I am aware Kitchening isn’t a word, but it sounds like the perfect verb to describe what’s been going on around here. Trent has been steady tearing through cardboard boxes with strange names on them, and creating masterpieces out of their contents! I think he may have a side job with Ikea that he forgot to tell me about… We are lucky to have a daughter that sleeps well because the noise he has made building this kitchen could wake the dead. Most Ikea products can be put together with that little metal wrench. Their kitchens, not so much. He has been sawing up a storm and going through electric drill batteries like nobodies business. Check out what he’s done so far!
These are before the doors were put on:
And with doors:
We opted to have all of our lower cabinets be drawers rather than the typical door/shelve setup. It was an upgrade, but one that we felt was well worth the money. He has installed a few and will probably complete them tonight!
Once he completes the drawer installation, all that’s left is putting the drawers in our pantry, installing knobs and pulls on the cabinets and finishing off the decorative trim that will fill the gap between our upper cabinets and the ceiling and various other places. Everything else has to be done after our counter tops are installed. Ikea will come out and take measurements on Friday, and will return in 7-10 business days for the installation. Once the countertops are installed Trent can hook up our sink, dishwasher and vent hood, and begin working on the backsplash! Since that’s all going to take awhile, here’s a peak at those items.
While Trent was in a Kitchening trance, I kept myself busy with several paint projects. I first tackled the old kitchen cabinets that we installed in our utility room. They were so old that the particle board was crumbling, so there was no way to wipe them down while cleaning. MAJOR CRISIS. I started by measuring, cutting and applying contact paper to the shelves. Unfortunately that was a huge waste of time since contact paper doesn’t stick to gritty surfaces. Though I wanted to throw in the towel after I flushed 20 minutes of my life down the drain, I opted for paint therapy. We still need to install and paint the doors, but for the time being it looks MUCH better! And again, forgive the mess. We’ve got a lot going on over here 🙂
My next project was our ugly front door. I had been wanting to try chalk paint out for awhile, but kept not getting around to it since it’s only sold at a few select locations around the Austin area. On Saturday I did some research and found out that a little store in Buda call the Shoppe by the Railroad was a “stockist”. We headed over promptly as we were both more than ready to makeover our door. Luckily my friend who enlightened me on chalk paint had warned me that it was pricey, otherwise we may have had a heart attack at checkout. At nearly $40.00 a quart, I can now say this stuff is worth it and that I have officially hopped on the chalk paint bandwagon. I now want to paint EVERYTHING in chalk paint. I will refrain as I am working on not going overboard with one style, but look at what it did for our front door!
Here is a close up of the door showing the distressed detail, which this stuff makes so easy to do. And you don’t have to sand or prime with chalk paint. That’s where I was sold!
When we saw how good the door looked, I was finally able to convince Trent to let me redo an ugly bookcase that we have. His argument was that it was not ugly. While I technically agreed, I still wasn’t happy with it since it didn’t make a statement at all. Post chalk paint, it makes a statement! My mom came over a few days also and the first thing she asked was “where did you get this?!”. We have owned it for over four years and she had never noticed it prior to the paint. Mission accomplished!
Now, it’s still not quite done. I plan to paint the backing a teal/turquoise color, but the store is only open Wednesday through Saturday so I have not had a chance to purchase the contrast color. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s all done!
Another project I got into was painting the built in shelving in our hallway. It too still needs doors attached, but looks so much better with a fresh coat of White Dove!
In other news, our dining room rug came in. All 90 pounds of it. We got it rolled out and the table situated on it.
It’s beautiful, but after 12 hours of looking at it I decided it wasn’t for me. Go figure. I seriously can’t get rugs right the first go round! Rug number 2 is in route to us so keep your fingers crossed that it’s a keeper ;).
I will try to be a better blogger and not go a week between the next post. Truth is, blogging takes a long time when done from an iPhone and I usually opt for sleep instead. You would too :).
Project Ugly House 