Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Labor of Love

Before the subway tile backsplash was born and before the counters were adopted, I fostered these cabinets... 
(If you missed it, you might want to catch up on my previous post here)







Ok, they weren't THAT bad (I'm trying so hard not to complain too much!) The previous owners had painted them and replaced the hardware to improve the look of the dark, 70's cabinets, but as you took a closer look, they weren't so improved.





This project was a true labor of love. 

Three months of a dust filled kitchen, three months of paint covered hands (and clothes, hair, face), three months of brushing snow off my truck everyday because it had to be parked in the driveway, and three months of freezing my butt off in the garage while our horrible ND winters raged right outside the door.

I literally dreamed this sequence:
Sand (low grit)
Sand (high grit)
Prime (2-3x)
Paint (2-3x)


 Sooo...remember BEFORE??

We removed the soffit and cabints over the snack bar, painted, redid the cabinets, installed the backsplash, and replaced the counters to get... the AFTER.

Removing the cabinets above the snack counter was the best idea ever. If you are thinking about it but are holding back because you are worried that you will lose precious storage space- get rid of crap!   Not only does it open the space up, but it makes it look bigger and allows for much better entertaining. And where on earth would you put a TV if we wouldn't have taken the cabinets out?!


It's so wonderful that my cabinets are now crisp, clean, and paint gobs are no longer visible.



We still have a bit to go... install moulding to the top of the cabinets, replace the windows, install backsplash on the remaining wall, pick out a light, etc.


Thank goodness the majority of the work is over. For people who are interested in redoing their cabinets as well, (which is totally worth it!) I will post a step by step tutorial with tips that I found helpful to finish this labor of love :)

18 comments:

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

I love that you have a TV in your kitchen! This would certainly make it easy to watch some Bobby Flay and pretend to be as kick butt as him in the kitchen.

Coley said... Best Blogger Tips

That's hilarious Alex! I was soo opposed to it and I finally caved, now I LOVE it. It's so great having entertainment when I'm home alone and cooking or cleaning.

Jennifer said... Best Blogger Tips

Wow! What a great transformation! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and sharing your thoughts!
Jen
Scissors & Spatulas

Coley said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you, Jennifer!

Liz said... Best Blogger Tips

you did a fabulous job! thanks for stopping by the quick journey. I will have to stop by here more often, for sure!!!

Meredith said... Best Blogger Tips

Your kitchen transformation is amazing! Great job!!

I received a Versatile Blogger Award and am passing it along to you! Feel free to check out my latest blog post for more info.

newcombhome said... Best Blogger Tips

I love the new open look! Random question: how come the cabinet next to the dishwasher has no hardware? How do you open it? I'm just curious because we're redoing our kitchen sometimes soon and I'm trying to get as much info as I can!

Coley said... Best Blogger Tips

Hey Katie, good question! Notice how the dishwasher opens. Everytime we opened it it smashed into those cabinets :( I had to fill in the holes and skip hardware. So even though it looks a little weird, it's so much more functional!

Jennifer said... Best Blogger Tips

Hey! Just lurking around on the Nest and found your blog. It looks great! I think the dark hardware really makes a difference and pops well on the white cabinets. I agree--losing those extra cabinets made a WORLD of difference. Great job!!

Jennifer said... Best Blogger Tips

PS, I am your newest follower.

Joi said... Best Blogger Tips

What a major improvement! I love how much space you guys have now! And, I love the tv, too! I enjoy having one in our kitchen so much!

Coley said... Best Blogger Tips

Jennifer and Joi- thank you! Even though it's not completely done, I still love it! Thank you for stopping by my blog and commenting :)

Anna said... Best Blogger Tips

Looks fantastic! Painting cabinets is a lot of hard, boring work but you did a great job! What a difference!

Anna said... Best Blogger Tips

Looks fantastic! Painting cabinets is a lot of hard, boring work but you did a great job! What a difference!

C said... Best Blogger Tips

It looks great, Coley! Beautiful, beautiful work! I love following your posts :) Thanks again for the versatile blogger award!

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

They look great! I love the wall color as well!

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

Melissa Hensler said... Best Blogger Tips

It looks great! It's always so rewarding to see the final project.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Kelly M. said... Best Blogger Tips

Looks amazing-- I love your kitchen. Thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods. Look forward to reading more on your blog :-). - Kelly