Kitchen Progress

I've been working as non-stop as one with 3 children and one on the way can on this kitchen. My biggest motivation is my 18 month old...she continuously takes everything out of any exposed bottom cabinets and leaves the contents all over the house. That in itself has been a job! But, naptimes are gotimes - and before I get a little more done today, I thought I'd share my progress so far.

I've been using the Wagner Control Spray Double Duty HVLP Paint Sprayer that I excitedly purchased with birthday money - I LOVE it! It seems like it was the only Wagner sprayer that consistently got good ratings everywhere I looked and I found another blogger that used it too. I have loved every minute of using it. I haven't had a single problem with it's use. And Home Depot or Wagner aren't even paying me for this review. That's saying something...right?

This is an example of the fine finish the sprayer gave me. I painted the frames by hand with a brush and the final coat with a foam brush - you know those that come in a giant bag for crafting? I originally used it to get just the inside lips of the cabinets, but come to find out, it gave a smooth final finish to the frames.

 I may or may not sit in my adjoining family room and stare at the "finished" side (let's face it, there are some spots that need a final round of attention...and the other side isn't even complete yet. But if you put your hand up to block the unfinished side...it looks pretty awesome. 

These shaker style cabinets were an upgrade by our builder - they were a Merrilat maple with a spice or cider (or something) color/finish. They looked great - until I started noticing dings and chips in the finish...and when we ripped out the linoleum and replaced with tile, it really did a job on the base trim. 

The end cabinets were covered in that weird fake wallpapery wood grain stuff. The whole back and sides of the island were covered in it too, and it drove me nuts within a year and we covered it in bead board. So I thought the end cabinets on the bottom should have bead board too. Of course on the ends of the cabinet I used Martha Stewarts Bead Board Wallpaper because it's like crack. I used the real stuff on the island, and it get's beat up, so it's a good thing...(I crack myself up). 

I have to figure out a way to hide those wires...let's ignore those for now. M 'kay'?

As any crazy girl does...I staged each finished section as I went. You do too, right?

 

I am super obsessed with a gray (grey?) and white kitchen right now, and was going to do all the lowers in grey (gray?), but then I wondered if I should...and the voices got louder. So instead, I painted my island Bedford Gray by Martha Stewart (matched at Lowes...because it's closer). I was going to do Fieldstone by Benjamin Moore, but it didn't feel right in my space. I love the contrast. 

And as every good project does...I ran into some issues. I may or may not have solved them, but I'm ignoring them for now. I have no clue what happened, but it was annoying and made me want to throw up give up. 

Did I mention that I am doing this project ALL. BY. MYSELF. 100% friends...

xo, Chris

Linking up to:

The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday 

House of Hepworths
The 36th AVENUE
No Minimalist Here Open House Party Thursdays
French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Fridays
The Dedicated House Make it Pretty Monday