Dated 90s Kitchen Makeover with Painted Cabinets

Living with a dated 90s old kitchen is such a common problem and I was certainly no stranger to it for the first few years of owning our home. I had been dreaming of a kitchen remodel from day one but I wanted to make sure I chose elements that I would be happy with for a long time. So this was not the first project on the to do list, but the time finally came to give this very pink 1990s kitchen a modern look. This kitchen makeover would include painted white cabinets, new granite countertops, a new sink, new light fixtures and cabinet hardware. The goal was to make the space feel light and bright in an affordable way without gutting the entire kitchen. Let me show you how I navigated the process and my tips and tricks to staying on budget.

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90s Kitchen Makeover 

Kitchen updates can be very expensive, so the goal with this kitchen face lift was to give it a modern update without doing a full blown kitchen renovation. Luckily the previous owners had done a renovation, probably in the late 1990s to early 2000s based on the design choices. So I was working with newer maple cabinets that were actually in really good condition so none of the kitchen cabinets needed replacing. Unfortunately the color was not good and became a bad focal point with the pink granite and mauve laminate countertops on the perimeter.   

Step 1 – Define the Scope of the Project

The first step in any major project is to define the scope, otherwise things can quickly spiral out of control. This house needed a fair amount of work when we bought it, but we were working with a tight budget so we knew a full blown kitchen renovation was not an option. So we decided to keep the original layout and work with what we had. We kept the lower and upper cabinets as well as the built in open shelving in the dining room/eat in kitchen area. Luckily we already had stainless steel appliances so that was also a cost savings. 

To give the kitchen a fresh look, we decided to focus on the cabinet color, new countertops, a tile backsplash, a new sink, paint, and updated cabinet hardware. Everything else in the kitchen would remain the same including the floor plan.   

Step 2 – Choose a Color Pallet 

For some people choosing color schemes is the most difficult part. But I had invested countless hours scrolling Instagram feeds to know with certainty I wanted a white kitchen. While it is a popular choice, I also think that white is a great way to add a classic element that will stand the test of time. I have seen modern kitchens in white, traditional kitchens in white, and of course farmhouse kitchens in white so I knew it was a good choice that could change with me as my style changed. 

I also loved the idea of a different color for the lower cabinets on the island to make it feel a little less sterile. And to give the walls some warmth I went with a darker taupe brown. Since there isn’t a ton of wall space and the kitchen has large windows and a decent amount of natural light from the sun tunnel, I knew it wouldn’t feel too small. 

Step 3 – Source Materials 

Picking the countertops might have been the most difficult part since two slabs of granite can be the same color and look completely different. Because of this, I highly recommend picking your exact slab in person if you are using natural stone. I wanted the overall look of the countertops to be relatively consistent but many natural stones have a lot of variation of movement on the slab. While this isn’t super noticeable when viewing a whole slab, it will be once it is cut down into smaller pieces. 

I also picked out a new sink. The one that came with the house was divided weird and the disposal was on the really small side of the sink which made zero sense to me. It was also really hard to clean. I chose a large single basin stainless steel sink. I don’t use a drying rack so the idea of having a really large and deep sink was very appealing to me! 

The new sink of course needed a new faucet. I REALLY wanted one of those commercial looking faucets with the spring looking neck. As I read through the reviews I realized these are really tall. They were anywhere from 4-8 inches taller than what we had before and we didn’t have a short faucet before. I also discovered the “pull down” feature of this type of faucet had a very short range which seemed like a mistake especially with the deep sink I chose. Instead, I picked this simple modern faucet by Delta with pull down sprayer and a “normal” height of 18 inches and I have no regrets!

We also decided to update the backsplash for this kitchen makeover. The previous owners used floor tile on the backsplash and it just felt wrong not to mention the colors were definitely more of that 90s style. The granite fabricator gave us a sample of the granite to help us pick the back splash. There were so many great options, but of course I gravitated towards the expensive ones…….the marble. We needed 30-35 sqft to do the entire back splash so it wasn’t a crazy amount to splurge on the one we really liked. It incorporated a lot of different colors from the granite counters so it was a good fit. 

The last design element was the cabinet hardware. The original hardware was ornate knobs but I wanted a modern touch with larger pulls. Because the cabinet doors and drawers are different sizes I chose to use varying lengths of cabinet pulls in the same style and finish for a more custom look.  

Step 4 – Start Working 

The kitchen makeover was tackled in a few phases over the course of a few weeks. The first thing to happen was the new countertops. The installers spent a whole day at the house removing the old pink counters and installing the new ones. I have to admit it was a little weird seeing all the cabinets with no tops. 

After the new counters were in I could already see my vision coming to life even though they did not go with the old maple cabinets at all, haha! 

After the new granite countertops were in, Barry and I got to work tiling the backsplash. We did this part ourselves to save some money. 

Once the countertops and backsplash were in, it was time to paint the cabinets. We chose to hire this out for a few reasons. Time and durability. When we tackled the kitchen we didn’t have much free time to take on another project and we were concerned about the durability of doing it ourselves. Because the cabinets were in really good condition and we couldn’t afford to replace them all, we didn’t want to risk messing them up especially since they were a really smooth factory finish.

We hired a local company that specializes in painting cabinets and had them paint all the upper, lower, and island cabinets as well as the built in open shelves and storage space in the eat in area. They also painted all the wood around the glass blocks that divide the kitchen from the family room below. They painted all the cabinet frames onsite and took all the doors and drawer faces to their shop to spray them. They even drilled the holes for the new hardware and patched any old holes that didn’t line up. 

Update: I have to say the quality of the finish on the cabinets is unbelievable! It has now been 10 years since they were originally painted and they still look brand new! There are a few minor scuffs, but they have held up SO good! #worthit

Step 5 – Finishing Touches 

Once all the work was completed I added my kitchen decor and accessories back into the space and added some new bar stools and chairs. This entire kitchen makeover only took a few weeks but it had a huge impact on the overall feel of the room. 

Step 6 – Enjoy!

Sit back and enjoy your beautiful new kitchen design! Simple home decor touches like the different hardware lengths, the two tone cabinet colors, and the new pendant light in the dining area really went a long way in pulling the entire space together and creating the modern kitchen I always wanted. 

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