Change is Coming to the Kitchen

Hi friends,

Yes, as you noticed the title, I've been working on some projects in the kitchen and that's what kept me away all last week.

It's been seven years since I gave my kitchen that big renovation where I got rid of the golden oak cabinets, added some moldings, a range hood and gave the kitchen island a new look. And it's been a really nice functioning kitchen and the most important room in our house.

However, as with most things, the passing of time and good use have put a mark on it.
So, I decided this was a perfect time to give it a refresh. I'm not going to change any of the layout. The change is going to come with paint, new hardware and perhaps new lighting fixtures.

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I try to give the kitchen two big cleanings a year. One during the Summer and the other right before the holidays. This year I took a long Summer vacation and when I came back home, the kitchen was a disaster. I didn't clean it right away, I knew I had to do something big. So, I finished other pending projects and as soon as September arrived I started to emptying it up.

That picture above was taking when I was almost done removing everything from the cabinets and removing the doors. The only thing that I kept inside under the sink was the big bottle of soap, I didn't want to disconnect the tube, I love how that big container of soap and tube work together.

Now, remember I had trouble with the stove knobs breaking? Well, they sent me new knobs and as you can see only one remains in place, all the others broke too. Good thing they sent me two extra sets, I assume they're going to last a year, after that I need to get rid of this stove. :/

Well oh well, this is as yucky as you can see. After all, that's the cabinet and door that host the trash can. The right picture is the plate rack, it's hard to clean in between those dowels, or so, that's the excuse I give myself, because I can disassemble that plate rack and put it back together in a matter of minutes.

As I said, the kitchen was dirty, those scratches on the doors and some of the shelves bothered me, and the paint treatment started to look sad.

Range Hood Makeover

The beadboard treatment I gave to the range hood was done two years ago and I really liked it.

Beadboard Wall Paper

The beadboard wallpaper worked nicely, but I discovered it's not the best option right above the stove. I had to be very careful when cleaning it, after all, it's paper! It got damaged when I removed a command hook that was holding a wreath.

The great thing about this wallpaper is that you can remove it easily as you can see. Add some water with a sponge and peel it off. Add some more water and you can scrape all that goo on the surface.

This is the pic I got after the wallpaper was removed, and at that very moment my focus went to that lower trim molding the arrows are pointing at.
They were giving the hood a more traditional look, but I wanted to change them. So, off they went. :)

Makita Pin Nailer

I decided to go with clean lines. I cut and mitered ½" x 2" lattice and that's what I used as trim.

I wanted to show you this picture above, because on my initial post about building the hood cover, many people asked me about the angle in which they have to cut that slanted piece of wood.
As you can see there's a big gap there, I didn't cut it at an angle. Those were butt cuts that were hidden with trim. And here I'm doing it all over again.

DeWalt Sander  |  SandNet Sanding Disc  | Gloves  | 3M Respirator Mask  

I patched holes and scratches all around the cabinets and gave the hood a good sanding.
That, by the way is one of my least favorite tasks. I'm bad at that patching work. :(

Stix Waterborne Bonding Primer

Once everything was sanded smooth and cleaned, I gave the entire kitchen a coat of primer.
This time I used Stix waterborne bonding primer, just because the guy at the Benjamin Moore paint store recommended it to the max. This stuff is SO thick! I was tempted to add water but didn't because it says you don't have to. I applied it with a roller and used a brush on the corners.

The previous time I painted the cabinets I used Zinsser B-I-N Primer, that's another great product.

Rust-Oleum Charcoal Chalked Paint  |  Rust-Oleum Linen White Chalked Paint

I wanted the hood to be a bit more different this time. Painting it grey was the decision to make it stand out and I couldn't wait to see how it was going to look. So, I grabbed what was left of my Rust-Oleum charcoal and linen white chalked paint, mixed them and...

Discovered it was a beautiful color, but it was way too dark for my liking.

It got sanded. chalk paint is so rough! And I went to buy a new grey.

The new color: BM Galveston Gray - So much better, lighter!

Oh, and the cabinets got painted BM White Dove - Look at the difference. That Navajo White looks so yellowish compared to the White Dove!

The island was also getting ready for a paint treatment. I loved the ASCP Duck Egg Blue but I was ready for some change. I didn't know you get rid of wax with  Mineral Spirits. It was very easy, you grab a fine steel wool sponge soak it in mineral spirits and rub the piece of furniture with it, wiping it off with a rag.

Oh well, all this is lots of elbow grease work! The cleaning, the patching, the sanding and painting... And then, repeat and repeat...  At the end of each day I was exhausted and didn't even want to grab my phone!

I leave you right here because I just couldn't find the pics with the painted island.

I'll be posting a new update at the end of the week. ;)

Stay tuned!

You can follow this kitchen Makeover right HERE.

*This post contains affiliate links.

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