Do you have “old” cabinets you’d like to refresh? Everyone still wants to make changes in their homes but in this economy who can afford to rip out and put in new?  It isn’t hard to change up your old dark cabinets at all.  A little paint…some new hardware and ShaZAM!  Gorgeous new cabinets!  Well…new looking, right?

Here’s an email from a newsletter subscriber:

Hi Tawn,

I have dark wood cabinets in my bathroom.  I would like to lighten them up or even paint them white.  Would it be too much work to paint them white since they are so dark?  Or do you have a different idea to lighten them up & bring them up to present time?

Thanks for your help!   Nella

I completely understand about wanting to update dark cabinets.  I’ve had my share of “cave” bathrooms because the cabinets were soooo dark!!    It doesn’t really matter how many cabinets you have to paint they’ll all need to be “processed”.  It isn’t hard…its the standard “prep work” that makes your project turn out FABULOUS!

Here are the steps you will need to follow:

1.  Remove all the hardware from cabinet doors – yes, the hinges, too!

2.  Clean the cabinets and doors thoroughly with soap and water or a non-abrasive cleaner.  Make sure whatever you use to clean the cabinets with does not leave behind any sort of oily residue.  Scrub them good, rinse them twice and then let them dry.

3.  Now you need to lightly sand the doors and the cabinet with a fine grit sanding pad or with some steel wool.  If your cabinets have a clear coat of varnish or polyurethane on them, you’ll have to sand them a bit more in order to get the surface ready for your paint. 

4.  Time to wipe them clean again.  Take a damp cloth and wipe the cabinets and doors clean of any dust from the sanding.  Let ‘em dry again. 

5.  Time to PRIME!  Use a good quality primer/sealer like Kilz, Bin or Zinsser.  Let your primer dry for at least an hour before the next step.

6.  Paint away with whatever color you choose.  Its best to use a semi-gloss paint finish for the cabinets.  It has a slight shine, will look gorgeous, AND it makes it easy to clean finger prints and “stuff” off the surface if it gets on there.  Whatever you do – DON’T USE FLAT PAINT!

7  You may want to seal it with a clear coat, but if you use a semi-gloss it may not be necessary.  If you want this extra layer of protection you’ll want to lightly sand the surface of your fresh paint (after it’s dried for a day), wipe it clean and then brush on a coat of MinWax Polycrylic.  Or whatever product you prefer.  I just like Polycrylic!    It comes in different sheens so you can pick the one you want.

8.  Now it’s time for some new hardware!  Or you can just put back the ones you removed.  Depending on the look you want and the hardware you have in your bathroom there are LOTS of options for you to update your look now.  Want hammered metal?  Shiney chrome?  What about a brushed nickel?  Or even glass?  My son likes the oil rubbed bronze ones.  The options are limitless.  You can find new knobs and hinges at a hardware store or even at Target, Wal-Mart or Sears!

Have fun with your project.  It’s easy to update your look any time you want and as often as you want. It just takes a little scrubbing and some paint!

Now get out there and splash some paint around!

P.S.  Found this cool book on painting furniture I thought you might like to look at, too!

This book is more for the home decorating or home improvement person rather than a crafter.  It takes the approach of creating cool decorative furniture for your home rather than creating art work on a piece of furniture.  It doesn’t require any artistic skill or weird materials or tools.  AND it has COMPLETE step-by-step PHOTOGRAPHY for all 50 painting techniques, surface embellishments and faux finishes for your furniture!

Another good option?  Debra’s FABULOUS Wood Graining Video!  Get rid of those dark cabinets and turn ‘em in to golden oak or maybe you want a rich mahogany!  You can do it with Debra’s Beginner Guides To Professional Finishes – Faux Wood Grain.  Eassssyyyy Breezzzyy!! 

This great question from Dave & Donna – newsletter subscribers – I am happy to share the limelight with Tawn – THAT Painter Lady part 2! 

I am wanting to get a distressed look on the center isle in my kitchen. It is real wood and was stained in a medium to dark finish when we built the home.

I want it to be a different color from my cabinets and thought of a distressed or old world look in a lighter color on top of the already stained wood. Can this be accomplished?

This is my first time doing this particular faux process. I assume there will be sanding involved. I just did not know if this is something I should try myself or if I should hire it out. ~Dave & Donna

Hi Donna & Dave-

What a great idea and fun, too!  Easy to do as well.

If you want your center isle in your kitchen to look like it is a different piece of furniture, older, well loved, with many transformations, then here are a few steps for you to follow:

1.  Sand – lightly sand the isle (this scuffs the surface so that the paint will have something to adhere to without chipping off later on).

2.  Add Dabs of Color – paint a dab of turquoise here and some hot pink/red there and some bright sunny yellow over there.  You don’t have to use different colors you can paint it all with just one color.  I used different colors to give my piece a deeper faux “history”.    When it used to be painted turquoise and once was painted red or when it was yellow.  Like it has a longer history.  I’ve also painted it just one solid color as the base and that works, too.

3.  Candle Wax Rub – go back over the dabs of color with a rub of wax. Take a candle (a taper or emergency candle works well – white – no color) and rub it on a portion of the color you painted and some on the edge of the dark stain.

4.  Paint – you can paint over the entire thing with a creamy ivory color (2 coats).

5.  Distress – when the paint dries take your sand paper and lightly run it over the areas you know you rubbed on the candle wax. It will take off the paint exposing the color(s) underneath (your dab of turquoise here and pink there and avocado green there and yellow here).  Rub the sandpaper along some of the edges exposing the darker stain underneath and even go deeper here and there exposing just the wood.

6.  Antique – to age the piece I would take a light stain or brown paint watered down and rub it all over the piece following the grain of the wood.  Then seal it with Polycrylic Satin.

Hope this helps!

THAT Painter Lady (well…the other one!)

Here are a few great resources on (do it yourself) distressed finishes.  Click on the pictures to read about each resource.

Period Finishes & Effects

50 Ways to Paint Furniture: The Easy, Step-by-Step Way to Decorator Looks

The Art of the Painted Finish for Furniture & Decoration: Antiquing, Lacquering, Gilding & The Great Impersonators

One stroke furniture accents: 9 painted furniture pieces coordinated with wallpaper

Distressing is one of several faux painting techniques used to achieve distressed cabinet doors.

The distressed effect on wooden items endows them with an antique or shabby chic look that is essential in a variety of decor schemes, from antique elegance to the informal rustic style.

Distressing is an effective way to age doors on bedroom, kitchen and other cabinets to produced a textured and less bland appearance.

There are several ways to achieve a distressed look on cabinet doors.

Perhaps the simplest is to give a new-looking cabinet door a controlled bashing and scraping with hammer and chisel, but paint techniques are the favored way of simulating age.

The basic technique involves creating the illusion of wear and age-related texture using two layers of paint.

• For a more variegated effect, more than two colors can be used.
• Scraping and scarring the topcoat so the layer beneath shows through gives the impression of age.
• It is possible to achieve a similar effect by painting streaks with a fine brush, but this may require more artistic expertise.
• Applying a top coat and then, before it has dried, using the dragging or combing technique to remove areas of paint can also create a distressed look on wooden doors.
• Usually, the base coat, which will be showing through, will be a lighter.
• The darker topcoat gives the impression of patina, the deep glow that develops over decades or centuries on old wood.
• You can use shades of the same color (typically shades of brown) but different effects can be achieved with different combination’s, such as gray undercoat and brown topcoat.

Distressing With Wax

• One of the most popular methods entails using wax to ensure that the base paint layer is exposed.
• Beeswax is especially suitable though candle and other waxes can be used.
• The wax is applied in streaks and/or patches and allowed to dry before the second coat is applied.
• When dry the door is then sanded down.
• Paint applied on top of the wax comes off easily, exposing the undercoat.
• Depending on how vigorously you sand, a textured effect with clean wood showing through the patina surface will result.

Bri-Wax Tudor Brown

My Favorite All Time Wax For Distressing And Aging Cabinets.  It’s not like stain… it doesn’t leave a shine or look “stained”.   This tinted wax just makes everything look old.

It collects in cracks and if you have sanded the edges of the cabinet doors it leaves this area very dark. It stays work”able” for a long time… but when buffed leaves no residue.

Crackle Glaze

Distressing With Crackle Glaze is a special kind of paint that is meant to crack and peel as it dries, giving the effect of varnish peeling with age.

The crackle glaze is painted on top of the base coat and the topcoat is painted on top of the crackle glaze.

You need to use latex paint for this technique, since oil paints will not crackle properly.

Pickling  Gel Stain

This is a paint technique that involves applying paint to an unpainted wooden cabinet door and then fairly randomly wiping it off before it dries.

This technique is an easy way to give the impression of years of use and wear and is good if you want to leave some wood grain exposed to view.

Distressing is a relatively uncomplicated way of adding texture and color to a uniform, flat surface, enhancing its visual interest.

Click Here to read another THAT Painter Lady Article on the steps involved in Creating A Distressed Look