Wow, they look great!! Love the color and style. I almost didn't click on this link ... Make sure you post your finished pics in a new thread when you're done. Looking forward to the final reveal!

Looks great!

This looks great! I am so impressed. I love the counters and your color choices for the cabinets. And you did a wonderful job painting the cabinets yourself. I wish I were that handy. Can't wait to see the finished kitchen post.

Which white paint did you choose to be on the doors?Please do not forget to post pictures when you are done. I wish I was as handy.

Thank you for the compliments. I will be sure to do a reveal post once its all done. In the meantime, here are a few more pics.

Lynn: the white cabinets are BM mayonnaise, and in case you're curious, the ceiling is BM cottonballs.

This post was edited by three0h2 on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 13:21

This picture shows the countertop a little better, as well as the modified end cabinet.

...and the uppers.

This post was edited by three0h2 on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 13:20

So gorgeous. Thanks for the info and for providing us with more photos as you progress. Many people promise, you deliver!

I love what I'm learning from you. I never liked applied moldings on cabinet doors, but combined with your recessed panel it's just beautiful. I've actually decided to hold off on ordering doors because of your post, until I've thought this through a little more. I had planned to go with Shaker, then after living in the house for a bit (a mid-century colonial revival with some beautiful mid-century modern furniture), I decided to go with (gasp) slab doors. Now? You're making me want more to the door, if you know what I mean... Ugh, decisions.

If you like your sprayer, could you let me know which one you bought?

Three0h2~I love your kitchen. I was trying to find your past threads to see if you listed your kitchen size. Would you mind telling me the approximate size of your kitchen please?

In a few years I will build a small home that is reminiscent of an early '30s bungalow, and it has a small U shaped kitchen (9'x11'5) but will be open to the small informal dining room. I didn't think a smaller kitchen would look good with two different colors of cabinets, but yours look beautiful. This would be a good compromise for DH and me. Stained cabs are the only decorative thing he has an opinion about, but I would love a painted cab because I think it fits in more with my casual farmer's bungalow.

EAM44: I thought without a doubt I would be going with the ever-so-popular shaker style door. But, when it came time to order, I just wanted a little something more. And, something a little different (but not too different). I feel I made the perfect choice for my kitchen. I'm sure you will too.
I purchased the Titan Capspray Maxum II conversion HVLP from Gleem paint. I included the link below. Honestly, I don't have any prior experiences to compare it to, but it's a very nice gun. My father, who used it most, found it to be nice as well. We did have some frustrating moments with the final coat but the gun wasn't the issue. We think it was the humidity. I'm not sure if you have much experience with spraying, but it seems to be all about getting the settings and spraying distance right while practicing on scrap wood.

Here is a link that might be useful: HVLP gun link

IowaCommute: That's pretty much the exact size of my kitchen.
I personally think stained and painted cabinets can go together wonderfully. And if it wasn't for my walnut stained hardwood floor, I might have gone with a darker stained lowers.

Here are the plans for my kitchen, in case you find them helpful:

This post was edited by three0h2 on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 14:50

Thank you so much for posting your layout. Did you stain your lower cabs? What color is it?

Thank you again for posting your beautiful kitchen.

.... posted twice.

This post was edited by three0h2 on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 14:49

My lower cabinets are a custom blue color; the idea was a smokey navy. They are sort of chameleon-like though, looking different based on lighting and the angle of view.

Oh thank you for saying the color seemed to change. I looked at the pictures on different computers and thought I needed to get my eyes checked.

It is a very pretty blue.

They look amazing, thanks for sharing! I too, am about to order Barker, although I will be having them pre finished in Pure White. Can you tell me if you are planning on doing UCL and if so, will you use Barker's light rail or stock trim?

Wow! How did I miss your lovely kitchen! It is gorgeous!!
I love the blue color and your counter top is so nice and helps transition from the lowers to the uppers!
Can't wait to your final reveal!

Suburbanjuls: I felt like Barkers' lightrail wouldn't be right for the look of my kitchen. So I bought my lightrail with my stacked crown at a local woodworking shop. This was no less convenient for me since I painted them myself, but it was also less expensive, and I could choose anything under the sun. I ended up going with a 3/4" deep rounded corner 1x3. It will stick out just a little in front of the door/side panels. Ignore the blue tape keeping the sample pieces of wood together. The picture gives you an idea of what it will be like. We're using Environmental Lights UCLs which are only .4" high.

This post was edited by three0h2 on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 16:04

Wow! Looks great, excellent job.

Thanks so much for the very helpful info. I have to say, yours is my favorite thread. Oh, and great job on the image editing! I just noticed the lower half of a baby in a striped onesie on your counter in the second image you posted. If yours, feel free to post more images of the little one too!

Just wondered how it's going. I'd love to see more pics when you get a chance.

EAM44: thanks for asking. We just finished putting the tile in this evening. Tomorrow, the grout! It's definitely been a long process and we are ready to just enjoy the kitchen. :)

The tile is Ann Sacks' Idris in grey chine, a handmade moroccan terra cotta tile.

Another view.

This post was edited by three0h2 on Fri, May 10, 13 at 3:09

Oh my God it's beautiful!!! So many people think that if they have marble with any veining at all, they have to have a white subway tile bs. Your bs is a wonderful example of how inaccurate that is, and how unimaginative. This was a fantastic choice - a happy choice - and it goes perfectly with the feel of your kitchen (warm, homey, classic, yet still very 21st century as well). I'm really excited for you.

What a stunning Kitchen! I love the Blue and the floors and the counters and the angled cabinet! I did notice the cute little baby in striped jammies sitting on your gorgeous counters! Your backsplash really brings your elements together and provides an extra pop! What a beautiful job! Can't wait to see it all completely finished.

That tile looks great with everything. Very, very nice!

I love your kitchen! The backsplash is wonderful, such a delight. Unique, but not LOOK AT ME. Also, yay for small kitchens.

Edited to add: I don't even like blue, but I'd have your kitchen in a heartbeat. The blue is more like Levis in various states of wear.

This post was edited by linelle on Fri, May 10, 13 at 13:17

Wow! what a great backsplash!

ThreeOh2 - It all looks Great! And this is just the inspiration I need!

I have the paint grade doors & drawers in my house and the color selected. That should have been the hard part - right? I now need to decide between BM Advance or BM Cabinet Coat, and find the nerve to spray! :-)

Did you need to thin the Advance? Did you get a smooth finish? What was your setup like? Did you have a paint booth?

What size needle did you use? I'm still learning about these sprayers, and I don't see where the web site you posted talks about needle size at all, but mine came with 2 sizes, so I'm guessing yours can change out too? I'm under the impression that Advance needs a larger needle?

Did you spray your ceilings too?

Thanks!

Jeri

Since I just saw another thread with Danby mountain white counters, I thought I'd post a new pic of mine with the backsplash (and my sweet little guy).

There is so much to love in that pic!!!

Honestly Jeri, if I were to do it all over again, I would have paid a pro to spray the doors and drawer fronts with Advance, and I would have done everything else. Probably due to NW humidity, we had a very frustrating time at some points. However, when we weren't getting tiny bubbles, everything was perfect and they looked perfect. In the end, they do look great, but because of my mixed experience I can't tell you it was easy. However, if we didn't have tiny bubbles to try to get rid of, I would probably be raving about how easy the process was, and how it was all about prep and clean up.

So, that brings me to your questions: no, I don't think we needed to thin it, although we did at a point to try to get rid of the bubbles. When everything was working great, both ways worked. Thinning it is not as big of a deal as I thought it would be. I was trying to avoid it like the plague. The idea kind of intimidated me. But thinning it 5% or so is simple enough.

We only had 1 needle. Again, when thing were going great, it was good. We made a paint booth out of PVC and thick plastic sheeting. We used the super thin plastic on the inside of the booth and changed it out regularly to keep the booth clean. We used cardboard on the workspace and a bunch of small scrap boards to hold the doors/drawer front up off the cardboard. We changed/flipped the cardboard as necessary and flipped/changed the boards between each coat of each door/drawer front.

We did spray the ceiling. We primed it before installation and sprayed when it was up. What a mess! But I still feel that was the best option. Luckily we didn't have bubble issues here. Rolling wouldn't have looked as good and would have been tedious. If you do this, be sure to tape that room off from the rest of the house the best you can. Use 3M blue tape to completely seal it off. We did, and overspray still filled the house. While stressful at the time, the dry paint overspray dust did clean up like dust, and we still had construction dust to clean up anyhow.

In the end it seemed that getting a great finish (in our case, this applies to when bubbles weren't appearing) was all about technique and getting your settings and distance right, but there is a bit of leeway when it comes to the gun settings and finding the right balance. My advice is to allow plenty of time and scrap wood to practice on in case you need it.

Thank you for answering my questions. Yikes! Most of the time I'm confident about doing this - but other times I'm a bit leery... :-)

Jeri, I didn't want to scare you. It's very doable and rewarding. I don't think our issue is common. I called a lot of people, including Ben Moore's contractor's customer service, and they said they weren't familiar with our problem. I even called the painter I would have used, a really awesome guy who talked with me for a long time and tried to help me figure it out. (If anyone needs a painter in Portland, I'd certainly recommend this guy.)

Orange peel is a much more common issue, and that can be resolved by adjusting your settings and spraying distance and possibly adding some water. And, Advance lays flat so nicely that mild orange peel will level out.

Since we're on the subject of painting...I am also planning to paint Barker cabinets. Can I ask why both of you chose to use Advance rather than Cabinet Coat? My concern is actually less the painting process, and more the durability of the paint long-term.

BTW - I LOVE this kitchen. It's made me reconsider Shaker in favor of applied molding!

rmiriam: I chose Advance for a few reasons. The biggest reason is that I love BM paints and the BM paint shop I go to. I use Regal matte on all my walls. I have brushed Satin Advance on the trim in my house and I love the way it looks and feels. I much prefer it over Farrow and Ball, even. And, I love the BM paint colors, especailly BM Mayonnaise and BM Vermont Slate (my original choice for the bottom cabinets that I regret second guessing). However, after the experience I had, I wonder if I could have avoided my bubbles frustrations had we gone with Cabinet Coat. But, since I wasn't able to predict the future, I tell myself not to think about that.

Double post.

This post was edited by three0h2 on Fri, May 10, 13 at 14:32

Your marble is beautiful. Does having the same marble make us sort of kin?::))))! Beautiful job on your kitchen. Beautiful little one too.

Tulip55: perhaps! ;) I just love the marble. It is so nice to see someone else is loving theirs like I love mine. I must say, though, I am totally envious of the piece on your island!! Breathtaking!

I too have my own little bit of marble nirvana.

Tile grouted!

This post was edited by three0h2 on Fri, May 10, 13 at 20:27

One more photo.

Absolutely beautiful! I can't imagine a more perfect backsplash with that blue and white.

Another idea to consider for my cabinet color! (Woe is me, I like too many!)

Your kitchen looks so great. I have so enjoyed watching it evolve through this thread. What a stylish, historically sensitive kitchen remodel. LOVE IT!

Hi threeoh2,

What a beautiful kitchen! Love those back splashes. Can you tell me what is the width of your glass cabinet above the cook top? I am trying to order one in 14.5". But I am not sure how will the glass panel look like for 14.5" width cabinet. Yours look good.

Great kitchen! I love seeing smaller kitchen re-dos since I have a small kitchen. Would never, ever have guessed, the cab paint job was a DIY. Pat yourself on the back big-time! It all looks great!

That is one gorgeous kitchen -- I love blue. How did you find the quality of the barker cabinets. I assume they were RTA cabinets. How do they compare to say the Ikea boxes. We were thinking of doing Ikea boxes and ordering doors locally from a cabinet maker. Your boxes look like plywood construction which is not available from Ikea boxes. Are your cabinets frameless. (sorry the question mark button is strangely not working).

Congratulations on your beautiful kitchen.

Carol

I know this is an old thread, but I'd love to hear the opinion of someone nearly a year in with the Barker cabinets. Anything you're super happy with or something you'd change? Is the quality what you thought? How is the Advance paint holding up? I went into this reno thinking I knew exactly what I wanted, and now suddenly I'm waffling BIG TIME on the cabinets! Yours look gorgeous!

I would also love to know how the Barker cabinets have held up and how cabinets compare with other options (Ikea, big box store options). Looking on their site I can't find information about the wall cabinets having hanging rails.

jhophop...we are in the process of assembling and installing our kitchen full of Barker cabinets. The wall cabinets do not have hanging rails. They have 3/4 inch thick plywood nailers on the back of the cabinet, top and bottom and you screw through those nailers into the studs to attach the cabinets to the walls. They do not use an Ikea-like system of hanging rails. So far we are extremely pleased with the quality of our Barker cabinets but we just got them so I can't speak to their longevity with first hand experience but they are so well built that I can't imagine them not holding up like any other similar quality cabinets.

I know this is a very old thread, but I'll post just in case the OP is still around. I'm considering Barker cabinets for my small kitchen, and I will need a modified base end cabinet like yours since I cannot move my door, but I don't see it in their catalog. How did you manage this?