This hand painted kitchen project was undertaken in Bramhope, Leeds. When I paint any wooden or laminate kitchen the transformation is always great, but sometimes the results are extra special, this was one such project.

The clients had inherited this hand made kitchen when they moved into the house and although high quality, it was perhaps ‘of a time’ and now looked a little dark and imposing – the perfect candidate for a quality hand painted finish and contemporary transformation.

They initially contacted me by phone and asked various question about the process, colour options, durability etc. I explained how I went about things and having put their minds at rest they asked me if I could give them a price for the work. After receiving a few pictures I emailed an estimate by return, to which they replied saying they were happy with the proposed price and would like to arrange a consultation.

Click here to see this kitchens main ‘Project Page’ or continue reading for a more, in depth look at the stages and processes used.

The Consultation

During the consultation I explained things in more detail and then moved on to looking at colours. The client was very keen for the walls to be green, so having looked at various options we decided The Little Greene Company’s ‘Tracery 2’ would be a lovely option – a sagey shade, natural and earthy in colour. For the units themselves we looked at warm ‘off whites’ to compliment the slight pinkiness in the floor tiles. In the end we chose another Little Greene, this time, ‘Clay Mid’ which I had accurately tinted in my specialist paint by Holmans Specialist Paints, Swindon.

Alongside the painting there were to be other changes too, the large double unit on the right was removed and the wall knocked down opening up the next door snug. I thought the way the clients knocked out this section was inspired, electing not to take the whole wall out but a section, leaving a very modern and funky shape as the gap.

In many of my previous Blogs I have written in detail about the processes and materials I use to achieve my particular finish so for this Blog I thought I’d show you some of stages through pics rather than with words. It’s a bit more condensed and doesn’t tackle every single aspect involved, only the main bits, so if you’d like to see a more detailed run down of the process please click here for more of my Blogs.

The Process through pictures

Stage 1 –

Remove doors and handles

Stage 2 –

Thoroughly clean and degrease all areas.

Stage 3 –

Mask off all areas with a combination of 1200 lining paper, ‘Tape & Drape’ and various low tack/specialist masking tapes.

Stage 4 –

Thoroughly sand every square inch of any area that is going to be painted. I use a combination of an virtually dust free electric sanding system for the main areas and sand by hand for the detailing.

Stage 5 –

Seal all the ‘pips’/ knots with a shellac based primer/sealer.

Stage 6 –

Priming and Filling. I use a high adhesion oil based primer which I had tinted to the top coat colour. Once primed I filled the pips and any other areas that needed attention. I then sanded everything back and applied the shellac primer/sealer to any part of the pips/knots that had been revealed after the sanding process.

Stage 7 –

Prime everything again, gently sand it silky smooth and then fill any gaps with caulk  – sorry no photos of this stage, sure you can picture it though 🙂

Stage 8 –

Apply the top coats, re-attach the doors, tidy up, re-attach the handles and there you have it. After many a stage and the transformation was complete. From dark and dated to light, airy and modern, you really wouldn’t think it was the same kitchen!

I was over the moon with this project and I think the clients were a little bit in shock when I left (in a good way!) after seeing the final unveiling and just how much of change the painting had made. As I said before, sometimes the results are very very special indeed, this was one such project.

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Lee works as a kitchen painter throughout Yorkshire and is within easy reach for hand painted kitchen projects in Leeds, Bramhope, Headingly, Holbeck, Chapel Allerton, Horsforth, Roundhay, Burley, Kirkstall, Pudsey, Pool in Wharfdale, and all the surrounding areas.