Saving the cabinets

Keep them? Get new? We weren't sure what to do about the kitchen cabinets. On one hand, the honey oak was dated and way too yellow, and we thought we were going to change the setup of the kitchen. On the other, moving utilities in a kitchen is expensive and something we'd have to hire out, and the cabinets were custom-made for the space and are in great shape.

We ultimately decided to keep the layout of the kitchen and paint the cabinets, thereby saving thousands of dollars. In a compromise move, Nate is making new cabinet doors with a less fidgety profile. He's essentially ripping Shaker-style doors and drawer fronts for a fraction of the cost of installing all-new cabinets. It will take some time before they're made and painted. 

This means that we spent a lot of time (A LOT OF TIME) taking the cabinets from honey oak to glossy white. We spent a month (or more?) with the cabinet contents on tables and in plastic bins in the guest room, on the credenza in the dining room, and on the dining table. We sanded, filled some of the wood grain, sanded again, primed, and then ended up painting everything (outside, inside, under, including shelves) with three coats of Sherwin-Williams ProClassic interior enamel in Alabaster, which we had carefully matched to one of the swirls in the quartz of the counter. 

The cabinets look great. They'll look even better with the new doors...things are a little janky in the kitchen right now with honey oak drawer fronts and Alabaster everything else, but that's okay. It's all coming together and we are very happy with the choices we've made so far.