It's a Tough Job...but Someone's Gotta Do It!

We have beautiful, walnut trim all throughout our house; however, the previous owner decided to do a half-hearted job at priming the kitchen cabinets. On certain parts of the cabinets, the original, stained wood shows through.

The hubby and I could not decide if we wanted to try painting or stripping the cabinets. So, we first bought a few sample cans of espresso paint and polyurethane and began our first DIY project. You can obviously tell which cabinet door has the polyurethane on it.

Well, it ended up looking like cheap, painted wood, which is exactly what it was. Plus, the hubby did not like how shiny the one cabinet door was. Boy, was I glad I only bought a sample size paint.

Our next option was stripping the paint off the cabinets, which appeared like a daunting task after reading so many comments on the internet about the whole process. But, we figured we would rather spend more time and hard work and be happy with the finished product, then to simply choose the easier project.

Here's a picture of the beginning stages of the first kitchen cabinet door. Beware...YOU NEED A MASK, PROTECTIVE EYE WEAR, and GLOVES! Also note, a bandana over your face does not do as great of a job as an actual mask does. I felt a little loopy!

It took several coats of the paint stripper...but I think the cabinets will definitely look better with this option! Of course, there will also be some sanding and staining involved. The end product will take some time, but I think we'll end up being more satisfied with our decision.

I'll be sure to post pictures once the kitchen cabinets are completed.

Who would have ever decide to prime such beautiful wood?