Secret Squirrel Project Reveal

No matter what is going on in the world  I seem to be able to find a project where there is none.   It is no wonder my to-do list never gets completed.    I don't plan this.   I don't search these tasks out.   I just look around and think hey, what if I.....     I am forever on the short bus of the Hot Mess Express.....and that is what led me to painting my kitchen cabinets.

This is my secret squirrel home improvement project.   I've had it on my to-do  list for a couple of years and after the new countertop install last fall it was moved closer to the top of the list.  I exercised my editorial prerogative by deciding not to share until I knew if it was successful.  Heck successful, what do I mean......how about waited until I knew I was finished!

Having no garage or basement, the dining room table became my workspace.   This meant I had to do the doors in batches of 5 or 6.    Each batch took about four days for the prep-coat-dry-coat again-dry-glaze-dry-seal-dry.  With no visitors and me not flitting here-there-and-everywhere this was the perfect time to do it.  The prep is by far the worse.   This is something that sounds familiar to people my age, but I digress.

Project Reveal.....
This is where we began.   October 2019 - Pre-Phase 1

Breakfast bar, countertops, dishwasher, sink and appliance barn gone.  Little decorative 'fencing' removed from top of cabinets.

November - Ta-da, end of Phase 1.   Little trim at top replaced with crown molding, breakfast bar gone and replaced with granite countertop, new appliances, new vinyl beadboard backsplash, new sink and faucet, new bar stools and under cabinet lighting.     A gal should be happy.

But then comes the self-isolating,  May 2020 - Phase 2 - The prep begins, doors off and tape going up.  Initially I thought yuck, the primer doesn't cover well.  But the second coat proved to do the job.   And then I though yuck again,  the color doesn't look good.   It is so hard to choose from a color chip on top of the box in the fluorescent lighting of the store.   It was hard for me to imagine the final look when looking at what appeared to be gray cabinets.  The glaze did the trick.  Mr. Wonderful was a great help.    He took down all the doors and removed all the hardware for me.   He made me little stands with wood screws and 2 by 4's to prop my doors on.   He also ordered enough soft-closing hinges to retrofit the doors.   And although he did no cleaning, sanding, painting or offering to cook dinner, he became my cheerleader.    When I lamented about the color, he encouraged me to have a wait and see attitude adding if I didn't like it, I could re-do it.  Very easy for him to say since I was the one with the elbow grease but it gave me an option which I welcomed.  It was much better than a you-picked-it/you-live-with-it attitude.  I still need to get new hardware but want to get a couple different styles to bring home and install before I decide.

An added bonus is all the cabinets got cleaned and organized.   I had a couple of cans of condensed milk and a couple cake mixes that expired and got trashed.   The canned goods are all back in a FIFO order now.  They bring to mind Julia Roberts' compulsive husband in the movie Sleeping with the Enemy.

last of the drawers on my 'workbench'

And Ta-da Phase 2 completed.  I calculated it would take me four weeks doing 5 or 6 doors at a time but I was able to finish in 17 days!  Overall this was not such a terrible project, again the prep was the worse.    Because of dry times, I worked about three to four total hours each day.  I used Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformations Kit that included everything but brushes, painters tape and drop clothes.

This is not what I originally envisioned but that does not mean I am unhappy with the results.  It is not without some boo-boos but as we Jersey Girls say, it looks fine from the top of the bridge!

Phase 2 - Overall costs
paint kit   $90.00
new hinges $95.00
new cabinet hardware - $120 estimated
brushes, drop clothes, painters tape - $70

So for under $400, I got new cabinets.   Much better than a $20,000 upgrade that would have been the same configuration as the existing layout!   Mr. Wonderful should be so thankful I am always saving him money.   LOL

After all, there only so much Sudoku one can play......and now back to stitching.....

Have a great day, stay safe and keep on stitching.