A new old kitchen

One year on from moving into their new house, Melanie and John have a wonderful kitchen, a far cry from the original white kitchen with chewed handles, chipped Formica benchtops and original appliances.

The open plan kitchen and lounge were first painted in Resene Crab Apple. Once this was done it became quite clear that the rest of the kitchen needed some serious work. The original plan was to try and spruce up the cabinetry and put on a cheap benchtop to last about 3-4 years or until finances would enable a full kitchen replacement.

Having been told that the cupboard surface couldn't be painted over, John went down to Resene drawer in hand, only to be advised that it could in fact be painted over provided the first coat was Resene Smooth Surface Sealer, an adhesion primer that would enable the paint to stick properly.

Pleased with this information and armed with a small pot of Resene Lusta-Glo semi-gloss enamel tinted to Resene Golden Glow, John started the process of sprucing up the cabinetry. All the doors and drawers were sanded back and the edges routed out to give new clean lines as they had been chipped and worn. The sealer was then applied followed by the Resene Golden Glow. Seeing it on the cupboards, they decided to go with the Resene Golden Glow and painted all the cabinetry up. As an experiment they painted the edges of the drawers in the acrylic Resene Crab Apple used on the walls in the kitchen and lounge. They loved it so much they repainted the edges using Resene Lusta-Glo semi-gloss enamel tinted to Resene Crab Apple to match the gloss level of the Resene Golden Glow. New handles were put on and the cupboards were complete.

Kitchen and lounge walls	Window trim and french doors
Resene Crab Apple	Resene Golden Glow

Delighted with the way it had turned out, the make do makeover turned into the real thing. Resene Pukekohe staff advised on what colour benchtop would go with our colour scheme and from there John's vision started to come together. Graham Fair of Papakura built and installed the perfect benchtop and this was then complemented with new appliances. The last finishing touch was a new floor to complete the look.

A fantastic result.

Decorating inspiration gallery
Click on the links below to view more great home decorating ideas and colour schemes for home interiors and exteriors.