#3 Using finishes that don’t work with your lifestyle.

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This can be a bit of a tough one to get over. You may be dreaming of a stunning hunter green painted kitchen. Or maybe you’ve seen beautiful smokey blue cabinetry in a magazine and immediately pictured yourself in that space. That’s great! It’s one of the first steps to designing your dream space. However, did you also picture your two toddlers running through the room? Or your Dog waiting patiently for dinner while creating a pile of drool on the floor? Or even your significant other who seems to have the uncanny ability to spill food everywhere while making dinner! We rarely see that in the magazines or on social media but that is real life, and it is important to plan for.

Painted kitchens can be stunning and beautiful but are also one of the least resilient finishes and hardest to touch up. Stained wood is a more robust product but typically comes with a more traditional look. The key is to work within your lifestyle. Those choices may contrast drastically if you are an empty nester and not overly worried about the prospect of wear and tear on your cabinets in comparison to a large family with small kids, pets or teenagers. It’s always best to speak to your designer about available options but if you have your mind set on painted cabinetry, you’re not alone. Some solutions we use for high traffic kitchens are:

-Go with a two-toned approach. Stained wood on the lower cabinets which take the most abuse and painted wood on the uppers which are a little safer from harm.

-Paint with a vintage rub through. Think of it as a bit of a pre-used look eliminating some of the worries of knocking or scratching yourself.

-Reduce the stress of your new kitchen and just be prepared to replace a door or two in the future.

-Our secret weapon: Merit’s exclusive Opaque stain. Our cabinet supplier offers an Opaque stain on Maple that blends the look of a painted kitchen with the benefits of stained wood. There are only a limited number of colours to choose from, but they will still allow you to have that off-white or blue kitchen you have been dreaming of with the durability of stained wood.