Here's what I've been working on for the last month or so. A kitchen overhaul, or maybe underhaul since it was really just paint and tile, but in any case Improvement.
Here's where we are now. I'm still thinking about adding hardware, and hey maybe I should paint the walls, but you get the picture. And I love it. Really, my life is so much better these days.
Here's where it all began. Sigh.
Step 1 along the way.
I decided to add some decorative trim (the lighter wood) to our sad, honey oak, plain-Jane cabinets. I'm so glad I did. I love the way it turned out. Plus, it was great practice with my miter saw. I think I'm in a much better position to do crown molding now. My precision has definitely improved.
But ugh! Why are there so many?! Seriously, our kitchen is the size of a lot of my friends' closets, but with every step of this process there seemed to be more cabinet doors. I've never been so glad to live in a tiny house than when it was 4 a.m. (and yet still 95 degrees in the garage) and I was just barely putting on the last piece of trim to the 18th cabinet door. More is not always better, believe me.
Oh yeah, there were these, too.
KILZ is the best primer in the world. I love it. The way it can cover up water stains, oil stains, whatever! is amazing. I think with careful planning and a lot of patience you could probably make a boat out of this stuff.
I love this little shelf I got at Pottery Barn. So simple, but so perfect in the way it puts salt and pepper exactly where a 5'4'' person can reach them.
The tile is Crema Marfil (3x6) and I got it at The Tile Guy here in Austin. It was a great store, big selection, and decent prices. But come on! Couldn't someone there have told me to seal the tile before I grouted it? They asked me twelve times if I was installing it myself! I didn't know it was an issue, but the tiles just sucked up that grout like a sponge. It wouldn't wash off! It took Luke and I three hours, two sanding sponges, and a chisel to get the grout off the face of the tile. A lot of the tile got stained, but oh well, it just looks "distressed" now.
I rented this wet saw from Sunbelt Rentals. Really nice people. The saw cut through my tiles like warm butter. Plus, the water splashing from the basin had a lovely cooling effect.
This was a fantastic tip from my mother-in-law. If you use a little wood glue and toothpicks, you can reuse the same screw holes when you're all done. That means no marking or measuring when you reinstall the cabinet doors. When the glue is dry you break off the toothpick and sand it down flat. Thank you, thank you. This was such a time-saver.
And here's another look. Thank you Luke for taking the kids down to Houston for the week so I could get this done!
