But then the husband tried to open a cupboard & the rubber stopper that was more sticky than anything, was a little difficult to open & that was what started the whole renovation conversation!
He threw the idea out of painting the cabinets & new countertops. A little shocked about the idea, I said "Yes! And I want a backsplash & hardware on the cabinets!" I just thought I would put my "most wanted" list out there too!
I thought my requests were practical because the painted wall behind the stove was splattered from 17 years of cooking. "THEY" said it was washable but I strongly disagree. I hated that wall because of past dinners that lived on that wall! We have been in the house for 17 years & we never put hardware on the drawers or cabinets. I have snapped many fingernails over the years & have cursed the cabinets for making my nails uneven. One year the husband even bought me the jig for the hardware which meant hardware is coming soon. I'm not sure why I never followed through. I think because it's such an expense & I couldn't decide. Whatever the reason was then, it wasn't going to happen this time!
My other request was "I'm not painting the cabinets, because I am not having a Pinterest fail for all my friends & family to see every time someone comes over!" He agreed. So we hired an interior designer, whom my husband went to school with so long ago! Katey came over & she had great ideas. Before she came I knew what tile I wanted. Arabesque. I love the shape & it's different. She suggested dark grout to off set the white tile we wanted & my heart skipped a beat! We went with white tile to tie in with the white appliances. Neither of us wanted to switch out the appliances for a couple reasons. The frig is fairly new, my sink is beautiful & big, the stove is perfect & I didn't want stainless steel. Once we took out the dishwasher, husband suggested we get a new one because it was 17 years old & he just had a feeling that it was going to go as soon as he hooked it back up! I never deny a new appliance.
The granite was the first to be installed. The granite guys came and measured on a Thursday & on Monday they were installed. Those were freaky fast. I lived without countertops for 2 days & it was long enough to be just an inconvenience. Tile was next. They installed on a Monday & Tuesday the following week & that Thursday the painters were here taping up the kitchen & disassembling the kitchen. I emptied all my cabinets on Wednesday and cleaned them out & pitched a bunch of a things I no longer needed or used.
We left for Spring Break on Sunday & thankfully my parents came over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday to let the painters in & stay while they worked. Bless their hearts.
It's moments like these that make me realize what a control freak I am. I like to know what is going on and ask questions to make sure everything is going right.
We arrived home Thursday afternoon & the cabinets were all painted, walls were getting the final touches. They came back on Saturday to install the doors & drawers. It was just how I pictured it. Bright & fresh!
I am so happy & in love with it.
The paint that they used was oil base. It's more durable than water based paint. It does take longer to dry which is why the doors were hung. Yes I was worried about the holes but they were placed where they aren't showing when doors were hung! I was impressed!
The hardware was purchased from amazon! Katey suggested have large handles on top & smaller on bottom. She also sent pictures over showing 3 types of hardware in 1 kitchen. I loved the idea & worked to incorporate that in! The top handles are 5 inches, I would have gone bigger but it wasn't available, the bottom is 4 inches & then I have the cup pulls on the desk drawers. I initially wanted the cup handles on all the drawers but the idea made the husband start to itch & rub his neck. So I compromised & suggested just the desk area & he agreed!
First thing I did was empty my dining room which is right next to the kitchen. I moved my dining room table & chairs to the front living room. I then had my kids bring the two 6 foot tables up from the basement. I sat those up in the dining room. I emptied my desk area but didn't empty the rest of the kitchen until I knew when they were coming to do the cabinets. I had about 2 days to empty the cabinets.
Emptying the cabinets was great because I was able to get rid of a lot of things I no longer used or needed. Because the sanded the cabinets & walls before spraying (the cabinets) & painting the walls, there was a lot of dust everywhere. I am really glad I emptied everything. I probably wiped the cabinets out 3 times throughout the process.
If you decide to paint your cabinets, find out of you (or they, if you hire someone) should use oil base paint or water base paint. There's a huge difference in dry time.
We saved some money by taking the countertops out ourself. We took them out on Saturday & new granite was installed Monday. My husband & youngest took out the counters, while my oldest & I were at the FIRST Robotics competition. They had some fun writing messages on the counters. Husband has a sink in the garage with some counter space so I used that for my coffee pot & to do the dishes. We also saved money by pre drilling the cabinets for the hardware before they were painted. We found the hardware pulls on Amazon & spend $160 for all them. Because they were sold in 10's we have a few extra of each. The cup pulls were sold in 5's, which is exactly what I needed.
The painter said he would be done Tuesday, but I did it in my head & had a feeling it might be longer. It was & that was okay.
Saturday the cabinet doors were installed back in & my guys were gone for the night. I turned on Apple Music & got to work, alternating between putting everything away & putting the hardware on the doors. And once again, I pitched more stuff away! I reconfigured where things should go. Not too much changed but a few things did.
If you have good cabinets, painting them is a great way to update with out a total renovation.