striking White Kitchen Update (with chalk paint!)

This kitchens walkthrough stays in the order the work happens.

   I’ve long felt that paint and hardware is the key to a great kitchen. We did update our cabinets without painting here, but I have always loved white kitchens (despite what people may say about them being sterile or hard to clean, that hasn’t been my experience!). Our guest today updated her outdated wood cabinets — and she used chalk paint on this white kitchen update, to make it even easier:  Marie has all of the details of her chalk painted kitchen makeover below — and be sure to look at some of our go-to white kitchens that we’ve featured

1. Jenny, featured here 2. via BHG, with our tips here
3. Everyday Enchanting
4. Cobblestone Development Group
5. Fisherman’s Wife Furniture
6. Eating in the Shower
7. CREATE and don’t miss these tips for painting cabinets (doors and all)

and the reviews of painted cabinets we gathered from some of our go-to bloggers here. 

Say hello to Marie and welcome her to Bekob today!   This post contains affiliate links. See our full disclosure policy here. 

Chalk Painted White Kitchen Update
by Marie of Paint it White Interiors

Hi, my name is Marie and I am so happy to be featured here on Bekob having been inspired by Bekob to repaint and update our dark kitchen and we are so happy with the result. My husband and I moved back home to Ireland from America with our three children sixteen years ago and made our new home here in County Clare.

While we lived in the USA I studied Interior Design and soon after graduation our three children were born (one in each state we lived in). They’re all grown up now which leaves me with a lot of free time to get back to my passion for all things Interior Design. So, here I am back again and our house is my target. After a decade and a half of decorating neglect it’s in serious need of updating so starting with the kitchen my blog is like my scrap book. It gives me motivation where I’m excited to post and share each ‘Before and After’ makeover project and also to get a ton of inspiration from other blogs out there. Let the fun begin!

First room to be redone was our Kitchen and here is a photo of the finished result..

Before:

After:

The Peninsula is Annie Sloan Provence with Dark Wax but I am changing it to a Dark Grey like the French Doors and I would love Liscannor Slate tiles for the floor but that’s a job for another day.. Below is another before..

During..

It’s so important to spend time preparing to get a really professional result so filling in any nail holes or cracks is a must. Our walls were deep red so priming was also a must. After that it’s plain sailing. I bought Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in ‘Old White’ for the cabinets and we had Pavol, a family friend do the painting. He didn’t believe me at first that there was no need to sand when using the chalk paint you just need to wash the cabinetry first with sugar soap to remove any grease or grime from especially around the cooking area etc.

After..

It’s by no means finished. I’m in two minds whether to knock out the wall behind the kitchen table and put our main dining table there. There’s a long living room behind that wall so it would flow nicely from kitchen to dining room to living room. Plus there is a working fireplace in that room which we light all through the winter and it would be visible from the kitchen also making for a really cozy set-up! (That’s why I didn’t finish painting the table and chairs there- I really need to make my mind up!)
Before:

Here are the Pine French Doors before being painted dark Grey and walls primed and ready for Parisian Cream by Dulux.

After:

And here are some more after shots!

Before:

Pavol took all the doors off to be painted and before the wainscoting went up we had an electrician install another set of electrical outlets as this spot gets so much use with laptops, phone charging not to mention electrical kitchen appliances.

After:

And here it is all prettied up with wainscoting installed and the doors back on. I just love it!

I absolutely love all the brightness of our kitchen now but not wanting it to look too clinical I added in some rustic elements like lamps, baskets, terracotta and vintage planters etc. We replaced the old wooden knobs with striking Hammered Pewter Hardware which made an memorable difference.

I added a wing back chair here to create a cozy reading nook.

And some little details to bring it all together..

It’s only Paint and new door handles but it feels like a brand new kitchen to us. Definitely worth it!

One more thing. Cats make great ornaments.. (just kidding-he legged it up there for safety when I was making to much fuss with the camera) Thanks so much for looking, now to get started with the rest of the house ..

Cost breakdown:

• Kitchen Cabinets painted with three tins of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in ‘Olde White’ @ €27.00 Per Tin. I bought this paint from Sonoma Interiors in Ennis.
• Kitchen Cabinet Door Handles x 26 @ €4.99 per handle are from Woodies.
• Walls were primed with primer first and then painted with one 2.5 litre can of Dulux Easycare Washable Matte Paint in ‘Parisian Cream’ @ €35.99 Per Tin. Also from Woodies.
• Back Splash wainscoting was painted with a washable paint ‘Brilliant White’ from Woodies
• Back Splash Wainscoating is also from Woodies. I cannot remember exact pricing but it comes in panels for I think around under €20. I used about four panels.
• Entry Doors were primed first with Zinser Bin Primer and then painted over with ‘Brilliant White’ non yellowing white paint.

————————————————————

Marie, thank you so much for sharing with us!

Bekob, if you have a project you’ve been inspired by Bekob to do, please send us pictures or tag #imaBekob on Instagram! You can submit a brag post and pictures here, or if you have a blog, you can submit a post to be a featured guest here.

Be sure to look at Marie’s straightforward small-space spice rack here, too!