Kitchen Cabinet Makeover part two

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As promised, here is my kitchen cabinet makeover part two. Read about part one here. We’re going from drab to fab!

This time I will tell you about what I did for the lower cabinets. The prep work is the same: clean with TSP, remove cabinet doors, drawers and all the hardware.

The back of the bar was quite unsightly. There was no backing sheet and it showed the gaps between the cabinets. In this picture I had already removed the corner trim and started applying the wallpaper. As you can see, a gap is still visible.

I used the same Graham & Brown beadboard wallpaper and rope trim on the cabinets. But for part two of my kitchen cabinet makeover, I added some extra trim to the back of the bar in the form of mullion. I tried to replicate the look of the frame on the cabinet doors. I also added extra baseboard trim to match the trim of the adjoining wall.

Let’s break it down.

After the prep work, I applied the beadboard wallpaper. It is a joy to work with and the results are perfect! My inside pets don’t jump or scratch so using it on the bottom cabinets is not a problem for me. That is something you might want to think about if you have inside pets. If you add this to a bar area, you might want to consider who will be sitting at the bar. Think about the likelihood of possible damage from kicking or other things. It is quite durable, but can be torn and gouged.

To work on the bar area, I had to first match the baseboard trim of the adjoining wall. This was easy enough. I attached matching baseboard first, over the beadboard. Then, I used a laser level and tacked the matching trim, keeping the same height. I did this across the back and side of the bar and also on the sides of the other lower cabinets.

Then I removed the little strip of wallpaper in the space between the baseboard and the trim strip. That space will stay empty. Try using a simple baseboard with another trim about an inch above it. Then paint it all one color. You’ll create the look of a more elaborate and expensive baseboard.

I then measured the bar area and decided to make three sections behind the bar and one on the side and made marks where to attach the mullion. I did the same for the sides of the other lower cabinets.

Using a compound miter saw, I cut the mullion trim at a 45 degree angle at the corners. I then attached it over the beadboard on my marks using Elmer’s wood glue. In addition, I used short brads at the top and the bottom. Make sure your brads don’t go through the thin cabinet walls. I used the mullion trim on the back and side of the bar and also on the sides of the other lower cabinets.

Attach the rope trim right next to the mullion with wood glue. I also added it around the frame of the cabinet door fronts.

Then I used Elmer’s wood filler to fill holes and Dap kitchen and bath all purpose caulk for seams. Now time to prime and paint it all.

I had ordered these craft finials from H & P Wood Turnings for a different project, but I thought how cute they would look as cabinet feet. So sweet, I love them! These came with a screw in them, which I removed for this project.

I spray painted all the hinges black as I did for the upper cabinets. I used black drawer pulls, similar to these on the drawers. For the cabinet doors, I chose black knobs like these. And just as with the upper cabinets, I used these handy tools to mark the placement, perfect every time.

That wraps up the lower cabinet work. I hope you have enjoyed following along on part two of my kitchen cabinet makeover project. I hope it inspires you to go from drab to fab!