He Spray Painted the Dark Wood Cabinets White and Navy and the Kitchen Took on a Custom-Built Look
Many kitchen remodels start with demolition. This one started with paint. In a transformation shared by Instagram creator @pezzottipainting, the original dark wood cabinets received a dramatic update with Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee on the upper cabinets and Benjamin Moore Westcott Navy on the lowers, creating a two-tone finish that changed the look of the space.
The kitchen kept the same cabinet configuration, countertops, gray subway tile backsplash, slate floor, and stainless steel appliances. White upper cabinets, dark navy lowers, and brass hardware changed how those existing finishes work together without replacing the cabinetry.
Dark Wood Covered the Original Kitchen
Reddish-brown cabinetry wrapped around the range, sink, and dishwasher, with the same stain used above and below the countertop. Raised-panel doors, deep crown molding, and dark hardware gave the cabinets a traditional profile.
The gray subway tile and pale countertop were already in place, so the cabinet finish accounted for much of the dark color across the room. Even with several light surfaces around it, the reddish wood remained the dominant feature.
Raised Panels and Crown Molding Were Worth Keeping
A closer view shows the amount of detail built into the existing doors. Multiple molded edges surround each raised center panel, while crown molding follows the cabinet tops and turns through the corner.
Replacing the cabinets would have meant losing a substantial set of existing doors and boxes. Paint offered another route, keeping the profiles while removing the reddish-brown finish that covered every detail.
Matching Wood Continued Across the Refrigerator Wall
The refrigerator wall carried the same finish across the tall pantry cabinets, uppers, and base cabinets. Dark pulls and knobs blended into the wood, while stainless steel appliances and the pale counter provided most of the contrast.
Because both sides of the kitchen used the same stain, changing the cabinet color would affect the entire room without moving an appliance or altering the layout.
Masking Prepared the Cabinet Boxes for Paint
Cabinet doors and drawer fronts were removed before the boxes were sprayed. Plastic sealed the openings, blue tape protected the edges, and paper covered the slate floor.
The masking extended around appliances, windows, counters, and adjoining surfaces. With the kitchen protected, the cabinet frames could be sprayed in place instead of being taken apart.
Westcott Navy Was Sprayed Across the Removed Doors
The detached cabinet doors received Benjamin Moore Westcott Navy with a spray gun. The coating moves across the raised center panel and surrounding molding, covering the previous finish without flattening the door’s profile.
Westcott Navy reads closer to charcoal in some light, a point that also appeared in the comments on Pezzotti Painting’s post. The dark gray-blue tone became the color reserved for the cabinets below the countertop.
Upper Cabinet Boxes Were Sprayed Swiss Coffee in Place
Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee was sprayed onto the upper cabinet boxes after the surrounding ceiling, walls, backsplash, and cabinet interiors were masked. The sequence shows the reddish wood disappearing across the side panels, face frames, and crown molding.
Spraying the boxes as well as the removed doors prevents strips of the former finish from remaining visible around the cabinet edges. It also lets the detailed crown molding become part of the new white upper section rather than retaining its former wood tone.
Navy Paint Put More Focus on the Lower Cabinet Profiles
Westcott Navy gives the base cabinets a deep charcoal-navy finish, while the new brass hardware stands out against it. Long bar pulls run across the drawers, with round knobs used on the cabinet doors.
The solid paint also changes how the raised-panel construction reads. Molded edges that blended into the reddish wood now create visible lines and shadows across each drawer and door front.
Swiss Coffee and Westcott Navy Meet at the Counter
The refrigerator wall shows the two colors in one view. Swiss Coffee covers the tall pantry and upper cabinets, while Westcott Navy runs across the base cabinets beneath the countertop.
The existing pale counter forms the break between them. Stainless steel appliances and the gray subway tile remain untouched, making the cabinet repaint responsible for the main color shift.
White Upper Cabinets Changed the Sink Wall
Around the sink, Swiss Coffee replaces the reddish wood on every upper cabinet while Westcott Navy runs beneath the countertop. The two colors follow the existing cabinet layout rather than creating a new configuration.
Keeping the darker shade below the counter also leaves the gray backsplash visible between two distinct cabinet colors. Brass knobs and pulls repeat across both finishes and connect the two sections.
Same Cabinet Doors Look Different in Swiss Coffee
The comparison makes clear that the upper cabinet construction did not change. Door size, raised panels, corner configuration, crown molding, countertop, backsplash, and recessed lights remain in place.
Removing the reddish stain changes how those details register. Swiss Coffee separates the molded edges from the recessed areas and makes the crown molding more visible against the surrounding wall and ceiling.
Paint Changed the Kitchen Without Changing Its Footprint
The full comparison shows the original dark wood kitchen beside the completed two-tone version. The range, dishwasher, sink, countertop, backsplash, flooring, window, and cabinet arrangement occupy the same positions.
Instead of one reddish-brown finish covering cabinets from floor level to the crown, Westcott Navy holds the lower half while Swiss Coffee takes over above the counter. The split gives the existing cabinetry the custom-built look without requiring a new layout.
Spraying Preserved the Molded Door Details
The spray process shows why the finished doors retain such crisp profiles. Paint reaches the recessed edges and molded sections around the center panel without leaving the brush marks that can collect around detailed trim.
Those profiles matter more after the color change because both Swiss Coffee and Westcott Navy create a solid background for the molding. The cabinets are the same ones that were already in the kitchen, yet their construction becomes easier to see once the reddish wood finish is gone.
The transformation depends on three changes: Swiss Coffee above the countertop, Westcott Navy below it, and brass hardware across both. The existing floor, backsplash, counters, appliances, and cabinet layout stay in place, showing how far a cabinet repaint can take a kitchen without replacing what already works.
Would you keep the Swiss Coffee and Westcott Navy combination, or use one color across every cabinet?
All credits go to instagram creator @pezzottipainting.