Painting the cabinets

This is the most daunting process ever. Seriously EVER!

But ewwww

And I had read a little bit about what to do and luckily our kitchen stuff isn't here yet so I didn't have to worry about taking things out of the cabinets.


First I read this blog. http://designertrapped.com/2014/06/paint-your-kitchen-cabinets.html

Ultimately I followed her process. I took everything down

and prepped the everything by cleaning and this stuff.

Then I did the most worthless thing ever. Tape...don't tape. Get this brush

I can't tell you how awesome it is. I have 3 now...saved my life. After I used a dense roller (made for cabinets) I wasn't impressed by the texture. I read another blog.

http://www.livelovediy.com/2013/04/10-easy-steps-to-paint-kitchen-cabinets.html

This chick is trying to win a cabinet painting contest I think...but she is right about a couple things. First the brush...I'm telling you, buy one! Next sanding between coats. And last new hardware. More on that later.

So to sand. Which is why all the stuff (if I had any) would need to come out. I used 220 between the 2 coats of paint.

Next is the top coat. Same from the first blog. I also did the reccomended 3 coats but I sanded between them. Long process but worth it. I sanded with 400 between the coats. It is a very light sanding just to get the coat nice and smooth.

I did all the backs of the doors first. All 5 coats and then started the process on the fronts. That way if I scratched any backs it wouldn't be that noticeable.

On the hardware. Buy new stuff. If you attempt to paint it WILL chip. At least get new hinges. I bought mine at home depot in a value pack. But as the second blog I read mentions this hardware, its super afford a me and really nice looking.

So after painting fronts and reattaching the hardware and rehanging the doors, the kitchen looks new to me!

Now I just need new countertops!

Chandelier

I wanted nothing to do with this thing.

I thought about just replacing it but I got some really great ideas from houzz.com. Also chandeliers are super expensive and tougher than my last light fixture to replace.

So first I painted it.

Yep. I left it right up there to paint.

I got this paint and it seemed to go on really well.

Painting and taking those horrible glass shades off really helped but I had my heart set on a shade to cover the thing.

I got an idea from decoist and the metal sheet light, to cover my chandelier.

Obviously my chandelier is bigger so I needed a bigger sheet. I found a bigger one that I knew I would have to cut, but that's easy with some tin snips.

I used the wire that often comes in picture hanging packs to "sew" the pieces together and make a cylinder.

This is the inside so you won't be able to see the places (like this one) where I had to add in more wire.

 After that is added some !ayerial that was magically almost the perfect size to make it more "shade like".

This was just the piece of fabric I needed.

I hung it with this nice stuff.

It turned out like this.

I think it might be a bit big...we'll see once the room is furnished with furniture instead of junk.

Changing out the hideous fluorescent light!

So I hated this fixture.

Get ready to say goodbye!

First turn off the power at the breaker before starting this. If your lucky, like I was, to do this in the middle of the day with a fairly well lit area, turn on the light you want to change out and flip breaker switches until you come in and its off. You can get one of those tools to check if the wire is still hot but I didn't and I'm living to tell about it...

Take the old one out piece by piece and then be careful at the wired part.

I just unscrewed the plastic nuts thingies and kept them. For reference black=red and yellow=white, at least in this instance. You can see 2 wires dangling from a hole in the center, that was the one place the whole fixture was lit.

From this part you follow the directions that come with you new light fixture. Make sure you put the right wires together and orient the fixture the way you want it. This is a case where if you could take it apart you can put it back together again.

So simple. Much better.

Now I have to repaint the ceiling...

Painting my sinks!

So first off you should know that there is ALOT to this project but its totally worth it if you don't have the money/know how to change out your sinks.

First you'll need to watch this video.
Removing the faucet
It will show you how to remove the faucets and the drain thingy.

Next you'll need to get the right paint. I used this,

you'll also need a good brush. I used this based on a recommendation from the guy at home depot. He also mentioned that when finished with the paint and ALL materials that the paint touched (paper towels, brush, everything) you call the Fire Dept to find out where/how to dispose of everything. Its extremely flammable and you can be fined if thrown in the regular trash. Enough with the PSA...

After you gather your supplies you have to prep the sinks. I used lime-a-way like prescribed, but I did that first. Next I used ajax (with bleach) because bleach is part of the process and I thought the two together might help me skip a step. I sprinkled that stuff everywhere and then used a damp sponge to make a paste and left the paste on overnight. It was super clean the next morning...then I pretty much followed the instructions on the box. Except I did 3 coats. Probably a mistake there. At first the paint goes on a lot like milk... on a sink. It seems like it will never cover, but the second coat really covers well. My third coat was a mistake because I got too much paint on and it started to leave drips in one of the sinks. No good. Luckily this sink isn't connected to the wall and will be an easy swap. Plus, lucky me I found a sink I really liked at the Restore the day before for $35 so I bought it and installed it instead. The other one turned out great!

I reinstalled new faucets and drains and even spent the extra $6 on each sink to have new drain assemblies. Brian hates a clogged sink and there will be NO clogs in these sinks for awhile.

Easy day.

Cutting holes...in walls

You'll find throughout the course of my home updates that I have a hard time leaving well enough alone.

When I first saw the house I knew there were 2 walls I wanted to get rid of immediately. I'm no dummy and know that you can't just go knocking out walls...load bearance and all that. So I contacted a few contractors through thumbtack.com to come look at my walls and tell me if they could come out. They can!

First wall I wanted to rid of is in the master bedroom.

The reason I was t the wall out is because behind it is a huge closet that is totally unusable.

So I wanted a hole from the master to make this closet a reachin instead of the most awkward walkin from the living room.
Second wall to get rid of is in the kitchen.

I just wanted to be able to see what's going on in the living room from the kitchen. All the kids are doing it these days, having their open floor plans, I want one too!

I had the first contractor come over and I explained what I was thinking and he basically told me that my ideas were solid and an easy project.

After offering my demo services he seemed excited that I was willing to be so hands on. So I took that to mean its time for some new tools.

First I needed this to get my trim off the wall.

Also needed this.

Also I used this

to cut the cabinets with.

I was super careful not to cut too fast. I went slow in case I felt any resistance from electrical wires. I knew there would be wires and I didn't want to shock myself.

Mirrors came down. (Tape them so if they break while coming down they'll have tape all over them...)

Cabinets came down. (This is easy, find the screws in the back and release them from the wall.) Mine had to be cut because they were built as one solid unit, but my handy saw made it easy.

Tada! Holes made.

They need to be framed and what not by a professional so I left them as is until someone could come finish. I don't recommend doing that yourself, unless you are sure you know what you are up to.

Look for finishes on the big reveal day!