Ok, so you've waited LONG enough for me to post about our kitchen remodel. I will be showing you bits and pieces in a series. I tend to be a "have to have it all together before I can show the world" kind of girl. I've realized that it will never get posted if I wait for that moment. It is still a work in progress, since the weather is cold, snowy and not conducive for some of the finishing work (plus the fact that we don't have an area outside the kitchen itself to cut, paint or sand). We are about 95% done and as soon as the weather breaks, we will continue on in this journey.
Without further ado...here are some before pics
(Be forewarned this may not be for the weak of heart...it was U.G.L.Y)
As you can see the original pine cupboards were covered by many layers of paint, along with chips and drawer fronts falling apart (see the lovely screws to right of knob)
The counters were a LOVERLY pink speckled laminate (circa 1950's) which would be fine if you were going with a retro look.
We weren't!
Nope..Nada.. Ain't gonna happen..
I "ignored" the countertop color for years and tried to work around them. Fortunately, in the 80's, the country mauve & blue colors were "in" but that design element faded. I was still left with (sigh) those dreaded pink counters! By October of 2008, I had enough and decided that the paint had to be removed from the cupboards. This was step one in a long process.
The tool of choice: Back to Nature Multi Strip.
Here is the work in progress.
This was a labor intensive project but well worth the effort.
The pine wood underneath the multiple layers of paint had a glorious patina.
This was like uncovering buried treasure!
I'm hoping that by posting this project, you will be encouraged to take a leap of faith and tackle a project in your own home.
(I have received so much inspiration from the blogs that I read!)
~ judi :)
Judi, so nice to meet you here in the blogosphere. Just look at you GOOOooo with that project. I am impressed, and inspired. Great job! Those cabinets do have a nice patina! I just saw this 'multi strip' somewhere recently... sounds better overall than the products I used way back when (and maybe less stinky?). Keep up the fantastic work - will be anxious to see more :) Thank you for sharing! -Tammy
ReplyDeleteJudi -- it looks like you're off and running on the kitchen project. It can be a pain, but will be worth it when it's all done. But it can also be a lot of fun! I hope it is for you. I'm glad you felt comfortable showing us pictures before everything was "perfect". It's easier for us to feel like we're experiencing it with you.
ReplyDeleteMidge
Judi, I came across your blog and I just had to comment!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the pink tops. I'm glad I never lived in the times that thought that color was awesome, lol. But hey, every generation has their favorite design ideas.
The hundred year old patina on wood is a treasure. Hopefully most of the wood is in good enough shape to reuse without mush hassle.
Ooo! I'm excited to see your kitchen after shots. We're planning our own kitchen make-over this spring. Thanks for visiting my blog!
ReplyDeleteJudi, You are so brave to tackle the kitchen. I'm really excited about seeing the process. To me that's just as interesting as the end result.
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry about the loss of your brother.
Holy Shmoly this seems like a huge project. I've never attempted stripping the paint down yet. good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou are braver than me Judi! What a job and what great results. How long did it take you to strip the cupboards? I'm guessing a very long time. My mother stripped 8 layers of paint 40 years ago in the kitchen of our old 1912 farmhouse that we grew up in. There were 5 doorways in the kitchen along with an old built in cupboard. It took her FOREVER.
ReplyDeleteI admire you and all of your hard work!
Sue
Judi,
ReplyDeleteI am going to reply to this on the blog, so check it out. I may do a post about it...
For now, just keep exploring. My best advise would be to start a "test" blog. That way you can work things out with out ruining your real blog.
Second, try little things, that is how I learned. I love a site named Bloggersentral.blogspot.com. There is also BloggerU or something like that. Just try to learn a little bit of html at a time.
I also used a template format that someone else made and spent a few weeks setting it up in my test blog before installing this. I will try to write a post about this in more depth next week or so. Good luck!
Cassity @ Remodelaholic
Looks like you are really going to town there, girl! I'm sure it'll look amazing when you're all done. Can't wait to see more! I did colored counter tops in our first home. They weren't too bad (grey-blue), but I've kind of learned over the years to go neutral. So much safer! Thanks, too, for stopping by my blog. I felt really compelled to post that and that someone might need that word. And it seems a lot of us are going some touch times lately. We just need to remember the things that are important. Hope you are doing well.
ReplyDelete