Kitchen refresh using paint and bleached floor

[dorabulldog]

This thoughtful makeover created a much brighter and more functional kitchen while retaining the existing cabinetry and parquetry flooring.

• The project
• Before and after
• More inspiration for your kitchen

The project

When I bought this little apartment all I could see was brown. The kitchen was just a giant sea of dark brown timber, and in such a small space it felt quite oppressive. The splashback, rangehood and cupboards, while all clearly of high quality, also felt quite dated. 

My aim was to transform this kitchen and make it more current and fun. However, being on a budget, I wanted to reuse as much as possible and retain the kitchen cabinetry and marble benchtop. 

Because I was keeping the creamy yellow benchtop, I needed cabinet colours that would complement it. I immediately thought about a shade of green. With some help, I finally landed on Dulux Great Void for the cupboards (with the Dulux Renovation Range primer) and decided to have a second, lighter shade, Dulux Coalition, to break up the Great Void as there were just so many cupboards.

I removed the dated yellow glass splashback, the rangehood and cupboards on the side of the rangehood to put in a new splashback using distressed white subway tiles and oak floating shelves. It made the space fresher and more modern, opened it up and let in a lot more light through the windows!

I also added Lane's brushed-brass knobs to all the cupboards, once again to add some depth and break up the paint colour.

I also removed some drawers under the stovetop to allow the electrician to fit a new 70cm oven. Lots of room for roast dinners now!

Using some of the old cabinetry, I enlisted a carpenter to help me make a door to cover where the oven previously was (under the microwave), giving me the perfect spot to hide my air fryer and kettle.

For the flooring, to save money, I didn't actually replace it. I got an industrial sander and found a flooring guy to bleach the parquetry with an acid to take the brown colour right off. Just sanding it back wouldn't have been enough; it would have retained a bit of the yellow-orange undertone of the original floor.

Then it was just a clear, natural protective finish on top.

And just like that, with budget-friendly paint, some tiles, floating shelves and a new oven (plus reusing some old cabinetry) I was able to say goodbye to all the old brown and hello to 2022!

Before and after

The old splashback and overhead cabinets darkened the space. 

The tiled splashback and floating shelves brighten things up.

Drawers beneath the cooktop made way for a new oven.

Dark parquetry was sanded, llightened and sealed.

More inspiration for your kitchen

Experienced Bunnings Workshop contributor Adam_W has put together this handy guide to planning a kitchen renovation. You can also check out our Top 10 most popular kitchen projects.

If you just need a quick kitchen refresh, check out our collection of 10 kitchens transformed with paint. You can begin transforming your own kitchen with our step-by-step video guides to painting kitchen cabinets and painting a tiled splashback.

Let us know if you need a hand with your kitchen project. We're here to help.

[Remarka6le]

Fantastic project @dorabulldog , I've never seen Great Void before, but it looks like an awesome colour and combines well with the other elements of your kitchen. Well done  

[dorabulldog]

Hi @Remarka6le thank you so much for reading about my kitchen reno!!! Yes Great Void is an awesome colour. I was worried about how much of it there would be but I decided it was better than going a white or off white as I think that would have been very very stark and a bit clinical.... Thank you again for reaching out!!

[bbheath]

What did you use to seal your bleached boards please?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @bbheath. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about this amazing project.

Let me mention @dorabulldog, so they are notified of your enquiry, and hopefully, they can provide further information. However, they have previously mentioned that they employed a professional for bleaching and sealing. I don't believe they know the exact finish except that it was a clear sealer.

Our Feast Watson 1L Timber Floor Wax Hard Wax Oil would likely be the most neutral coating as everything else will give some level of sheen. This matt finish product should be the least likely to darken the colour of lighter timbers. I'd always advise doing a test section in an inconspicuous area to ensure you are happy with the finish before committing to the whole floor.

Please let me know if you have further questions.

Mitchell

[elliza88]

 

@dorabulldog,  

This is fantastic!! Love the floors. Do you know what kind of wood bleach the sander used? This is what I’m thinking of doing to get rid of the orange tones

Well done! 

[helsbren]

I think you created a winner with the floor bleaching! I’d never heard of this before. Those floors look utterly stunning. 
Congratulations on a wonderful job, your kitchen looks amazing and is super functional and streamlined. 

[jn119]

@dorabulldog Amazing!!!

May I ask how you went about the floating shelves? They look great - and sturdy!

[EricL]

Hello @jn119 

Welcome to the Bunnings workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about the floating shelves.

Let me tag @dorabulldog as well to make sure they see your question. I totally agree, those floating shelves add a nice touch to the overall look of the kitchen. It's possible that a Carinya 100 x 76 x 20mm Adjustable Floating Shelf Brackets was used behind the timber shelf. 

If you need further assistance, please let us know. 

Eric