FINALLY! Good Bye, Oak Cabinets

Ok, I know this blog is about how STEM fits into Media and the state of school Libraries today. This post today is about the state of this Librarian this summer. And today I am MUCH more calm and pleased with life than even three days ago.

Three days ago, my kitchen looked like this:

 

We bought this house ten years ago and had a rate locked in that was fantastic. We needed a house that was almost ready to go and this one was - complete with the horrible oak cabinets.  I have hated them for years and years! Fortunately, life is so crazy fast that this detail was on the back burner. But Pinterest has changed that. Blog after Blog shows us how easy this is. This summer painting our cabinets was my number one goal.

In the spring I grabbed a few of the free Valspar paint samples from Lowes and painted the back of some cabinets so we could all choose a color. Hands down, English Tea Party from Valspar won.

When it came time to get going I checked out more blogs and decided to go with Denatured Alcohol for stripping/ cleaning/ degreasing. I had used Binz Primer before and knew what a great product this is, so I did not have many decisions to make.

This is the part where I start to think I am crazy - and my husband is already done with this project!! It was a great chance to finally go through drawers and clean them out, so no one complained when that was done.

My 17 year old daughter was my partner in this and she killed it! Were it not for her I would still be in the garage covered in paint and primer. 

We removed all doors and drawers, degreased, and applied one coat of primer. We just used foam brushes for the primer and it was great for the thick primer. It doesn't sound like a lot, but that was all we got done in day one. People like to eat and do other stuff around my house, unfortunately.

Day two was the day for paint. I hit the corners and details with a nylon brush and my daughter came behind and used a foam roller for cabinets. We tested and the roller was by far the best finish.

In our CO air our doors dried within 90 minutes and were ready to be flipped. By 3:30 our last coat was almost dry and it was time to think about re-assembly.

Honestly, this was the hardest part. We were totally "done" with being together for so long and ready to have the kitchen back (I know, after two days!!) The doors were tricky and took some time to adjust so everything was level and flush.

*I purchased some Minwax Finishing Paste that I intended to use after the semi-gloss paint but I did not like it. I felt like it clouded the surface and got "gunked up" in the details of the cabinets. I am thrilled with the finish right now so I am going with nothing on top.*

  

Primer 1 quart Binz 9.98

Paint 1 gallon Valspar Semi Gloss 32.99

Brushes 22.00

Denatured Alcohol 9.98

Pizza for my Partner 5.50

Total Cost 80.45