Was a murder committed in this kitchen? Not as far as I could tell from the Seller's disclosure. I joked that with the sheet vinyl floor and the red painted walls it felt like a murder had committed in this kitchen painting this color covered up all the evidence and bleached the floors. When we walked into the kitchen Josh said "You want to buy this?". I know what he meant, since it kind of made your head hurt to open your eyes in there, but I could see past the Roasted Paprika Red and see the potential.
At the time when we purchased our home, it was the least expensive home per square foot on the market in the neighborhood, but still at the higher end of our budget. I really felt that this home could be a great investment, but we would still need to be strategic and smart with our improvements. Frankly, the kitchen could have had a tarp over it with a post it note stating "Kitchen" and it would have been an improvement.
For the record.. when I dragged Josh to see this house, I specifically told him "we are going to have to paint or replace the cabinets." Four years after we moved in, Josh denied ever hearing or agreeing to the aforementioned declaration. I kept hearing "there is nothing wrong with the cabinets" " I don't remember you saying anything about the cabinets". "Let's just get granite! That will help!" No Josh, no it will not.
I looked into replacing them and just did not feel we would get a great return on investment. Sure, I would love new cabinets with all the full overlay doors, pot organizers, deep drawers, and trash pullouts! But it made financial sense to paint the cabinets and spend 10% of what it would be to replace them. So I got to work, aka watched some YouTube videos on painting kitchens, afterwards feeling completely confident I made a list of all that I needed.
The DYI'ers consensus was that Benjamin Moore's Specialty Cabinet Paint was the best quality paint to use so off I went to the paint store and Lowes for supplies. Even though the cabinet paint says you can paint without a primer, I still purchased an interior paint primer just to be a rebel.
What I ultimately needed for this project. Mind you much of these items I already had, but listing in case you do not! I know it is a lot, but remember you are saving thousands by not buying new cabinets.
Gloves
Mask
Eye Protection
As I have mentioned in previous posts, prior to moving in we had all FOUR floor coverings removed and replaced with a beautiful 7" White Oak Wire Brushed Pre Finished Engineered Hardwood on the main level, added a taupe polyester carpet on the stairs and upstairs (we would have done hardwoods throughout, but, alas, too many $$$), and repainted all walls, ceilings, trim, and doors.
So I know that is pretty boring, but this whole buying the house process went by way faster than I ever had imagined; considering it took us 6 1/2 months to decide which speaker system we wanted for our living room, this was like a whirlwind! I had not really thought about what I wanted the house to ultimately look like so I figured neutral was the way to go.
Josh's one claim to fame was to paint the brick fireplace, which I had been mulling to keep the brick, but I agreed it was too pinky orange.
Back to the kitchen...
First things first, I removed all the hardware and donated them (disposed of them, sorry I didn't think to donate them). I used my favorite tool, my handy, dandy, electric screw driver that Josh had bought for me to remove all the hinges, which I put in little snack ziplock bags and taped them inside each of the cabinets so I knew which hinge went to which door. To be honest I left all my belongings in the cabinets and just scooted everything back 3-4" so as not to paint my stuff.
I set up tables outside where I laid out the doors, which I labeled with numbers that correspond to a label I put inside each cabinet so I knew which door/drawer went where in my kitchen. I used my hand sander with fine grit sand paper, removed the varnish, and used Josh's air compressor to blow the dust away. An angled sanding block worked smashingly to sand the finish down on the beaded cabinet trim inside the rails. Since I knew I was going to paint the cabinets I did not need to remove all the previous nutmeg stain color, but just the varnish. I then used cheesecloth to make sure all dust was removed. Get a bunch of these! I used a ton and they were very effective not just for this, but when you do the light sanding between coats. Remember to wear sunscreen.
Since it was May.. in Georgia, it was a million degrees out and the air was soupy I decided to take my sunburned self in to set up shop in my front room/dining room/foyer area. I started to prime the doors by rolling the primer in even strokes all Mr. Miyagi style (stroke in direction of the grain) and everything. Then to make sure the finish is nice and smooth I went over it with a foam brush that allowed the primer to get in all the nooks and crannies, while also absorbing some of the paint droplets or where it had accumulated. I added wood putty to the holes in the drawers as I am going to be adding cabinet pulls instead of a knob. I let it dry and sand it down then primed.
While the doors and drawers were drying, I got to work on the cabinet boxes. I taped down the paper on the floor. It is a nice thick paper that ultimately stayed down the entire length of the project, which took about 13 days. I removed the cabinet crown molding as it was too traditional and short. I am going to replace it with a more substantial, transitional cove crown.
I sanded the walls and base cabinet boxes, which was tough because I used the hand sander until my arm hurt, then switched to the sanding block, then back again when my hand cramped up. This part sucked a little, I am not going to lie, but try and push forward. Also, it helps having a husband walking by muttering under his breathe "the cabinets were perfectly fine before" to motivate you to finish the job and, ultimately, to prove him wrong!
That was pretty much the look I was giving him and the cabinets at that point!
I used some more of that awesome tack cloth that collected all the dust on the cabinets from sanding. I taped the inside edges of the cabinet so I had a nice clean line and maintained the maple interior of the cabinet boxes. I grabbed my roller and foam brushes and got to work priming the kitchen. To make amends, Josh went and purchased me a shop light that when pointed at the cabinets help to show any spots I have missed.
Please ignore the mess, along with fridge magnets. I know, I know, I always told myself I wouldn't do fridge magnets, but I had too many battles to fight and this one I lost.
I will be honest I only did one layer of primer on the cabinet boxes rather than priming then a light sanding followed by another coat of primer. With the kitchen primed, I took all the cabinet doors and drawers to the garage to stay out of the heat and out of the breeze. I had done quite a lot of reading about paint sprayers and it seems like the consistent advice was to spray light, even layers and keep the sprayer clean! Even though it says clog resistant, it still clogged. I messed with the settings and tested it on some of the floor covering on the grass on the side of my house until I felt confident. One of the challenges, I found, was that the sprayer was corded so it took some upper body strength to hold the sprayer out over the doors, spray evenly, and keep the cord from hitting the doors on the table. I am now seeing the genius in my dad's decision to always have outlets hanging from their shop ceilings.
I let the doors and drawers dry, then took a new fine grit sanding block and lightly sand the cabinet front, use a tack cloth to remove debris, and spray another light, even layer and leave to dry on these clever little triangular painting tripods. I did the backs first so just in case the tripods make an indention it will be on the back of the cabinet door. The little tripods also make it easier to get the sides of the cabinets, which I did with the sprayer and a roller.
Since there were only 6 doors and 6 drawers on the island, I decided to paint in the air conditioning and with the roller and foam brush. Sherwin Williams Naval is a really nice navy blue and I liked that it wasn't going purple.
Remember, depending on your project you are going to need a lot of drying space that will be free of children, pets, and dust. I do not do so many cabinet projects that it was worth it to purchase cabinet drying tower so the dining table would do!
Those numbers stayed with each door and drawer throughout the entire project. After noticing that I was feeling more tired than normal, I took a test and just like I had when I had broken the news to Josh with the girls. I sent him a text!
Well that was unexpected. Gulp... ok back to work.
When Josh wakes up in the morning, he will oftentimes ask "what do you want to do for dinner?" I will usually snap back with charm " I have two meals to go before we need to ask that question!" Josh is definitely a foodie as he spent much of his youth in the kitchen with his mother cooking and it is very much a passion of his. I did not spend the same amount of time in the kitchen with my mom, which cooking was not her passion by any means, and therefore do not enjoy cooking.
We decided to change out our recirculating vent hood with a stronger vent that is ducted to the exterior of the home, which luckily is on the other side of the wall. In addition to the vent, we hired a plumber to come and extend the gas line, which was also conveniently located on the exterior wall to provide gas for a 5 burner gas stainless cooktop.
And yes he Sous Vides a steak in that picture as he and his assistant disconnected the old electric cooktop. We removed the cabinet above the previous vent and added a stainless canopy hood that has 860 CFM, which is the cubic feet of air that is removed in a minute. There was already an outlet from the previous vent so all that was needed was a hole to be drilled through the wall and add proper ducting and vent on the exterior.
I was so excited to have new countertops, I waited outside for them to arrive! I didn't even get a video of my children getting dropped off for their first day of school, but I got one of my countertops arriving!
I looked everywhere to find a marble looking quartz in my small budget. I will say there is definitely a difference between the brands of quartz countertops, as they are engineered and comprised of 90-93% Quartz and a high heat resin that binds the stone creating a very strong, durable, and more consistent countertop than a natural stone. Many brands claim their quartz countertops are anti microbial, Scratch and Stain Proof, and in no need of sealing. This is not always the case and depends on the company and its use of quartz, resin and the technology used to manufacture it. I would definitely recommend brands such as Cambria, Silestone, and Caeserstone. They use the best, clear quartz and have invested greatly in creating nearly non absorbent countertops with the best patterns and designs.
Countertop fabricators and installers typically offer a selection of inexpensive stainless steel sinks. I decided to go with the widest single bowl sink and even though I love the look of the rectangular sinks with nearly 90 Degree angled corners they are difficult to clean. We took this opportunity to add a 1/2 Hp Garbage Disposal, which is considerably quieter than our previous 1/3rd hp disposal that when turned on was so loud it scared the living day lights out of anyone on the main floor. I decided to go with a more industrial pull down Kraus faucet in Brushed Brass.
Cabinet hardware is a detail that most people only think about at the end of a project, but cabinet hardware has come so far in design, style, options, and variation in price. Solid brass or bronze hardware that is hand made could cost as much as $15k for the size of a kitchen like mine and can be absolutely gorgeous and be considered the jewelry of the kitchen. Obviously, Josh would murder me if he ever found out that I spent $15k on hardware, that he was aware of at least. I ordered a far more cost effective, albeit, mass produced champagne finished zinc hardware that wouldn't lead to my murder.
It was advantageous for me that there had never been a backsplash installed so I only had to clean and prep the drywall, remove the outlet covers, unscrew the outlets to account for the width of the subway tile I added. I decided to go with a simple 3x6 Beveled White Subway Tile. I chose this tile knowing it would be something that would age well as subway tile is classic and budget friendly. I liked the bevel to give a little interest to the wall of white and a very convenient aspect was the tile was lugged. A lugged tile is a self spacing tile where the tile has small recessed unglazed ceramic on the thin sides of the tile that when placed next to another lugged tile will create a 1/16" grout line, which translates to no spacers! I used my wet saw to cut the tile and added the backsplash. I am really pleased!
I terminated the tile into the oven cabinet and on the others I used a matching liner. Since the countertop has the typical 1 1/4" overhang it raised the question of where to end the backsplash? Should I do the countertop or where the wall cabinet ends.I decided it looked best to have the liner line up with the end of the counter and come back and kill into the cabinet.
Josh couldn't resist to cook with his new gas cooktop and LOVES his new vent. My only regret concerning the vent is that I should have installed it about 3" higher as he has hit his head so many times he may have brain damage.
After installing all the outlet covers and getting the kitchen set back to right. We are done!
Well it was very hard, satisfying work, but I am very pleased with the end result. It has been two and a half years since we gave the kitchen a face lift, it is easy to remember as we know our third and last daughter, G's, birthday and count back about 9 months. This little nugget sure is a pistol!
Upon reflection, I would say I only regret three decisions concerning the kitchen.
Firstly, I didn't realize that once I was happier with the look of our kitchen I started to spend more time cooking, albeit not A LOT of time, but more. It would have been a good idea to have a range instead of the cooktop to have the extra oven.
Secondly, as mentioned before, the hardware is the jewelry of the kitchen and as I was trying to stay budget conscious, I feel I could have spent a little more for something I would be happier with. Having said that, I don't know why I have not replaced them since. Hmm.
Lastly, I wish I had invested more for the countertops. The newer and better quality quartz materials are far more attractive and durable than my selection. I would not say my countertops stain, but they do require quite a bit of elbow grease to remove the spots left by sauces (red wine) if on the countertop even for a second.
Of course Josh enjoys his new kitchen and loves telling people "Since the last time you were here, we updated the kitchen!" Ugh! I just can't with him!
All in all I am excited and proud to have finished the kitchen! What do you think?
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