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Kitchen reno with paint and ply

LizzieCro
Making a Splash

Kitchen reno with paint and ply

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I did this reno a few years ago. We had a high gloss polyurethane kitchen, with flat doors. I wanted Shaker style, but we couldn't afford to have the kitchen changed by professionals. To change the doors, drawer fronts and end panels, I ripped down some 3mm ply into strips, and attached this to the fronts to create the Shaker trim. To allow for the additional thickness of the doors I simply adjusted the concealed hinges, to move the door ever-so-slightly away from the cabinet edge. I also created the illusion that there were more drawers, by adding trim to the tops of doors, creating a faux drawer, and by 'dividing' three large drawers, into 6.

I removed two of the cabinets over the stove, and converted the remaining centre cabinet into a custom range hood cover, using ply, pine and MDF. The front cover comes off that, so there is still storage there if needed. I extended the ends of the breakfast bar, where it originally cantilvered, just to give it more substance. I added colonial skirting to the base of the kitchen, and brought the kickboards out by adding 18mm pine to the fronts.

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The cabinets were primed with ESP, and Zinsser BIN, then painted with water-based enamel, using a 4mm nap microfibre roller. I replaced the sink with a ceramic butler's sink, cutting down the doors below it to accommodate it.

 

This completely changed the kitchen's appearance, and has proven really very robust; no chipping or scratching to any painted surface. Having lived with it now since 2018, I'm thinking of changing the colour of the lower cabinets.

LizzieCro
Making a Splash

Re: KITCHEN RENO WITH PAINT AND PLY

PS! Forgot to mention a couple of things.... I also added architrave to the bay window, and lined the plain plasterboard walls with 3mm ply planks. To fill in the cut out area around the sink, I used half splayed skirting, mitred at the corners.

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: KITCHEN RENO WITH PAINT AND PLY

Hello @LizzieCro

 

Thank you so much for sharing this amazing kitchen renovation. There are so many fantastic elements worthy of mention in your revamp I don't know where to start. The ones that stand out to me are your shaker doors, what an inspired idea to repurpose them to the look that you want. Turning the triple drawer into six just adds so much to the look of the kitchen. The butler sink, the rangehood Hampton cover, and the end wall for your breakfast bar are just ingenious. 

 

What budget would you recommend our members set aside if they wanted to replicate your efforts? How long did it take you to finish the renovation? Any advice you can give would be much appreciated.

 

We look forward to seeing more.

 

Eric

 

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Re: KITCHEN RENO WITH PAINT AND PLY

@EricL Thanks very much, Eric. It was great fun to do, but did take a lot of working out how to make it all able to be done. Great for the grey matter!

 

I can't actually give a definite amount this reno cost. I was working my way through the entire house, so had a lot of ESP, primer, paint, pine and ply left over from other parts of the house, but these are some of the figures I know:

Bench top - $6,300 - Essa Stone Carrara (Supplied and installed by professional)

Induction cooktop - $599 

Ceramic Butler's Sink - $249 

Mixer - $199 

Drawer pulls and knobs - $60 (approx)

White subway tiles - $60 (approx)

2 bar stools - $40 (Gumtree find)

ESP - own stock - retailed around $18

Zinsser BIN 4 litres - retailed around $89

Taubman's Water-Based enamel 4 Litres - retailed around $70

Electrician - $500 approx (had to rewire house for induction)

Plumber - $125

For architraves I used FJ primed pine 18 x 110, and 18 x 96

For Shaker trim and wall planking I used 3mm x 2400 x 1200 ply

For Colonial skirting I used FJ primed pine in colonial profile 18 x 138 + Porta 18 x 11 mm clear pine insert mould

For building out the peninsular ends I used some treated pine I had lying around.

Sandpaper in 180 and 249 grit.

Polyfilla, Liquid Nails, Sikaflex, brad nails.

 

The only tool I needed to buy was a Kreg concealed hinge jig, which retailed for around $55. I had all other equipment.

 

Apart from researching and shopping for materials, the actual reno took me 293 hours, averaging 6 hours a day, over 53 days.

 

I had two big issues regarding the sink. The sink I wanted (and subsequently bought), was too deep for my existing cabinets. I chose to have the bench tops cut to a slightly deeper depth, but still the sink was a little too deep. When I cut down the cabinet doors below the sink, it left a substantial hole, which I filled with one layer of 18 x 138 half-splayed skirting. This still left a gap, so I added a second layer over that, of a smaller half-splayed skirting. It looks quite OK, and intentional. The other sink issue was that it was a discontinued item when I bought it. I was fearful that, should the sink crack one day, I would have to have my benchtops re-done to accommodate a different sized sink. As an insurance, and because the sink was so cheap anyway, I bought two! Certainly cheaper than replacing my bench tops should the sink crack!

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: KITCHEN RENO WITH PAINT AND PLY

Hi @LizzieCro

 

Thank you so much for sharing the steps you took and the materials you used on your kitchen revamp. Excellent buy on the butler sinks, it's always good to have a spare especially if it's the last one. I'm sure our members will add this project to their favorites tab as a fantastic reference for future kitchen renovations.

 

Again, thank you so much for sharing your kitchen project.

 

Eric

 

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leanam
Just Starting Out

Re: Kitchen reno with paint and ply

 I love this new look , what paint for the doors etc??

MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Kitchen reno with paint and ply

Hi @leanam,

 

Let me mention @LizzieCro so they are alerted to your question. It's certainly an amazing transformation that would look the part in many homes. Do you have some older style drawers you'd like to refresh? We'd love to hear all about it and would encourage you to start a discussion if you need any assistance or would like to share the project with us.

 

Mitchell

 

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Re: Kitchen reno with paint and ply

Thanks @MitchellMc 

Hi @leanam ,

All the products I used are written above. There are quite a few specialty laminate paints available these days, but as I've had such success using this method, I've stuck with the products I mentioned. I know others feel the specialty kitchen paints are great, but I have no experience with them. Happy to answer any questions. It's all very straightforward really, just time consuming. I love renovating, and really enjoy painting, so none of it is a chore to me.

Cheers, Liz.

Re: Kitchen reno with paint and ply

I apologise, Liz (@LizzieCro). I misread @leanam's question and thought they had asked what colour you used. Otherwise, I would have pointed them towards our water-based enamels. A fine choice, and with the correct prep, it can last just as long as specialty paints.

 

Many thanks for your response.

 

Mitchell

 

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Re: Kitchen reno with paint and ply

Not a problem, Mitchell. I did also mean to say, the paint has held up exceptionally well, in our very busy kitchen. It's now into the 4th year and it hasn't scratched or chipped at all. I highly recommend the Taubman range of paints, as they're such good quality.

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