Painting My Island Black
When we first built our home, the last thing I thought of was painting my island black. We chose a lot of oak for the floors and the cabinets. White cabinets were my preference, but the salesperson said I should rethink that. It seems the white cabinets they were currently offering yellowed in a short time. That certainly ruined my plan
It took me a little while to figure out how to clean them without the smearing thing going on. I purchased a kit to clean stainless steel. It was a major disappointment! I used vinegar and water, nope not so good, but better. Then my son, who had worked at Lowe’s for a few years, told me the guys in appliances use WD-40 to clean theirs. Bingo! That works like a charm.
After living here for awhile, I realized the amount of oak we had was overkill. The kitchen looked like a sea of ‘oak’. Looking around it seemed the best idea would be to add paint to the kitchen island, right smack dab in the middle of the kitchen.
My husband was not on board with that! His philosophy is that you do not paint wood! So I waited until he was on a trip to do the painting. You know, it was less painful for him to watch and I didn’t have to hear about it while I was doing it!
First, I used ‘Kilz’ primer and sealer to base coat the oak and then used a ‘Pottery Barn’ black to paint the cabinets. It needed two coats of the black paint.
Jon-Michael, my oldest son, changed out the white electrical outlets on both ends of the cabinet, with new black ones to match the paint. It always did bother me that the builder put white outlets on the ends of the oak island. What were they thinking? Now the outlets blend in and you don’t notice them so much.
After painting the cabinet, the ends looked pretty plain. I used a flat molding to frame the ends, but it was still too plain. I headed to Lowe’s and found a rope braid trim in the trim department and added that to the top of the flat molding. The base was screaming for attention too, so baseboard and shoe molding were added. Then it was caulked and painted to blend in with the cabinet.
Originally, I had intended to buy new hardware, but the drawer knobs and handles actually looked better with the black. The little bit of black antiquing on them looks more pronounced with the black background. I am pretty happy with the end result.
The black paint broke up the all over oak look, coordinates with the stainless steel appliances, and unifies the kitchen area. I am so glad I didn’t listen to Dave about painting the island black!
Adding Trim to The Foyer.
Before and After…
When you purchase a newly built home, usually you want the most home for your money. That usually means a lot of the bells and whistles will have to wait. The molding and some of the architectural elements, which give your home character are missing. 
I have tried to add these elements over the last eighteen years we have lived here, but raising kids, being involved with school activities, and the never-ending athletic events, working, laundry, etc. have gotten in the way at times. Slowly but surely I am making progress!
Adding Touches Of Black Throughout The Home…
This is the entry to our home. The black-bordered animal print rug helps pull the black in the foyer. Adding black fabric to the bottom and sides of the curtains I made, seemed like the perfect touch with the rug.
The contrast of the oak against the black is so much more interesting! I love the new look with the black risers and spindles.
We even added a chess/checker table behind the loveseat in the family room. Note that the legs and the sides of the table are also painted black.
You would be surprised at how many chess and checker games have been played since the addition of this table! Two of the extra kitchen chairs were placed here for seating.
Painting the spindles black on the stairway and on the catwalk was the finishing touch and helped tie it all together. The black added more interest to the all over plain oak finish.
