Kitchen Remodel Part 2

As part of a series, here is Part 2 of The 1829 Farmhouse kitchen project.   This project was started in October 2008 and finished December 2009.  This is our journey.

Here is our carpenter removing the ugly retro pink-speckled counters, 

backsplash and end cupboards 

Our carpenter, Ed, had the toughest time pulling out the end base cupboards as they were built onto the subfloor.  He also removed the huge cast iron sink.  We were originally going to have the sink resurfaced but after some advice decided against it.  The metal trim around the edge of the sink must be carefully removed and it doesn't always go back in correctly.  

Not so bad...we were able to get a black e-granite deep & wide (reminds me of a sunday school song) sink to take its place. LOVE it! (stay tuned for those pics)

Here is the kitchen with ugly retro pink-speckled countertop and backsplash removed. 

  (can you hear the clouds parting and the angels singing?)

Th picture above was taken 12 hours before the hot water turn-off valve decided to spring a leak sometime during the night. (the rubber gasket had a pin-size hole in it)  We awoke Sunday morn to smoke alarms going off around 6am.  This was  a bit of a heart thumper to say the least.  We cleared the cobwebs out of our sleepy heads, gathered our thoughts and realized it wasn't a fire but water hissing.   We carefully opened the stairway door to find that our first floor had  been remodeled into a sauna, which wouldn't be so bad if we hadn't needed a kitchen, diningroom & livingroom!  It was like old faithful had taken up residence in our kitchen.

 

Can you see the bucket in lower left corner of pic?  It was filled with water that covered several power tools left by our carpenter.  After the clean-up company came in and dried everything out, they were still working!  Just amazing.

Steam bubbled up paint overhead near the ceiling

Needless, to say, this put our deadline back another week and right before Christmas.

But with ...

"Every adversity, failure, heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."

~Napoleon Hill

The mess (thankfully) was covered by insurance, required that a portion of the hideous vintage linoleum flooring be removed which in turn led to our beautiful wooden floors (that were lying underneath).

This isn't the recommended way of doing things but alas we didn't have any say in this part of the remodel!

So until next post... 

1950's Schooldesk

This 1950's Heywood-Wakefield schooldesk was found stored above garage when we moved in over 27 years ago.  Painted a tacky green, written on with black marker and stuck with stickers, it has been patiently waiting for a makeover.  The paint was removed but the wood was not in the best shape so I opted again for a little black satin to spruce her up.  A can of spraypaint for the metal legs and frame along with painting & distressing of the wood got the job done.  I may go back over the desktop with chalkboard paint so it could be used for a message board in an entryway or for a child's use.

Closeup of detail

Here's the only before pics that I took.  But you get the idea.   

Note the lovely shade of green-what were they thinking!?

As you can see, the seat was discolored and needing some coverage.

For paint removal I use Back to Nature Multi Strip. It's a "greener" product and will encapsulate any lead paint. We've been using it in our kitchen renovation of an 1829 farmhouse- works great! Most of the time it comes off like butter. The key is putting on a thick enough layer and waiting 24-48 hrs.  It is well worth the wait.