They Spray-Painted 26-Year-Old Oak Cabinets Farrow & Ball Wevet and Changed the Whole Kitchen
Solid oak cabinets had been part of this kitchen for 26 years, covering the upper and lower storage, tall pantry unit, and decorative range hood. The cabinets were still worth keeping, but the warm wood finish gave the room a much different look than the owners wanted.
The team from The Mobile Spray refinished the existing cabinets instead of replacing them. Knots and grooves were filled, every surface was sanded, and the wood received two coats of primer followed by two coats of Farrow & Ball Wevet in a satin finish.
The kitchen kept its cabinet layout, countertops, tile backsplash, range, sink, glass-front doors, and dark hardware. Most of the change came from taking the 26-year-old oak from warm wood to soft off-white.
Oak Cabinets Had Been in the Kitchen for 26 Years
Warm oak covered the base cabinets, upper storage, tall pantry unit, and trim. Raised-panel doors and dark handles carried the same finish across the room.
Gray-speckled countertops, pale tile, and a black range surrounded the cabinetry, but the amount of exposed wood made oak the dominant finish.
Wood Covered the Range Hood Too
Oak continued across the range hood, where a paneled surround and molding matched the cabinets beside it.
Painting the hood along with the doors and frames allowed the new color to run across the full cabinet installation.
Glass-Front Cabinets Stayed
Glass-front doors broke up the rows of solid raised panels around the upper cabinets. These doors stayed as part of the project rather than being replaced.
Counters, backsplash, range, and cabinet positions also remained in place.
Lower Cabinets Had the Same Oak Finish
Raised panels continued across the drawers and cabinets beneath the counters. Marks and changes in the wood tone showed across some surfaces after years of use.
The solid oak doors and cabinet boxes remained suitable for refinishing, so replacing them was not required to change the color.
Cabinet Boxes Were Masked Before Spraying
Doors and drawer fronts came off before work started. Counters, floors, appliances, openings, and surrounding surfaces were covered while the fixed cabinet frames remained in the kitchen.
Masking allowed the frames and trim to be sprayed without coating the surfaces around them.
Knots and Grooves Were Filled Before Sanding
Natural knots and grooves in the oak were filled before the doors were sanded, leaving a smoother surface for painting.
Two coats of primer went on next, followed by two coats of Farrow & Ball Wevet in a satin finish.
Farrow & Ball Wevet Replaced the Oak Finish
Two coats of Farrow & Ball Wevet in a satin finish covered the primed cabinets.
The soft off-white color runs across the doors, drawer fronts, cabinet frames, trim, and range hood while leaving the raised-panel profiles visible.
Dark Hardware Stayed Against the New Cabinets
Dark handles were kept on the painted doors and drawers. Against Wevet, the hardware creates more contrast than it did against the oak.
The handles also connect with the black range and dark flooring without introducing another finish.
Range Hood Changed With the Cabinets
Painting the range hood removed one of the largest areas of exposed oak. Its paneled face and lower molding stayed, but both now match the cabinets around the range.
Existing backsplash tile and counters remained beneath the new finish.
Sink Cabinets Kept Their Original Layout
Cabinets beneath the window kept their doors, drawers, countertop, handles, and sink position.
Changing the cabinet finish updated this side of the room without moving plumbing or rebuilding the storage.
Raised Panels and Crown Molding Remained
Paint did not remove the details that defined the original cabinets. Raised door panels, glass inserts, crown molding, drawer fronts, and the paneled hood remain visible.
Wevet gives those separate elements one finish from the lower cabinets to the trim near the ceiling.
Soft Off-White Replaced Wood Across the Room
Upper and lower cabinets now share the same off-white finish, with the dark handles breaking up the pale surfaces.
Gray counters, backsplash tile, black appliances, and flooring stayed, but their relationship with the cabinetry changed once the warm oak was gone.
Before and After Shows What Paint Changed
The finished kitchen still has the raised-panel doors, glass cabinets, dark hardware, counters, and backsplash that surrounded the original oak. Wevet changed how those existing details work together, replacing the dominant wood tone with a soft off-white backdrop.
Would you have kept the 26-year-old oak, or does Wevet work better with the existing counters and backsplash?
Image credits: The Mobile Spray via @themobilespray.