The process of creating a bold new style

This bespoke kitchen is a perfect example of a complete restyle and makeover. The design and quality of the kitchen meant that it was absolutely worth keeping and not replacing. This was a full restyle including dramatic colour change, new worktops, sink, flooring and lighting.

The Commission

The kitchen had had a bit of a life. Originally a cream spray painted finish, it had been hand painted over. The client had inherited it when she bought the house and now that her kitchen extension was complete, she wanted an entire makeover of her kitchen cupboards. The last hand painted finish on the kitchen at first glance looked reasonable, as it was very similar to the original colour. However on closer inspection they hadn’t painted the door edges or backs of the doors. They did manage to get paint on the hinges though!A typical example of a cheap and unprofessional repaint.

The Colour Consultation

Prior to the colour consultation, the client emailed me Pinterest images of kitchens and colours that inspired her. I find this a great way of allowing me to translate a client’s ideas into workable and viable forms. This particular client had a great sense of style and was willing to push the boundaries of colour for her kitchen repaint. So the emailed Pinterest images were of enormous help to me. We had an extremely in depth colour consultation on site with several colours being hand mixed and ‘offered up’.  Eventually, after a complicated hand mix, a deeply delicious green/ grey/ black colour was settled upon. When a bespoke colour is chosen I paint 3 sets of samples of it. 1 for the client, 1 for my library and 1 for the specialist paint company. I post the sample off to the paint company where they analyse the colour and mix it into my specified adhesion primer and topcoat. A 20% sheen was chosen for this kitchen. Paint sheen is mainly never considered by clients but I find the correct choice of sheen imperative. Too matt and there can be finger print or grease mark issues on dark colours, too shiny and it can flag up any flaws in a previously ( in this case, poorly ) painted kitchen.

Hand Painting the Kitchen

As with most kitchens to be repainted, I remove the doors and drawers and paint them in my studio. This minimises the disruption for the client and the kitchen can still be used. This whole kitchen needed to be fully sanded right back to remove the previous paint job. I use a Festool full dust extraction sander which is imperative when working in a domestic environment. Once the doors and drawers are completed and the frames painted in situ, I can reassemble and refit the handles and hinges that were previously removed, stripped and cleaned. And that’s it! A new look kitchen in a matter of weeks and at a fraction of the coast!

Summary

This kitchen restyle and repaint is a beautiful and impressive makeover. It shows that if you dare to go bold it really can work well and you don’t need to go to the expense and trauma of ripping out and replacing your kitchen. Use sites like Pinterest and Houzz. Build up a selection of images and you will be able to see a style forming that you may not have previously been aware of. This will give you the confidence to take a bolder step in style if you want to.