Beth Sears recently sent me photos of her updated oak kitchen inspired by my extremely popular post about
White Kitchens. Beth and her husband built their house in 1993 so when it came time to update their kitchen it was a total DIY renovation! Here is their story:
“With the exception of the granite, ...it took about a year of convincing hubby that the oak had long past seen it's prime and even longer to talk him into white.......the final decider was your blog post about the 80's oak kitchen, I made him sit down and read it and finally he agreed and your posts about beautiful white classic kitchens, which I drooled over for hours, were even more help!!!......now he loves the white as much as I do ........it took almost 6 months from start (stripping wallpaper) to finishing touches last week.
Before
Luckily for me Kevin is quite a perfectionist and a very skilled carpenter despite being an I.T. professional by day, and I am very detail oriented and love to research, so we make a good team. I think things like the beadboard in the bookcase/skylights and the end panel we put on the side of the bookcase, the elegant sink/faucet are the touches that make a DIY job look professional and polished. I that balance and scale are a very important part of any design.
After
I chose the bronze hardware/fixtures as opposed to black or polished pewter because I felt I wanted to bring out the brownish tones in the uba tuba granite and I thought black accents would be too heavy in this kitchen. I chose oversized knobs to balance the heaviness of the countertop. 
After
I also used your posts about paint selection to choose the BM HC-34 Wilmington Tan (above)and have had numerous compliments on this choice. Also your posts regarding backsplashes not competing with granite were very helpful, hubby wanted accents and a pattern and I held out for a classic look and he is very glad we did.
We painted the oak with BM Cabinet Coat in Timid White (after about 3 weeks of sanding) and ordered new doors as I felt the arch on the old ones, even when painted white, would still say "I'm a 1990's kitchen painted white" and that wasn't what I was going for!! Beth Sears
Love the hits of apple green! See the rest of the photos on Beth’s blog
here. Thanks Beth for sharing your inspiring kitchen with us!
If you would like your kitchen to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me.
Related posts:
Selecting your Kitchen and Bath Backsplash; Accent Tile or Not?How to Update an 80’s Kitchen with ColourHow to choose the Right Colours for your KitchenNew to this Blog?
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Before
After 
After