Two-tone cabinets, vibrant fabric and a frosty backsplash brighten this eat-in kitchen
One of the biggest cost savers was refacing rather than replacing the cabinets. The designer added new custom Shaker doors and drawer fronts, updating the classic style with long bar pulls.
Lower cabinet paint: Refuge, No. 6228, Sherwin-Williams; upper cabinet paint: Ice Cube, No. 6252, Sherwin-Williams; bar pulls: Emtek
She had the built-in bench refaced in white, with new drawer fronts and hardware that coordinates with the cabinetry. The eat-in area is an important part of the room, as the family enjoys almost all their meals together in here.
New recessed lighting and vintage-style glass pendants help brighten the room. Framed groups of vintage bottle caps add an eclectic touch. In case you’re wondering, the door leads to the existing pantry.
Chairs: Crate & Barrel; bottle cap artwork: Bed Bath & Beyond; Eastmoreland pendant lights: Rejuvenation
Rowten fabric: No. 4354 in Fiesta, Pindler & Pindler
Callahan welt fabric: No. 2381 in turquoise, Pindler & Pindler
She also added LED lighting underneath the cabinets. Previously the only source of light on the counters had been from the vent hood.
Arctic White subway tile: Daltile; Frost Iridescent accent tile: Water & Light series, Boyce & Bean
The floor looks like weathered driftwood but is actually porcelain tile. Because the homeowners have dogs, they needed the durability of porcelain.
Sidecar floor tile: SpeakEasy series, 36 by 12 inches, Crossville
“They should do good prep work on the cabinet bases first, filling in all the holes,” she says. She also says it’s best if the painter has a spray booth in which to paint the doors and drawer faces before bringing them to the house to install. “It’s not cheap, but it’s still a lot less expensive than buying all new cabinetry,” she says.
Kitchen of the Week
Who lives here: A couple and their two teenage boys
Location: San Carlos, California
Size: 209 square feet (19.5 square meters)
Designer: Sabrina Alfin Interiors
BEFORE: While not compact, the previous kitchen looked small and cramped because it was so dark. In addition, the family had to cart food and drinks through another room to their backyard entertainment space. However, their appliances, granite countertops and cabinet bases were in great shape.
“At first they thought they wanted an all-white Shaker kitchen, but I thought that could wind up looking too stark and antiseptic for them — I wanted them to have something more cool updated to reflect them,” Alfin says. So she nudged them toward a two-tone cabinet scheme that injected the room with more color.
Learn more about using two-tone cabinets