Refurbished Chalon kitchen in Guildford, Surrey
Refurbishing a beautiful Chalon kitchen in Guildford, Surrey
The customer inherited the kitchen when they purchased the house and booked a colour consultation. We all agreed to use Myland Paint ‘Maritime’ for the large kitchen island, a gorgeous denim blue colour to which we added Myland Paint ‘Hoxton Grey’ as the perfect complementary tone for the main units. This is a soft grey with just a hint of sandstone which is cool but warm at the same time. The paint has an 8% sheen which produces a highly durable and practical matt finish.
As always, Sandra and I removed all the drawer fronts, handles, and hinges before thoroughly cleaning and then sanding back the poor paint finish done by the previous owners. The paint had chipped badly and was very rough in places- the sign of poor technique and lack of the necessary preparation and care needed to achieve our perfect results.
We applied a solution to prevent the knots in the wood from bleeding through before undercoating and applying not one, but three top coats! We discussed new handles and knobs with the client and settled on Slingers 1858 in polished nickel for a chic contemporary look and just for good measure fitted new hinges in the same.
The interior of the units were all refreshed with a wood stain before polishing.
The owners were so delighted with our work and fastidious neatness that they put in a request to Steve Wright on Radio 2, who gave ‘ Nicola and Sandra hard at work hand-painting a kitchen in Guildford’ a shout out! A first for us and a really lovely gesture.
The huge kitchen island having been sanded to reveal the original colour
Now for the satisfying part!
Totally transformed with Myland Paint ‘Maritime’ denim blue. Practical to not show bumps and scrapes, as a dog and two small children also live here!
This enormous Chalon kitchen….
Demanded to be a light colour but not a stark cold tone so you can see the hint of sandstone in the tone
Classy, chic and practical kitchen island….
Will now not show the spills and knocks from children and dogs - and the deep denim blue anchors the centre of the space
Chalon Kitchen- Hand Painted rejuvenation in Chiddingfold, Surrey
…………bring a superb Chalon kitchen up to date with fresh colours and new handles
I was contacted through my website to bring a superb Chalon kitchen up to date with fresh colours and new handles. The clients are delighted with the finished space and have kindly allowed me to feature the project so….Here are the results!
The hard work. You can see the state of the original kitchen before I commenced washing and sanding!
Washing is essential to remove all traces of grease and general household dirt. No matter how clean you think your old kitchen is I need to take it a step cleaner using a very strong and effective industrial cleaning agent.
The space is a building site to begin with, but is properly protected and sealed off to prevent scratching. Here is the kitchen island unit in its original state.
When you are lucky enough to have a solid hardwood kitchen of such quality transforming it through hand painting saves a fortune, as opposed to replacement with its upheaval and mess.
This unit houses the fridge freezer and has an outdated dark wood. This large cottage has relatively low ceilings and small windows so dark wood can lower the general light levels and be too heavy.
The beauty of solid wood is that through painting by hand you can keep changing the colours every decade or so to suit changing tastes and fashions
After my seven stage process you can now see the contrast! The original superb quality solid wood is going nowhere but just has a new facade. The clients decided to also have the original interiors transformed with sanding and French polishing, rather than having a soft colour wash applied, deeming it more practical. It certainly gives it depth and a superb contrast.
The client opted for a popular colour, not too pale for impracticality and still light enough to lift the space. This is Cornforth White by Farrow & Ball, described as ‘an understated grey’. Note the new chrome handles and knobs sourced by me from Hafele. This finishing touch is generally recommended - for reference check the first image again!
The Finishing Touch
Highest quality new handles sourced from Hafele
Here is the completed fridge freezer unit in its new coat of Cornforth White by Farrow & Ball. Compare with the before image above! Fresh, clean and bright….
My clients asked me to lighten the island work surface. Using a powerful vacuum sander and a gentle grade of paper I stripped it back before using Danish oil to effectively seal the gorgeous new colour.
The insides too!
I sanded the interiors before using a button stain to french polish them all. A lengthy process but a beautiful touch. Highly practical and clean!
AND FINALLY….the completed kitchen! I’m very happy to leave another delighted client behind to enjoy their new space. They know I am always there for them for any touch ups or ongoing work.
The kitchen is transformed into a light and airy space. The complementary colour of the island is Pigeon by Farrow & Ball
“Dear Nicola,thank you so much for your fantastic work - we are could not be happier with your work and cannot recommend you highly enough. You were lovely to have in our house and we wish you all the best for the future. Mr and Mrs G, Chiddingfold, Surrey.”