This enquiry came in from a couple in Garstang, Lancashire who had been looking around at the options for upgrading their kitchen, which had cost them over £10,000, 12 or so years ago.

(These are the options how to refurbish a kitchen!)

Whilst it still looked in very good condition overall, when you looked closely, you could see the wear and tear. There was staining to one of the doors and in places the clear protective coating had worn away back to bare beech.

Like a lot of kitchens that we paint., it had been really well installed, back in the day, but the solid doors had grown a bit tired, aesthetically. Overall, though, it was much too good to rip out.

Having seen my web site, they thought that hand-painting might be the best way to bring some life back into a custom kitchen that still worked for them.

As I was due to be working in Garstang I went to have a look and discuss the possibilities in person.

More to transforming a wooden kitchen…

In addition to the painting, they wanted advice on a new sink and some joinery work, as well as the paint colours. I passed the non-painting work over to the two Geoffs – one’s a plumber one’s a joiner. They duly went round and quoted up. In the meantime, my quote was accepted and a start date confirmed.

Live preview

We like to have a good length lead time, in order to make sure all necessary work has been carefully considered and completed before I come to paint. Upgrading a kitchen is not a 5 minute or spur of the moment job, unless you like drama and stress!

Hand painted Beech kitchen

I thought that before the work was started, it would be nice if they saw a live kitchen in progress. We were around the corner on another kitchen re-paint, and once Ray & Margaret had seen the results, they couldn’t wait for me to get started on their own.

Colours and prepping

The colour we picked for the main kitchen cabinets was Farrow and Ball Clunch. I must say their colour range is superb.

We also looked at the wooden ceiling and they opted for painting that in Pointing, a lovely colour that sits well with the units.

With the sink fitted and joinery completed, it was my turn! With no trades in the way, I could crack on.

We started by washing down with my usual Krud Kutter, then rinsing with water.

Once the units had dried, we gave every square inch a light sanding with our abranet sanding blocks . We used a tack cloth to remove all dust, then a wipe with a meth soaked rag. Beech kitchen

Priming and painting

Otex was the high adhesion primer on the kitchen cabinets, followed by 2 coats of Empire, all tinted to perfection and supplied by Holman Specialist Paints. Empire is an oil based eggshell that is thixotropic, like eggshell used to be. It doesn’t suffer from the “slow-drying post 2010″ syndrome, and dries really tough and level.

For the ceiling, which was a very knotty pine, we specified two coats of Zinsser BIN, then 2 coats of Tikkurila Furniture Feelings Extra. (Extra is similar to Zinsser Perma White, mould and mildew resistant, so great for condensation affected areas. The main advantage of using are supplier and Tikkurila over Perma White, is that it can be tinted exactly to any colour range you care to mention, and loads more besides.) Hand painted Beech kitchen

Kit and kaboodle

I used my long handled 2″ Woosters for this job, supplied by Mypaintbrush. I do rate these brushes highly.

With the painting nearing completion all it needed were new handles. Again my supplier, Slingers of Preston, delivered again with great service.

Finishing touch

My final touch is always to gun round the floor with clear silicone & renew the silicone around the worktops and tiles.

Once again this turned out just as good as all the kitchens we finish – light and airy rooms, very practical, and all achieved for the fraction of the price and aggravation of a new one.

I would like to thank both Ray and Margaret for their kindness and patience whilst we worked there.

I have some Reviews if you are interested in what paying clients actually think about how we handle projects.

 So What did my clients think:

No brainer

We would have no hesitation in highly recommending Jason and Matt to anyone wanting to have their kitchen units painted. Jason inspires confidence by taking the time to explain exactly how he works and what will happen. He can guide you through selection of colours. Door handles etc and is able to recommend other reliable tradesmen if you want to say replace worktops or sinks.
He and Matt certainly deliver what they say they will. Arriving promptly each morning and leave the kitchen as clean and tidy as possible each evening. They work diligently, make no mess and are willing to work round your needs as required. They pay great attention to detail and ensure everything is finished off to a very high standard.
We are very pleased with the end product which really has rejuvenated our kitchen. At a fraction of the cost of a brand new one…