Dark reddish-brown cabinets covered almost every wall of this California kitchen, with matching wood extending from the refrigerator to a separate storage area beside the back door. The owners chose to keep the existing cabinetry rather than tear it out, despite wanting a different look for the space.
In a transformation shared by Instagram creator @fabspainting, the upper cabinets were spray-painted white and the lower cabinets dusty blue. The contractor used a professional two-component coating system to give the original doors a smooth finish resembling new cabinetry.
The makeover went beyond paint, with lighter worktops and new hardware changing how the original cabinets looked against the dark hardwood flooring. What makes the before-and-after photos worth comparing is how much of the kitchen remained in place despite the change in appearance.
Dark Wood Cabinets Dominated the Original Kitchen
The kitchen featured reddish-brown Shaker-style cabinets extending from the sink to the stove and refrigerator, with tall upper cabinets providing storage above the appliances.
Brown speckled countertops matched the wood tones, while the glass-front cabinet doors broke up the rows of solid panels. The existing U-shaped layout included a stainless steel range, dishwasher, and French-door refrigerator.
Across the sink wall, matching lower cabinets continued beneath the window, with a suspended glass-front cabinet near the entrance to the adjoining room. The cabinetry remained in good enough condition to refinish rather than replace.
White Upper Cabinets and Dusty Blue Lower Cabinets Replaced the Dark Finish
The painter gave the upper cabinets a white finish while choosing dusty blue for the lower doors and drawers. The two colors separate the storage areas, replacing the continuous reddish-brown finish with a lighter upper section and a contrasting base.
According to Fab’s Painting, the cabinets received an all-spray application using a premium two-component (2K) primer and topcoat system, without brushes or rollers. The company also confirmed using Centurion Wood Coatings products for the project.
The original Shaker-style doors and ribbed-glass inserts remained, including the tall cabinet panels beside the stove. Small metal knobs and cup pulls replaced the previous hardware, while the sprayed coating gave the existing doors a smooth, factory-style finish.
Marble-Look Countertops and Backsplash Changed the Cooking Area
The original brown speckled counters were replaced with white marble-look surfaces featuring thin gray veining. Behind the gas range, a matching panel extends from the countertop to the microwave, replacing the plain wall surface.
The new counters provide more contrast against the blue lower cabinets, while the stainless steel appliances remain in their original positions. No changes to the kitchen’s footprint were needed to accommodate the new finishes.
The Cabinets Beside the Back Door Received the Same Treatment
A separate storage area beside the back door originally had a brown base cabinet beneath a suspended glass-front cabinet. Its countertop extended toward the adjoining living space, creating a small pass-through ledge.
The lower doors were painted dusty blue, while the overhead cabinet received the same white finish used across the main kitchen. White marble-look surfaces replaced the brown countertop and pass-through ledge, with new cup pulls installed on the drawers.
The ribbed-glass panels, cabinet arrangement, and opening toward the living room remained unchanged, showing how the existing storage could be incorporated into the two-tone design.
The Original Hardwood Floors Stayed
One major surface was left untouched during the renovation: the reddish-brown hardwood flooring. Its dark planks previously matched much of the cabinetry, but the new white and blue finishes now stand apart from the wood.
The before-and-after comparison also shows that the tall cabinets around the refrigerator, the overhead microwave, and the range occupy the same positions.
The pass-through area shows a similar change, with the brown cabinets and counters replaced by painted fronts and white surfaces while the original storage arrangement remains intact.
For this project, refinishing the existing cabinetry and replacing the countertops produced a new appearance without removing the cabinets or altering the kitchen layout.
Would you have kept the reddish-brown hardwood floors with the white and dusty blue cabinets, or chosen a different flooring finish?