This is my kitchen–after renovation–with cabinet knobs to match the counter-tops.
When we purchased our house we inherited a kitchen that would have taken first place in the Most Hideous Kitchen Contest. Picture it—Black vinyl floor, peeling white Formica cabinets with black plastic knobs, black counter-tops, black sink, white, black and pink tulip wallpaper, black window trim. A kitchen remodel was at the top of our list of things to do!
Our plan was to purchase cabinets and install them ourselves. We found beautiful french country cabinetry! It was a soft creamy color with a taupey/brown glaze and some pretty molding detail on the doors. I was in love–until I saw the price–it would have cost nearly $25,000 for the cabinets alone! Definitely not in the budget, so my amazing husband went to his basement workshop and drew up plans for my kitchen cabinets and for less than $4,000 he replicated the $25,000 cabinetry! Not bad for a guy who never did cabinetry (except for a few entertainment centers and assorted furniture)! He sprayed a creamy-colored base paint and I glazed them a taupe/brown glaze.
I had a difficult time choosing the counter-top and hardware. I just couldn’t commit to granite—way to expensive of a commitment for me and I just didn’t want to spend the money if I wasn’t sure! Formica cost less than $200 for over 20 feet of counter-top (Joe made them too) so how could I go wrong! I could change my mind 10 times and still spend less than granite! In hindsight, I wish I had gone with a more neutral color and different hardware bu,t considering its been 12 years since we did the kitchen, I did OK.
We had to replace the faucet and I wanted to match the faucet to the color of the light fixtures, an oil-rubbed bronze color. Of course, then I needed to change the hardware! I really didn’t want to spend a couple of hundred dollars on hardware so I figured that I would go to my old stand-by–spray paint!
It was so easy to do and took less than 4 hours from removal of the hardware to replacement! Here’s how:
Gather your supplies:
Spray Paint in color of your choice – I chose Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze.
I also purchased a can of Matte Finish Polyurethane to protect the paint from wear.
I had a piece of Styrofoam and stuck finish nails into it at 4 inch intervals–enough room to spray all sides of the knob–and to hold the knobs up and in place when I sprayed them!
I removed the knobs from the cabinets (put the screws in a baggie in a safe place–no, not that safe place–the safe place where you can actually find them later) and soaked them in some soapy water to remove any oils and dirt from the surface and let them air dry. Then I gave them a little wire-brush scrub just to scuff them up a bit so the paint would adhere better.
I sprayed them bottom side up first–two good coats being careful to look at them from all angles so I didn’t miss any spots. When good and dry I popped them onto the finish nails that I previously stuck into the foam and gave them three good coats–again being sure they dried in between coats and checking from all angles to make sure they were evenly coated.
Once they dried completely (per the can directions) I sprayed both sides of the knobs with two coats of clear polyurethane in a matte, non-yellowing finish.
Once they dried completely (per the can directions) I sprayed both sides of the knobs with two coats of clear polyurethane in a matte, non-yellowing finish. Let dry completely, replace knobs and sit back and enjoy what a difference a little spray paint can make!
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