The Kitchen is FINALLY Done (almost)

 

 

So I set a goal back at the first of the year to complete the Joy Dare and sew along with Project Run & Play (whatever season this is).  Hubby came to me shortly before the sewalong started and said that he needed a project and he wanted to paint the kitchen cabinets.  Sure.  I've discussed before my feelings on painting the cabinets and I really didn't want to  so when I said sure he got in his truck without even saying goodbye and ran to get paint.  I didn't even get a good before picture.

 

This is the best I can do to share the beauty of the cabinets in my kitchen before we got started. I thought the wood grain was beautiful and didn't want to cover it. 

If you remember, we started originally with cream Corian counters and no back splash.  In 2011 (at 8 months pregnant, no less) we changed the counter tops to granite and I installed a tumbled stone back splash.  My sweet husband offered to help but I'm anal about a few things and tile/grout lines is one of them.  He cut the 45's on the rope trim over the sink (cause those tiles were $5 a piece and I had palpitations every time I thought about cutting them)

 

 

The previous owners had taken down the decorative piece over the sink and had replaced it with a curtain, which I changed to match my decor. I wanted to take down the curtain altogether but the original board was long gone and matching the stain would be nigh impossible.

 

Our task list soon grew from just painting the cabinets to this:

1. Remove spindles from the top of the cabinet and heighten by 6".

2. Add moulding to cover the joint at the addition.

3. Add crown moulding to the new top of the cabinet.

4. Make an arched piece to go over the sink.

5. Remove the wine rack and do something.

6. Paint and antique the cabinets.

7. Paint the island.

8. Change the dishwasher from white to stainless steel.

 

 

Halfway through priming cabinets was when we decided to go ahead and heighten them.  I did not take good pictures of the process but I'll try to describe.  After removing the spindles hubby made braces to hold the 1x6 to the top of the existing cabinet.  We cut 15 million triangles it seemed.  Using a liberal amount of liquid nails, he then screwed the braces to the top of the existing cabinet from the inside.

 

 

Then he liquid nailed and regular nailed the 1x6 to his braces.  I was a weensy bit worried about the strength of this but it ain't going anywhere.  The man is wicked smart--don't know why I doubted him.

 

Then came the arch.  I tried to mimic the arches over the windows in the rest of my house.  Mr. Smarty Pants My Sweet Hubby drew the arch using a method from shipbuilders of long ago--he bent a thin piece of wood around a nail affixed at the top of the arch.  We measured down at regular intervals to ensure it was even.  Then he cut it out oh-so-carefully with a jigsaw.  I was quite impressed.  I also got a history lesson on how they drew arches way back when.  Two fer one.  (For the record, I thought my plan of digging out my largest platter and tracing around the curve would have worked too).  He finished the plywood edges with something called screen moulding. 

 

 

 

After the arch came the base cap to cover the joint between the end of the old cabinet and the start of the extension.  Again with the liquid nails and tacks.  Finally, we were on to the crown moulding.  I was an excellent supervisor, board holder, and hammer finder.  I started a little joke--my hubs can't hang onto a pencil to save his life.  I stuck like 5 in my ponytail and when he asked (repeatedly) if I had seen his pencil, I'd pull one from the pony and say, "Here, have mine."  He found it mildly amusing.  Toward the end of the project he'd kinda laugh.  I thought it was hilarious.

 

At one point during these pictures the nail gun would fire air but not nails.  Hubs would look down the barrel of the nail gun and I had to *bite*my*tongue from saying "you'll shoot your eye out!" I got a little slap happy.

To recap:
(sorry--bed moulding should actually read base cap)

 

Then it was time to get out the wine rack.  We stored our grilling utensils, paddle, and other junk up in there.  See, we rarely drink (not that there's anything wrong with it).  We just both grew up without alcohol around and that's kind of extended into our adulthood.  I knew the wine rack could be a great display shelf and so I campaigned to have it come out.  Hubs finally caved (he thought it would be a future selling point) and went after it with a hammer.  There were more nails in that stupid thing than in all of our local Lowes but it eventually came out.  I.  LOVE.  IT.

 

 

At last, it was:

 

 

And then glazing, fixing mistakes, and more glazing...

 

1.  Original technique 2.  My poor attempt to fix original 3.  The finished product  4.  The big white wall
 

I knew that tall open spaces (like doors and sides of cabinets) are hard to get right and buddy are they.  I finally had to just call it good enough.  I used glaze and that crap is very tricky and it dries wicked fast. 

 

If you aren't sick of scrolling through pictures yet, here's just a few more...

 

And now I'm off to clean the dust that has accumulated and sew a little.  I have a whole other side of the kitchen (by the ovens) that I didn't photograph--my camera blinked "Battery Exhausted" while I was taking pics.  You and me both little friend.

 

Oh and by the way--you will notice the dishwasher is still white.  See, it is a Kitchen Aid Superba (like that means anything) and it is really quiet and works great.  It was installed in 2008 so it is only like 5 years old.  I can change out the head and panel to stainless steel and have it be right and stainless for like $250.  To replace the whole thing with something of similar quality is like $900.  My fear is that I'll reclad it and it will break next year.  I hate to replace something that works so well.  Decisions.  Decisions.

 

So now for the 'on the cheap' part.  I realize that granite countertops are not cheap.  Tumbled stone backsplashes aren't bad if you can install yourself.  Here's the cheapest part--we took dated, 80's cabinets and spent about $700 in lumber and paint (I think there's a saw in there too) and got very up to date, beautiful cabinets.  To replace them would have been tens of thousands of dollars.  I think $700 is a bargain.

 

In closing, I'm real proud of my kitchen.  Can you tell?  After almost 12 years of marriage and now 3 remodels, me and my man can get it right.  It was really nice to work together on something other than survival of life with 3 little ones and we'd climb in the bed at night exhausted but really happy to be together.

 

 

 

I'm gonna link up a few different places this week.