Remember how the kitchen looked the first time we saw the house?
Well, now it looks like this.
It’s surprising how much brighter a space can feel just by changing the trim color.
We primed and painted the baseboards, crown molding, and window trim—fifty-two panes, yes, fifty-two—and then decided to keep going: the paneled walls and the pantry and garage doors got painted too. We don’t dislike dark paneling, but for this house we preferred a painted look inspired by a few classic rooms we’ve admired.
The process wasn’t easy, but it was absolutely worth it. The room feels lighter and less heavy; the white trim draws your eye out of the window now instead of stopping it at the frame, turning the outside view into a natural focal point.
One of my favorite new views is from the front door. Here’s a shot we took during the inspection—please excuse the chaos from furniture being moved out.
And here’s what it looks like now. Ignore the beige for the moment—we plan to add a soft, airy wall color to balance the white trim, and the lower cabinets will be darker for contrast. Eventually we’re picturing dark floor tiles to ground the space. In short: white paneling, softly colored walls, dark floors, and a rustic wood table.
We applied two coats of stain-blocking primer and two coats of paint by hand. We avoided using our sprayer indoors this time because of overspray we experienced before; instead we’ll use it for removable pieces we can take outside, like cabinet doors when that stage arrives.
From past experience, our sprayer works best outdoors or in fully gutted interiors. Taping off a lived-in room with multiple doorways to adjacent spaces would have been time-consuming and risked paint on adjacent wood floors, so hand-painting made more sense for this job.
We worked on the trim over five days—me, John, and Burger (who politely declined to help). We used Kilz Premium stain-blocking primer with the no-VOC label, which performed really well for blocking wood tannins and preventing bleed-through. For the finish, we used Simply White in semi-gloss for all the trim and doors; it’s what we’ve used elsewhere in the house and it reads clean and classic.
Timing wise, two coats of Kilz plus two coats of paint took roughly twelve hours total. The first coat is always the slowest as you work paint into crevices and along edges; subsequent coats go faster as the brush and roller glide more smoothly.
Our technique was straightforward: a 2″ angled brush for trim and window frames, and a combination of brush and roller for the paneling. The brush got paint into grooves and corners, then a roller smoothed the flat surfaces. If your trim or paneling is glossy or lacquered, sand or use a liquid deglosser before priming; ours was chalky and dry so we went straight to primer and paint and had good adhesion.
It really does feel like a whole new world in there.
That small corner by the pantry shows a huge improvement—the door straight ahead goes to the garage and the one on the left is the pantry. Someday we’d love a paneled, fire-safe garage door that matches the house, but for now the painted white door is a nice upgrade.
We didn’t need to repaint one pantry door because we had a spare we’d already sprayed white and never rehung. The garage door stayed on its hinges while we painted in place to avoid leaving an exterior door off the house for days. We still plan to swap out the brass hinges for a more current finish.
A quick tip: once you apply primer and paint, small dark cracks in wood often become visible. Dark tones hide those gaps, but white paint highlights them. After one or two coats of primer, inspect for these cracks and fill them with a paintable caulk before your final coat. We like a white, paintable window and door caulk for a seamless finish.
Here’s where this space stands now and what’s left on our kitchen to-do list:
Remove wallpaperMove fridge cabinet forwardRemove upper cabinets on window wall to prep for open shelvesReinstall crown molding(details on these first steps are available in an earlier project post)Prime & paint the pantry and the door to the garagePrime & paint the trim, crown molding, & baseboardsPrime & paint the paneling- Patch and paint the ceiling
- Replace the fluorescent light in the cooking area and the pendant over the sink
- Replace and center the light over the dining table
- Paint the walls (we’re leaning toward a soft color)
- Hang floating shelves on the window wall
- Consider moving the microwave to the pantry and adding a small range hood to lighten that wall
- Paint the cabinets and update hinges and knobs
- Add a rug to the eat-in area and possibly install peel-and-stick tiles
- Hang curtains for the windows
There’s still plenty to do, but we’re thrilled with how much brighter and more open the kitchen feels already. What did you work on this weekend?