Kitchen Overhaul Parts I and II

I have been wanting to do something about our used and abused kitchen for quite some time now.  We have an old farmhouse, and when we moved in 7 years ago, the kitchen needed some serious TLC.  Back before I realized the importance of taking before/after pictures, we swapped out the brown paneling that covered our walls for a warm, golden drywall skimmed wall, replaced the tile ceilings with drywall and texture, and switched out the light fixture to a ceiling fan (important to keep air flow through our house).  The biggest project was to rip up the entire floor (can we say indoor/outdoor carpeting?  Really?  Yes.), which was sagging in the middle, level the beams, replace the sub-floor, and put down a nice, fresh, laminate wood floor.  We put up all new white trim as well.  So, fast forward a giant chunk of time complete with adding 3 little people to our brood, and we (I) decided that it was time to tackle the rest of the laundry list.  For Phase I, I honestly didn't take any "during" pictures, and I really have no clue what happened since I wasn't right in the middle of it.  But, I can tell you, we switched out our lovely kitchen sink...

And our blue laminate counter top...that matched nothing in the kitchen...

For these:

{You can see a sneak peek of the Part II in this picture.}

Phase II:  Ooompa Loompa oak, please go away!  Oak is okay, don't get me wrong, but the orangey hue of our cabinets didn't exactly shout out "beautiful oak".  I think my feelings of detest grew to an all-time peak after spending 7 weeks of bedrest staring at them.

So, I had a few options:

1.  Buy all new cabinets.  This was my first choice, but after debating with big B, we decided that we really didn't want to invest that much money into a house that wasn't going to be our forever home.  (We really = B.  He won that battle.)
2. Resurface our cabinet doors.  Our cabinet base faces were in perfectly fine condition, but the doors/drawers were a little tattered and worn.  I had an in-home consultation set up to purchase all new cabinet doors and drawer panels, but after they insulted my ability to pick out and purchase cabinet doors without B's presence, AND they had to cancel on me, I took that as my sign to go on to option #3 which is...
3. Paint.  Yes, when all else fails, I have found that one of the least expensive options for upgrading anything is to give it a face lift with a fresh coat of paint.

After researching the heck out of "how to paint your cabinets without royally screwing them up", I decided to give it a go.  This site and this site are the two that I found to be most helpful.  

I decided to start with the backs of the cabinet doors just in case I didn't like the direction that my reno was going.  No one would ever see them unless they opened the cabinet. :-)  After taking all of the cabinet doors down and emptying all of the drawers, I set everything up in the garage on 8 ft tables.  I used some of B's marking stakes to lift them up off of the surface of the table so that they could dry more evenly.  

{This shows set up and the awesome condition of our cabinets.}

You can see in the picture above how the cabinet was bubbling up in the upper right-hand corner.  The black spots are from the magnet plate and hinges.  

I sanded first, using my mouse palm sander and 120 grit sand paper.  I have seen varying recommendations on grits...some recommend even using 50 or 80 first, and then 220.  I found that 120 worked perfectly.  It took the shininess out, which is what you're aiming for.

{After sanding}

After I sanded, the bubbled up area actually pulled apart in strips.  Enter magic wood filler and putty knife.

I just simply filled any areas that had chipped away, as well as unwanted holes (not my hinge holes, though...less holes I'd have to drill later), using my putty knife.  I let the filler set overnight, and then sanded with my palm sander, being careful not to sand too much.  220 grit works best here.

After sanding, if you can feel a ridge with your finger tip, repeat putty application process.  You want to feel a nice, flat surface with no “ridge”.

Next, some may use a deglosser.  I did on like 2 cabinets before I decided that it was not really adding anything beneficial to my process.  So, I grabbed a damp cloth and used that to wipe off the excess saw dust, and then I let the cabinets air dry (the first cabinet was dry by the time I got done wiping down the last).  Once they were dry, I wiped them down again with tack cloth.  This sticky cloth did an excellent job of grabbing any extra particulate that I did not want on the surface of my smooth-as-a-baby’s-butt cabinets!

Now, it’s PRIME TIME!  I used Original Kilz oil-based primer (on the right).  I have heard that Zinsser is also a good choice, it's just not the primer I chose.  Tomato, Tomahto.

{Cabinet paint, left.  Primer, right.}

Lucky for me, my cabinet doors are just the plain Jane, flat surface cabinet doors.  Nothing fancy...no ridges or pretty routing.  This made sanding and painting super duper quick and easy.  Initially, I used a woven fabric mini roller that is made for cabinets and doors.  It left a bit of a texture.  That's fine for some, but I wanted mine to be smooth.  SO, I switched things up for the fronts and used a mini foam roller.  MUCH better!

{Woven rollers, left.  Foam rollers, right.}

{Another brand of foam roller that I actually used all of.}

Okay, so if you're using a woven fabric mini roller (like I did for the backs) apply one thin coat of primer, allow to dry at least 60 minutes (should be dry to the touch, not tacky), flip over and do the front, allow that side to dry at least 60 minutes, and then sand each side with palm sander using 120 grit sand paper.  Think quick and dirty.  Don't linger with the palm sander, just glaze over the surface to get rid of the texture that is left from your roller.  After sanding, you should have a smooth, uniform surface.  

Now you’re ready to paint!  I used Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint in Simply White (pictured a few pics above, on the left).  If you clicked on either of the links above, you probably noticed that both used the same paint.  The second website actually did a show-down between Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams like-brand, and the Sherwin Williams chipped badly later.  Come to find out, it was because they let their primer set for too long in-between priming and painting.  SO, I guess I’m throwing this out there because Sherwin Williams is much easier to access locally (there’s a store in Logan, in Peru, in Kokomo…) than Benjamin Moore.  I had to travel all the way to Lafayette to find a store that actually carried the Advance line.  I personally think that either would work well, but I also wanted to use a brand that was tried and true.  So, to Lafayette I went…

By the time I started painting the front of the cabinet doors (again, I did the backs first), I had streamlined my process.  This is what I did:

1. Thin coat of paint #1.  Let paint dry for 16 hours.  (Yes, you read that right.  Sixteen.)
2. Sand lightly with 320 grit sanding block (pictured above).
3. Wipe down with damp cloth.
4. Wipe down with tack cloth.
5. Thin coat of paint #2.
6. Repeat 2-5 above.
7. Thin coat of paint #3.
8. Let dry for 4 days.

I used all of the steps above (taking it from the top!) for the faces of the cabinet bases in the kitchen, including sanding first with 120 grit sand paper to take the gloss off of the wood, wiping down with damp cloth followed by tack cloth, and priming with Original Kilz (oil based).  But first, I had to prep...which included using my extra roll of vinyl table covering to cover everything inside of the cabinets (partly because I'm too lazy to empty my cabinets and partly because our house is small and I can only handle so much clutter at one time).  Some of the bigger appliances (microwave, toaster oven) were relocated to the kitchen table and covered.

And that sweet little baby was relocated to the porch, outside.  I could see and hear her through the storm door, and she was safe from debris.  Not to mention, it was gorgeous out!  (I should insert here, please, please wear a mask while sanding.  I started without one, and while sparing you the gross boogie details, I regretted it!)

So, here are some after pictures:

{After Sanding}

{Notice, the gloss is gone}

{After Primer}

I am currently starting the reassembly process.  Hopefully I'll wrap that up today (as soon as I get off the 'ol CP), and then I might start prepping for Kitchen Overhaul Phase III.  Pirates and monsters are invading my house for a Sunday Birthday Bash, so Phase III may have to wait until the festivities are over. :-)

Stay tuned!