Painted cabinets with walnut island

a good while back i mentioned i'd be working with walnut for the first time. this is the kitchen i made the walnut island for. my friend who builds houses had me do this job, everything is kind of a jojnt design effort between the 2 of us. he was shooting for a style called eastlake, which i believe was popular around the victorian times. the circles you see in the corbels and brackets are something from that style. the ceiling in the kitchen is 11' so we went with 48" tall upper cabinets and a 9' tall fridge enclosure to help balance the height. the island is 78" long and 36" wide and has 3 small drawers up top and 6 big drawers all with inset fronts. stupid me forgot to get pics of the fronts today. all of those drawers are 28" deep to use as much of that big island as possible. they have a 22" deep main space and a 6" space in the back behind a divider. i am really pleased with the way it turned out, i must admit the first time i saw the paint job on the cabinets i cringed but it has grown on me and i really like it now.

after seeing that island the wife has given me the ok to do our entire kitchen out of walnut, which is something I have always wanted anyway. i chose to leave alot of the sapwood in, mainly to keep costs down, but i think it gives a great look in the end anyway.

thanks for looking
chris

Hi Chris,
That is a nice set of photos. Looks like it was a very rewarding project, good work and well done! The strong beading shows up well and seems to go with a big kitchen. Your island has some class and will be much appreciated over the years i'm sure. I like the antique look in the paint but know that alot of folks lived with it and don't like it now. Glad to have the chance to share your work, push on... Keep cuttin and keep click'in those photos.
Thanks,
Shaz

The island looks great. I like the look of sapwood left in. It adds to the look. Next week I will be makinfig a bed for my son out of walnut. Can not wait to see the kitchen cabinets when they are done. Congrats on the great job.

Great job. Chris. I like the sapwood, too. I don't recall ever seeing real walnut cabinets. Really adds a touch of class of the place, IMHO. The wall cabinets are well done, too. As long as the folks who bought it like the paint, I do too. Thanks for posting the pics.

Excellent work Chris, and it really looks nice, but,.....(and I may be the only one), I like all all the grains and sapwood, except the really light piece on the end of the island dividing the main island and the corbel. To me it is just too light against that really dark piece, and kinda looks out of place. The grain match on the heavy beading and the panel is really nice and very striking.

more nice work! thanks for sharing chris.

That walnut island is stunning, very nice job!!

Nice work Chris! Can't wait to see the rest of the kitchen in walnut!!

Beautiful Island!

I'd love to see how they plan to finish, fill, and decorate the kitchen before I'd commit to liking the cabinet paint. It is very unique for a kitchen and once everything is in place, it may work quite well. The important thing is the clients like it!

thanks so much everyone. i really appreciate the nice comments!!

norman, you aren't the only one. that piece didn't look that like until the finish hit it, actually alot of the sap wood didn't show up till after the finish. which is just some sort of clear coat, i didn't finish it or the do the paint. not my strong points by far.

as for the paint detail, this house was open for viewing during the "Parade of homes" down here, not sure if they have that other places in the country too or not. it's basically a bunch of really nice homes that are listed in a flyer for people to go and view as open houses, they get alot of publicity. well this house was across the street from a parade home so it saw alot of visitors. and my friend said for everyone 1 person who didn't like the painted cabinets, 75 liked it. but everyone loved the island. i'll have to get pics of the front of it, the inset fronts with the furniture type pulls really sets it apart.

for those waiting to see my kitchen in walnut, you'll have to wait about 18 months, we aren't starting to build the house until next year.

thanks again everyone
chris

Chris, Hurry up and start your new house so that we can see you new kitchen. Judging from the island that you built it will be gorgeous. No wonder that your wife gave you the go ahead.

Chris,

As always, I am amazed at your work. Just awesome looking. I too can't wait to see your kitchen....but til then, I look forward to seeing other projects you do.

Thanks for posting this.

Great work Chris! I like the sapwood, but if you want to blend it in a little for your kitchen lemme know and I can share some techniques for that.

You've inspired me to go make some walnut sawdust

thanks guys. thats very nice of you


jesse, i offered to cull out the sapwood for our kitchen, she said she liked the contrast. so i ain't arguing, it will keep costs down.

trust me, i'm as anxious to start my house and kitchen as anyone. won't be till beginning of 08 though, wanna let the other new edition get settled in first.

chris

sam maloof intentionally leaves sapwood in his multi thousand dollar rockers and chairs. and he could afford to cull it all out. so i think that validate the practice for the rest of us. maybe in a small piece you wouldn't want sapwood but for cabinets...looks great. i used hickory with some sapwood in my kitchen cabinets and the sapwood made some of the grain matching much easier.

good job.

Another good job, Chris... Keep 'em coming.