertops, here’s a nice example with sage cabinets and butcher block. I can’t decide how that would be with your tile rather than wood floors:

[ktgrok]

21 minutes ago, alisoncooks said:

Here’s mine. I toyed with the idea of two color (white on top) but decided against — our appliances are various whites, so white cabinets felt off. 
(Excuse the mess — needs a tidy!)

Ooh! Nice!

[Scarlett]

@alisoncooks I love that color.  Is the countertop butcher block?

 

[ktgrok]

Speaking of butcher blocks and wood in the kitchen, I had a bottle of hemp oil in wood sealer to use on my cutting boards. I hadn't hit send as i got distracted by something and then had to leave to go to the doctor's for allergy testing. 

Yeah...I'm allergic to hemp! 

Good thing I hadn't ordered it! Will have to use one of the non hemp containing wood oils, for sure. 

[Scarlett]

18 minutes ago, KSera said:

You could consider leaving the island maple. That’s a pretty coming look right now to mix wood bottom cabinets and/or island with painted uppers. 
 

If you’re considering butcher block countertops, here’s a nice example with sage cabinets and butcher block. I can’t decide how that would be with your tile rather than wood floors:

Beautiful.

[alisoncooks]

14 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

@alisoncooks I love that color.  Is the countertop butcher block?

 

It’s not - the top is a very basic/cheap gray laminate. The wooden sides are what matched our cabinets before painting…but I liked the contrast against the paint color.

[Faith-manor]

PSA: Never try this. "Mark, Katie's husband said she can paint her cabinets. It is a thing. It is clearly okay. Katie is getting painted cupboards, can I have them too, pretty please?" 

Because what you get from your mentally stuck in the jurassic period of never painting a piece of wood ever in this lifetime is, "Katie's husband clearly needs a 72 hour psyche hold." 😂😂😂

I am not painting the cupboards.

Edited March 9, 2022 by Faith-manor

[Harriet Vane]

A paint sprayer does give a beautiful, smooth finish. However, I was able to get a comparable result without dealing with the mess of a sprayer by using a small, spongy foam roller. After you have sanded and wiped down the cabinets, paint the crevices with a small brush. Then, immediately before it dries, use the tiny roller to roll paint onto the flat areas and as close to the crevice as possible. The roller smooths out the brush strokes in the crevices beautifully and it's fabulous on the flat areas.

[Scarlett]

49 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

A paint sprayer does give a beautiful, smooth finish. However, I was able to get a comparable result without dealing with the mess of a sprayer by using a small, spongy foam roller. After you have sanded and wiped down the cabinets, paint the crevices with a small brush. Then, immediately before it dries, use the tiny roller to roll paint onto the flat areas and as close to the crevice as possible. The roller smooths out the brush strokes in the crevices beautifully and it's fabulous on the flat areas.

Dh did something similar.  I am very please with how they look.  50 years old and not perfect but very nice.  And fresh and clean.

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

PSA: Never try this. "Mark, Katie's husband said she can paint her cabinets. It is a thing. It is clearly okay. Katie is getting painted cupboards, can I have them too, pretty please?" 

Because what you get from your mentally stuck in the jurassic period of never painting a piece of wood ever in this lifetime is, "Katie's husband clearly needs a 72 hour psyche hold." 😂😂😂

I am not painting the cupboards.

Well, my husband is only going along with it because we plan to tear out these cupboards in a few years, and put in a whole different set. So they are dead cabinets walking, basically. 

Personally, I usually prefer wood, but we have SO MANY different woods going on in this house, it makes me crazy. Plus the finish is icky, so i can't see how "don't go with the house, contractor grade, badly finished" is better than "painted a pretty color". But the wood police will probably come for me, lol. 

 

2 hours ago, Harriet Vane said:

A paint sprayer does give a beautiful, smooth finish. However, I was able to get a comparable result without dealing with the mess of a sprayer by using a small, spongy foam roller. After you have sanded and wiped down the cabinets, paint the crevices with a small brush. Then, immediately before it dries, use the tiny roller to roll paint onto the flat areas and as close to the crevice as possible. The roller smooths out the brush strokes in the crevices beautifully and it's fabulous on the flat areas.

This is my plan. Although, I'm sort of okay with brush strokes, as I don't mind a hand painted look. At least not on most things. But DH will be happier if I don't have a lot of them on the cabinets. The paints I'm looking at are also very self leveling -- as long as you don't overwork it any brush strokes should flatten out as it dries. 

[ktgrok]

So, in the whole two toned idea....I'm also seeing ones that are white upper, wood lower. Maybe I should try that to start?  (she says after ordering over $50 in paint samples....although a few WERE white...)

The uppers are the ones with the worst finish issues. Well, other than some damaged areas on the bottom kick plate area..hmm...Maybe I could paint that too. 

But that would make the wood less overwhelming...hmmm...

(DH is not a fan of white anything...or at least, he's conflicted. I show him photos and such of houses that are mostly white, and he loves them. Says yes, that's a great way to design. Then I say I want to paint something white and he balks)

[Harriet Vane]

29 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

So, in the whole two toned idea....I'm also seeing ones that are white upper, wood lower. Maybe I should try that to start?  (she says after ordering over $50 in paint samples....although a few WERE white...)

The uppers are the ones with the worst finish issues. Well, other than some damaged areas on the bottom kick plate area..hmm...Maybe I could paint that too. 

But that would make the wood less overwhelming...hmmm...

(DH is not a fan of white anything...or at least, he's conflicted. I show him photos and such of houses that are mostly white, and he loves them. Says yes, that's a great way to design. Then I say I want to paint something white and he balks)

Do the whole shebang. The gloriously painted uppers will make the bottoms look ickier. Just go all the way and be done.

[Katy]

51 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

So, in the whole two toned idea....I'm also seeing ones that are white upper, wood lower. Maybe I should try that to start?  (she says after ordering over $50 in paint samples....although a few WERE white...)

The uppers are the ones with the worst finish issues. Well, other than some damaged areas on the bottom kick plate area..hmm...Maybe I could paint that too. 

But that would make the wood less overwhelming...hmmm...

(DH is not a fan of white anything...or at least, he's conflicted. I show him photos and such of houses that are mostly white, and he loves them. Says yes, that's a great way to design. Then I say I want to paint something white and he balks)

Do the white and kick him out, because until you get that second coat on he will hate it. But he’ll love it when it’s done. 

[ktgrok]

42 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

Do the whole shebang. The gloriously painted uppers will make the bottoms look ickier. Just go all the way and be done.

This is a very good point. 

19 minutes ago, Katy said:

Do the white and kick him out, because until you get that second coat on he will hate it. But he’ll love it when it’s done. 

LOL. Yeah...I tend to do this kind of stuff when he's not around. 

I THINK we will end up compromising on white uppers, blue or green bottom cabinets. He's worried the white will be dirty from the kids, but the kids can't even all reach the uppers, and we are going to put hardware on which will help a ton. And it isn't like you spill upwards - bottom ones will get drips maybe, but not the top ones. Those are messed up from touching them to open them, and hardware will help that a ton. 

[Dianthus]

You might want to consider Gel stain. I gel stained a coat tree bench and shelf for our garage and it has held up great to abuse. Much easier than painting.

[Tap]

I painted my kitchen dark blue several years ago. They were 20yo, golden oak and had some water damage.  I do love the blue, but it hasn't held up as well as I had hoped. Within a year, there were some tiny chips and now there are many chips and a scratch. I naturally have very hard fingernails and I was worried they would scratch them, and that is exactly where the damage is.  I did the prep and painting, to the ultimate degree. I think there were 25 doors/drawer fronts.  Which means 50 surfaces when you count front and back. And the cabinet frames. For perspective, my kitchen is very similar to Alisoncooks. From the picture it looks like you have 30+.  You will need a place to handle all of those laying out to paint and cure. You do not need to do it to my level, but it will still take a week or two, unless you have a sprayer and can build a door rack. I did not paint the inside of the cabinets. I have only seen that go bad, in heavily used cabinets.  You can put them back up before they cure, but with large dogs and kids, it will be unlikely they go unscathed. 

I took the doors and hardware off, scrubbed it all with TSP and hosed them with fresh water. I used Krud Kutter on the doors that needed a bit extra work (over the stove etc). I used several coats of grain filler, sanding between them. 

The doors and frames were sanded down to raw wood and wiped with cheese cloth. 

I put on two coats of Kilz 2, allowing them to dry over 24 hours and sanding between coats. Vacuuming and using cheese cloth to remove particles.

I put the doors in the garage over 2x2s. I painted them with 3-4 coats of high-end Benjamin Moore kichen cabinet paint ($25quart). Lightly sanding, vacuuming, cheese cloth between coats. I let them dry for several days between coats. I wanted to make sure they had a chance to cure a bit before the next coat.  It took me weeks to do it all, because I could handle a dozen doors at a time, and then had to flip them and do them again. (Do the back side first, so when you flip the doors, you are putting one painted side down, this way that is the back side, and fronts are kept the most pristine.)  

I then allowed the doors to cure for 30 days. The entire project was about 2 months. This was in the worst part of the world being shut down due to COVID. I bought handles for about $100 but didn't end up using them. When I put a fresh coat on this spring, I will put the knobs on. I hope they will help with the scratches. I will wait for a week when dd15 is going to be gone.  I also bought new soft-close hinges which I love. They required me to drill new holes, so I bought a jig to do those (about 1.5 inch holes), a set of self centering drill bits, and a guide. These were about $100-125. The paint was $75; primer $50. Supplies $50. The project came in under $500 with tax.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Tap

[KungFuPanda]

If I were getting a new kitchen in a few short years, I wouldn't put one dime into sprucing it up today.  I'd save it all for future upgrades. A few years zips by.

[Annie G]

Like Tap, we did extensive prep and were very careful painting our cabinet doors and frames. And within a year there were chips. I don’t have long fingernails, so it wasn’t caused by that. It did the trick for us since we knew we’d be selling in a few years and even with chips it looked better than the ‘before’ looked.  But it was a lot of labor to put in for a short lived  result.  But Katie is looking for a temporary fix and it’ll probably look great for the time frame she’s interested in. 
Dh and I are hobbyist woodworkers and paint plenty of things without issue, but those cabinets sure were disappointing. 

[ktgrok]

On 3/11/2022 at 11:16 PM, Spirea said:

You might want to consider Gel stain. I gel stained a coat tree bench and shelf for our garage and it has held up great to abuse. Much easier than painting.

I actually am considering doing them in say, walnut, maybe. Or even painting tops white, and gel staining the bottom cabinets in the darker gel stain. 

Also thinking about testing out what the grey stain looks like over them. 

3 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

If I were getting a new kitchen in a few short years, I wouldn't put one dime into sprucing it up today.  I'd save it all for future upgrades. A few years zips by.

I spend hours and hours in the kitchen every day. For about $100 - $200if it can look better, that would be more than worth it for me, given how much time I'm in there, and it really is the center of our house. Especially given how we seem to be home almost all the time now. 

[Katy]

Oh my goodness, DH and I have had the home decorating argument a few times. In one house I didn’t realize the paint color was giving me anxiety until I repainted after winning the argument. DH tells other men to let women redecorate now. “When the house was pretty she kept it so clean! It always looked like a magazine! She got so much more done. It was totally worth it.”

I think especially if you have ADHD you have to spend the money and make your house pretty ASAP. Not perfect, debt isn’t required.  But gel stain or paint to make the place you spend hours every day?  Absolutely worth it!

[Catwoman]

5 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

If I were getting a new kitchen in a few short years, I wouldn't put one dime into sprucing it up today.  I'd save it all for future upgrades. A few years zips by.

The problem I see with that idea is that a few short years can turn into another few years, and all of a sudden, 10 years may go by before the kitchen gets remodeled, and Katie will have hated those cabinets every single day of all of those years. 

For a few hundred bucks, she can have a kitchen she likes until she gets a brand new kitchen that she loves.

 

[Dianthus]

1 hour ago, Catwoman said:

The problem I see with that idea is that a few short years can turn into another few years, and all of a sudden, 10 years may go by before the kitchen gets remodeled, and Katie will have hated those cabinets every single day of all of those years. 

For a few hundred bucks, she can have a kitchen she likes until she gets a brand new kitchen that she loves.

 

Well, we did a cheap kitchen remodel when we got this house, planning to construct a new kitchen addition. We were supposed to do within 5 yrs. It's been 7, and now we can't do the addition at all because of the crazy cost of materials. I'm pretty crushed. I would have done a completely different kitchen, rather than what we did, which was more work than we had expected also. My dh is annoyed that I want to change it. I wouldn't put much time or money into yours for something temporary.  Actually, I'd highly recommend doing your remodel as much as possible now. Costs will just keep rising. And think a lot about the layout. I hate this kitchen layout and would completely change it. But when we did our initial remodel, we installed radiant lw concrete floors (very expensive and gutted entire house to do it). We were going to convert the kitchen to a bedroom. But now, it will be remaining a kitchen and my water location is stuck where it is, which makes everything else stuck in its current location. Anyway. Temporary remodels are a bad idea. Something changes, and what you have becomes permanent. Don't put money and so much time into that. Just my recommendation from my own experience.

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, Catwoman said:

The problem I see with that idea is that a few short years can turn into another few years, and all of a sudden, 10 years may go by before the kitchen gets remodeled, and Katie will have hated those cabinets every single day of all of those years. 

For a few hundred bucks, she can have a kitchen she likes until she gets a brand new kitchen that she loves.

 

Ah...see, you seem to remember that it took a DECADE for my DH to finish the bathroom remodel in the old house, and even then it only happened because we were selling, lol. 

1 hour ago, Spirea said:

Well, we did a cheap kitchen remodel when we got this house, planning to construct a new kitchen addition. We were supposed to do within 5 yrs. It's been 7, and now we can't do the addition at all because of the crazy cost of materials. I'm pretty crushed. I would have done a completely different kitchen, rather than what we did, which was more work than we had expected also. My dh is annoyed that I want to change it. I wouldn't put much time or money into yours for something temporary.  Actually, I'd highly recommend doing your remodel as much as possible now. Costs will just keep rising. And think a lot about the layout. I hate this kitchen layout and would completely change it. But when we did our initial remodel, we installed radiant lw concrete floors (very expensive and gutted entire house to do it). We were going to convert the kitchen to a bedroom. But now, it will be remaining a kitchen and my water location is stuck where it is, which makes everything else stuck in its current location. Anyway. Temporary remodels are a bad idea. Something changes, and what you have becomes permanent. Don't put money and so much time into that. Just my recommendation from my own experience.

We don't have the budget to totally rip out and replace the cabinetry, which is what we want to do down the road. I eventually want mostly drawers, and cabinets without those stupid center dividers, etc etc etc. But that means actually replacing the cabinets, and that's not going to happen this year. Putting in granite if we are going to rip out the cabinets is a bad idea, so no granite now.

But we can paint, that's just some time (and I enjoy this kind of project) and not a lot of money. 

[Catwoman]

2 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Ah...see, you seem to remember that it took a DECADE for my DH to finish the bathroom remodel in the old house, and even then it only happened because we were selling, lol. 

We don't have the budget to totally rip out and replace the cabinetry, which is what we want to do down the road. I eventually want mostly drawers, and cabinets without those stupid center dividers, etc etc etc. But that means actually replacing the cabinets, and that's not going to happen this year. Putting in granite if we are going to rip out the cabinets is a bad idea, so no granite now.

But we can paint, that's just some time (and I enjoy this kind of project) and not a lot of money. 

Why yes, yes I do remember the endless bathroom remodel!  😜