How my Kitchen is Holding Up

I think I'm in due time to write this post.  My kitchen reveal was done a year ago, but the renovation took place in 2011, which means I've been using the "new" kitchen for a year and a half.

So, this is the post where I'm going to answer those questions that I'm being asked most frequently, like these, that I found at my e-mail or in the comments:

Are you happy with your painted cabinets? Jill

Do the paint stay on and not chip off? Are they too hard to maintain? Amscon

How the paint job on the cabinets has held up with daily use?  Rochelle

Everyday morning my kids and the hubby prepare their breakfast, and I prepare dinner for the whole family most days of the week, lets say our kitchen gets a normal use.

Since the most frequently asked question is about the paint,  why not talk about that first.

This is the normal pic you get to see, right?  From a distance.  But you can't see the paint job up close.

Well, let's get closer.   Like, one big step away from this upper cabinet. It still looks fine from here.

Let me open the right door to take a better look at it with the help of the outside light.  One step away from the door, it looks alright.  Zooming in you can see the grain.  That's the answer to another frequently asked question.  Does the grain on the painted oak cabinets shows a lot? Does it bother you?

It does show.  I have really good eye-sight and even from a not too short of a distance I can see the grain, but it doesn't bother me.

Now onto the paint itself.  I painted the cabinets using brushes and little rollers and I was also very afraid of ending up with a pretty lousy job.  My worst fear was to end up with chipped paint inside the cabinets because it had happened to me before.  Long time ago I painted a cabinet but when the items that were stored inside came off with pieces of paint on them, it was very disappointing!

This time and after one year and a half of using them, I'm happy not to have that problem!

Now onto the outside of the cabinets.  Again, the same upper cabinet, that's where the glasses are stored, my kids use this one a lot.  As I said, from a big step away it looks OK.  the closer I get the more I can see little marks around the knobs.  Some small chip offs.

The same thing happens to this base cabinet.  That's the one we use the most.  The trash can is stored on the right and it clearly shows the wear.  

I blame my daughter for this problem, her finger nails are not too long, not too short, but they are the sharpest finger nails I've ever seen!

The rest of the cabinets are doing OK.   They need to be cleaned more often, just because white shows more, not because the wood color cabinets I had before didn't get dirty.  Overall it is not a big task.

The dark color on the island also lets dust and dirt be easily seen.  Paint has chipped off a bit on the drawer holding the silver ware, and the kids have made some marks on the front part of the island while spinning on the chairs, but in general it is OK.

I am extremely happy with the wooden projects I did.  The bookcase at the end of the island, the range hood, the fridge cabinet, all the moldings, everything is holding up nicely, I haven't even needed to re-caulk those areas.

No trouble whatsoever either on the quartz counter-tops or the marble back-splash.

The CB2 pendant light is one of those fixtures that gets so much attention and as so many of you, I like it too.  My big complain on that one is that, Oh Boy!  It gets dusty so quickly!  If I want to see those globes crystal clear all the time I need to clean them up every month!  The last time I cleaned them was before the Holidays, mid-December... Is less than two months and you can see how foggy they look.  

In general, I'm pretty satisfied with the work done. If for some reason I have to deal with another builders grade oak kitchen, I would not hesitate to paint it again.  It is a tedious but rewarding job.

Being able to go from this:

To this:

I'm already thinking about painting the cabinets a new color, well not just yet.  Right now I have to go and clean those globes!

Click HERE to check the kitchen renovation