Kitchen renovation questions

[Nicholas Earls]

Starting to renovate the kitchen on my first property. 1100 SFH in a B- neighborhood that we will live in for a year or two then rent out. Need some advice on what to do with this kitchen.

My plan is to do the rest of the house in an Antique White eggshell and a more high gloss brighter white on the trim. Floors are going to be a click-lock LVP throughout the house but we haven't decided on a color yet.  Thinking more of a lighter color to open up the rooms a bit.  Plan for the kitchen is the repaint the cabinets an off-white, thinking more of a grey white and repaint the countertop in a glossy dark grey and shellac over the paint.  Just purchased all black appliances (stove is a mix of black and stainless) and thinking silver hardware for the cabinets.

Where am I going wrong here?/pick my plan apart please.  

Few questions in particular: 

1. Since the cabinets are going to be in the kitchen and are going to take more use and abuse than normal walls do you go with a different type of paint for those? I know there are "cabinet paints" but wasn't sure if they are worth the extra cost.  

2. Any particular brand of primer recommended?  Something specific to cabinets or just normal primer?

3. What sheen for the cabinets should I go for? Thinking more of a gloss or semi-gloss for clean-ability.

4. For the flooring through the house we are deciding between more of a natural warm wood color (similar to High point chestnut) vs more of a light grey (something like brushed oak taupe).  The Taupe example is similar to the color palate we will be going for in the kitchen and I think it looks really nice but I would just wonder if the grey is going to go out of style/less neutral and may put people off down the road.

Any suggestions appreciated! Thanks

[Jill F.]

Decorating for your personal space is VERY different than choosing decor for a rental. But since you aren't planning on being there very long , I'd treat it as though I was doing decor for a rental. And since you asked:

Based on that picture, the existing floors look nice. Flooring is expensive; you aren't going to be there very long. Don't  spend that money.

For the walls, Antique or Off-white walls are not "in" right now. Grey-beige (greige) colors are all the rage. I like Valspar Villa Grey, Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey or Worldly Grey. Pick one in a satin sheen for use everywhere you have white trim and use it in all your rentals.

If you want painted look cabinets I have had VERY good luck using Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations (the bright white with no glaze is the one exception); If you choose to use the White and glaze it use a VERY light hand and wipe most of the glaze off. The other colors (there are many to choose from) are not so touchy and look great. Everything you need comes in the kit for about $70.

If you want a different countertop, for that small kitchen If you have the skills to DIY it I'd just pick out a new laminate that I liked. But if you really want to paint you might try Daich Spreadstone which has a one part epoxy that so far has been holding up very well for me.

I would spend a little of the money I saved on the flooring and do a pretty tile backsplash. You can use a product from Lowes called Musclebound and not have to use thinset.

Lastly, I'd replace the ceiling fan over the breakfast table nook with a stylish  chandelier

Have Fun with your project.