We have been getting A LOT of cabinetry commissions lately — which really does not surprise me in this current housing climate.  In fact, according to AIA Architect, who conducted a Home Trends Design Survey, kitchen and bath projects remain strong as the residential market weakens.  If you are disatisfied with the way your kitchen or bath cabinetry looks — and there is a beautiful, durable and affordable alternative to wrecking the house and starting from scratch, why wouldn’t you explore it?  Plus, it’s great for environmentally-conscious consumers since you are, in essence, recycling what you currently own at the cost of no additional trees.

Here’s a sampling of our most popular finish: bringing in an overall color and lightly glazing the edges and trim.  I also recommend adding crown molding if the cabinetry doesn’t have it — it costs pennies on the dollar and yet adds great re-sale value to your kitchen.

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Formica can also be changed (as seen in the laundry room on the left).  On the right, the light pine cabinetry was deepened to a cherry finish…and we didn’t have to sand it all the way to the bare wood and re-stain.

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How white cabinetry gets a lot more interesting via the magic of faux bois: woodgraining.  You can see more pics of this project here and here or try another project altogether.

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The distressed look is also popular.  Here is a during and after pic — you can see the black peeking through the red.  (Did you see the stripes on the ceiling?)

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We are going to be offering two separate Cabinetry Refinishing classes at our studio about once a month.  The first class will be Saturday, May 17 and more details will be forthcoming.  These workshops will be specifically tailored to homeowners who want a change, don’t have a lot to spend but yet don’t mind a little elbow grease.   Each one-day class will teach one specific finish and it will be a jam-packed day: from planning the project to the final topcoat layer — homeowners will also learn how to use an HVLP sprayer for a factory-finished look.

Here is my brother…everytime we get into our spray gear I always tell him with my best Darth Vader voice: “Jason, I am your sister!”

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He told me it wasn’t funny anymore after the 100th time I did it.  Doesn’t stop me, though…:)