Find out how Curb Appeal updated this Concord kitchen by painting the cabinets instead of replacing them

By Mary Malik

In one of the more dramatic kitchen makeovers of the past year, Vanessa and Greg hired the transformation maestros at Curb Appeal Painting to take their spacious kitchen from dark and somber to bright and airy.

“The cabinets were in great shape, and we didn’t want to have to pull out the granite countertops and backsplash, which we had installed,” Vanessa says.

The nearly 4,000-square-foot Colonial in Concord features exceptional craftsmanship throughout, and she and her husband wanted to put it in the hands of a company accustomed to that level of mastery.

“Our esthetic palette in the other rooms, which the kitchen overlooks, features lighter creams, beiges and grays, with white wood trim,” she says. “The kitchen’s dark wood was jarring.”

Noting that the painters exhaustively offered color ideas and swatches during the color consultation, the family decided to go with a classic linen white for the perimeter cabinets, and a bold steel gray for the island and adjacent wet bar wall.

“The final effect draws attention to the island and makes it feel like fine furniture,” she says.

Rob Drago, of Curb Appeal, says that kitchen cabinetry makeovers have become their most popular job, especially on the East Side, where there are distinctive older homes with fine cabinetry.

“We take extra steps to care for the cabinets, first removing doors to take back to our shop, then cleaning, sanding, priming, sanding again and painting,” he explains. “And since this is a heavy-use area, we work with only the best quality, professional-grade paint that contains a hardener within the formula to retain a beautiful, durable finish.”

As a finishing touch to the makeover, Rob suggested replacing dated, gold hardware with trending matte black.

Vanessa says they can’t believe the difference the new colors make.

“The space appears much bigger and brighter,” she adds, “and the colors perfectly flow with our granite and mirrored tile backsplash. We do a lot of entertaining, and everyone ends up in the kitchen.”

All About the Experience
There’s a long list of things Vanessa and her family loved about working with Curb Appeal. Here’s the short version in her words:

• “It was nice that there were different point people handling different tasks. Rob showed up with a million color samples and together we picked out the best shades to meet my goals. Eugene was the project manager and Doug was head painter. They all worked in concert with each other and the communication along the way was streamlined and flawless.”
• “There was some repair work that needed to be performed during the job—the quarter round trim and a few window casings had to be replaced. Since they have carpenters on staff, they were able to take care of it right away without any disruption to workflow.”
• “They promised they would have the job done before Christmas, and they delivered. We hosted Christmas Eve and our new kitchen was the star.”

• “The job took a week and we felt like the painters did their best to make sure there was as little disruption in our lives as possible. We have two school-aged children and things can get hectic, especially heading into the holidays. They put up hanging plastic sheets to protect us from overspray.”

• “This is the first time we’ve worked with a professional painting company and they exceeded our expectations at every step of the process. They made everything incredibly easy and are really just the nicest group of guys.”

Time for a Staircase Makeover?
After working with Curb Appeal on her kitchen makeover, Vanessa was browsing the impressive before-and-after photo galleries on the company’s website, and that led to yet another transformation inspiration for her and her husband Greg.

“The staircase makeover photos were stunning,” she says. “Since we had replaced our flooring in the foyer—and wanted to get rid of an animal print carpet runner on the stairway—I thought it was time for our own before-and-after. We had already contracted Fine Hardwood Floors to stain the treads to match the surrounding flooring, but were in need of a new banister color.”

Curb Appeal’s Rob Drago ran through a color consultation. The couple opted for a black matte, which according to Rob is currently the number one color selection for banisters. Trailing behind black are brighter colors such as cobalt or Kelly green, which fit in with more contemporary décor.

“The color matches the wrought iron spindles and really makes the stairs pop against the lighter stairs,” Vanessa adds.

Rob explains that since the staircase is often the first thing people encounter in a home, it makes the initial statement and sets the tone for the other colors and décor people can expect to see after.

“Nothing dates an entryway as much as a gold-stained oak stairway,” he adds.

Headquartered in Richmond Heights, Curb Appeal Painting works on homes and businesses all over northern Ohio. All painters are bonded and insured. The company has earned multiple local and industry awards, including Best of Houzz for service, and Super Service Award on Angi, to name a few. Call 216-291-2422 or visit CurbAppealPainting.com to schedule a free estimate.