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This is a new kitchen I built for our retirement house. The color is cream and espresso. The door and drawer frames are in maple and the center panels in MDF with the exception of the 55" pantry doors. They were built entirely with MDF to protect against warping. After the finish is applied it's impossible to tell the difference between maple and MDF. I felt a bit guilty painting maple, but I dislike MDF dust; it was worth the price. The uppers are 36" high. There are a total of 20 drawers. Most of the small drawers are built with metal sides and 5\8" melamine particle board bottoms. All of the hardware is from Lee Valley Tools. The finish is water-based lacquer. The large drawers fully extend for easy access. The large lazy suzan in the corner cabinet makes use of this space well.
Drawer sides: http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?p=45048&cat=3,43614,43616&ap=2
Handles: http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?cat=3,43520,43521,43538,46331&p=46331

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The kitchen looks great - exactly the style and finish my wife has been asking me about. Maybe even colour.

What technique and products did you use for the finish? Can you expand on 'water based lacquer'?
 

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You did a nice job - well done.
 

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BuildingDave asked about the finish. I used a product sold locally by Bond's Décor called CanLak. The color is much darker than in the photos. This shot is more like it. The paint was sprayed with a very simple spray gun sold by Lee Valley Tools. I applied three to four coats on the front and 3 coats on the back. The MDF panels can suck up a lot of paint. I coated both sides one after the other to prevent warping. The pieces were stored on a rack to dry. I tried applying a final coat of clear to get more protection. Dark colors tend to be softer from heavy pigmentation. It changed the color too much so I gave up on the clear coat. It really wasn't clear like they claimed. I chose a water-based lacquer because I don't have a safe spray room. I made a spray booth that can be dismantled. I use it in my garage during the warm months. The cost of the paint was surprisingly high, perhaps because I am not accustom to spraying and might have wasted some. In retrospect I would consider having a cabinet shop do the painting. Hope this answers your questions. Good luck with your project.
LV spray gun: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=20048&cat=1,190,43034
Paint: http://www.can-lak.com/
 

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Paul,

Nice work on your kitchen. Kitchens are my favorite woodworking project to check out.

We did find of interest your quote in reply to BuildingDave's question: "The cost of the paint was surprisingly high, perhaps because I am not accustomed to praying and might have wasted some." We have made it a point to be accustomed to praying and still we waste some. ;-) Actually, we did realize that an "s" was just missed in front of that word!

Thanks for posting.

L/W
 

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Thanks for the detailed response. I happen to already have that sprayer, but I'm still not sure on painting myself.

My wife and I have been scouring forums and magazines for kitchen inspiration for the last few weeks. Last night when I showed her your photos she agreed that it was pretty much exactly the look we are going for.
 

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L\W: Tks for the heads-up. I had six minutes left to edit :)
BuildingDave: You're welcome. Glad I could help.
 
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