Kitchen makeover using Dulux renovation range

[raymond265]

So I decided after looking at a bland colour kitchen for 6 months that it was time for a freshen up.

 

before, everything was a boring beige colour.

After seeing what was possible with the dulux renovation range I started pulling the kitchen apart and prepped everything. I first painted the bottom cabinetry grey.

 

And then painted the bench top, splash back subway tiles and top cupboards bright white.

I Also removed the under mount rangehood and cupboard for it. We also decided to update the cupboard handles to black.

After everything was painted I put everything and back together and put in a new evindure rangehood which is vented to an outdoor under eave vent.

 

 

 

From start to finish it took about 3-4 weeks but this was working on it every couple of days as it takes a while for each coat to fully cure.

If anyone thinking about something similar, ask any questions. It's definitely a cheap way to freshen up a bland kitchen but it is a lot of fiddly work.

[StevieB]

Well done @raymond265. Another fantastic project. It really has brightened up the space and must be a joy to spend time in now.

It's great to hear that you were able to see what was possible and get inspired through other projects. Thanks for sharing loads of pictures and detail so that your project can now go on to inspire others with their kitchen makeovers.

Stevie

[redracer01]

Hello @raymond265 

That is a fantastic transformation! I do have some questions for you! How many tins of Renovation range did you use? Did you use the same amount for the primer? Did you use a roller for all the panels,doors and bench top? If you had to do it all over again would there have a process you would have done first or change the order of painting? What kind of budget should I set aside for this type of project? Thank you so much for sharing this diy project. I'm sure this will inspire a lot our readers who are thinking of doing a re-fresh of their kitchen without going all out with cabinet and bench top change.

Cheers,

Red

[raymond265]

Thanks @redracer01.
So because I started this with no real big plan as to what I was doing I brought way to much grey paint to start with.

In total i brought the following,

2 litres of grey cabinet doors paint(did not need anywhere near this much)
1 litre of primer
1 litre of white cabinet doors paint
1 litre of gloss, white tile and benchtop paint
1 litre of clear gloss clear coat.
The cabinet door paint goes alot further then I expected. I brought 2 litres of grey to start and I used approximately half a litre in the kitchen doing 2 coats. Primer spreads as good as this paint as well so you don't need as much as you would think.
I ended up painting the basin cabinets in my bathroom and ensuite because I had so much paint.

 

I ended up needing a whole litre of bench and tile paint as it didn't go as far as the other paint, possibly because I was going from a dark grey to bright white. It took 3 coats to get full coverage and then 2 clear coats. That paint doesn't require a primer.

I used 100mm wide, 4mm nap rollers for everything except the clear coat on the bench, which I used a 4mm nap and 200mm+? Roller as I found the wider roller gave a more consistent smoother finish. I also used a cut in brush in corners as needed.
In terms of budget If I was to do it again without the rangehood I think it would come to around $450. That's including the stuff required for cleaning and prep. The rangehood cost $220 and definitely made a big difference.

If I did this again I would do the bench top and splashback first. The paint takes about 8 days to fully cure. I did this last and combined with waiting 8 hours between coats it means I was basically without a kitchen for a long time. If I had have done this first I could have been doing coats of paint on the cabinet doors while the benchtop was setting.
One final bit of advice for someone painting the bench top is if you think its fully cured wait another 2 days before using it as normal again because you don't want to have to do repairs later on. Also prep is crucial. All the work you do at the start determines the quality of the finish.

Hope this was helpful and good luck to anyone giving it a go. It's fiddly and time consuming but worth it.

[redracer01]

Hello @raymond265 

Thank you soooo much for that insight in to your process. I was really surprised that the grey paint gave you so much coverage. I honestly would have done the same thing and do the cabinet doors first before the bench top, turns out it should be the other way around. It really gives you a moment to pause and ponder that all this can be achieved on a very reasonable budget. The icing on the cake was when you posted your bathroom vanity with the new colour, that is excellent use of left over renovator paint. I suspect that if you had some more left the laundry cabinets would have been the next target! Thank you so much for sharing your diy journey and we look forward to your future projects. Should you have any questions or need help with your projects don't hesitate to post it here on workshop.

Cheers 

Red

[MitchellMc]

Hi @raymond265,

Many thanks for sharing this detailed account of your project. The information you have provided will really assist others wanting to achieve a similar result. I trust your amazing outcome will inspire our members to give it a go themselves.

I see we share the same taste in handles. Those are my favourite in our range too.

Well done.

Mitchell

[Ari]

Thank you @raymond265 for a fantastic and inspirational post.  I feel like we had the same builder as my kitchen is almost identical!

I painted my cupboards over three years ago now as a holdover to a full replacement, but that's not happening in a hurry. 

At first I thought I'd just paint the splashback, but the effect you've had on the benchtop is so awesome I may well do the lower cupboards, benchtop and handles, and change out my awful glass doors as well.  

Can I confirm your recommended time frames on the benchtop?

5 coats all together.  8 hours between coats and 8 hours at the end to fully cure - so usable on day 6

or a few days between coats to fully cure - so usables on day 14 or so.

Thanks!

Thank you!

[raymond265]

Thanks @Ari

Yes 5 coats in total.

I got all the coats done over 2 days.

8 hours between each coat and then I waited a week after the final clear coat before using the bench as normal, so day 8 or 9. By day 5 after the final coat I was using it but not placing stuff like microwaves and heavy stuff on it. I watched too many YouTube videos of people wrecking their work by using it to early! Lol.

Also if you were not doing a gloss finish you could possibly reduce the 8 hour time between coats. With gloss the longer you leave between coats determines how shiny/smooth it will be, the longer you wait the better. With a satin finish this wouldn't be as much of an issue.

I found this video useful.

https://youtu.be/hJztdDKrks0 

And this is a hyperlapse of me painting it lol.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPDsrnlAwpP/?utm_medium=copy_link

Good luck and I can't wait to see the results.

Raymond.

[Fredthecat]

Thanks for sharing and advice. Looks terrific .

may I ask have  you scratched your bench ? Easily ? 

Thinking of doing same in holiday rental .

thanks  Fred 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community Fred (@Fredthecat). It's wonderful that you've joined us, and many thanks for jumping into the discussion.

Let me mention @raymond265 to see if they can provide some feedback on the longevity of the bench coating.

Please keep us updated on your project, as I trust many of our members would like to follow along with it. If you need any assistance, let us know as our knowledgeable member are always willing to lend a hand and provide advice.

Mitchell