I hope you all are looking forward to the weekend that is just around the corner! 😉

I am heading North to visit with my parents…….with the additional bonus of seeing B there as well!

He had this weekend with them planned for a little while, and I decided to crash their party!  They are usually in New Hampshire for the summer months, so it is a huge treat that I only have to travel 4 1/2 hours to see them. 

So looking forward to this mini get away!!

I think I will have to give a mighty big {sigh} when I tell you this.

The kitchen is certainly getting the transformation it desperately needed!

It is going much slower than I thought it would!

It is very,very, VERY white……

…….and I have a long way to go until I can officially do the “happy dance”.

Did I mention that it is white??

If you are just now joining me, head on over here to see what the catalyst was for this huge leap of faith.  Here is a little glimpse into the “after” of that initial project…..

Let me put you out of your misery and show you the “before”…..

With the help of my neighbor’s son, I swapped out the small cabinet above the refrigerator for a much larger one that extends to the ceiling.  The doors do not match the other wall cabinets, so I will be cutting out the inside panel and finding some pretty glass to replace it with.  I am hoping that glass distracts your eye away from the molding not being identical.

If you remember from this post, I gave you a glimpse of what style and look I was striving for. 

Just like this kitchen, I still drool over cabinets going all the way to the ceiling!

Source:  Life & Home at 2102

I could move into this kitchen tomorrow.  I love it!!

Here is a shot of one wall of our kitchen before I started painting the cabinets.

No judging me on the dust that I never seem to see until I take photos of them!  😉

Here is the same section of the kitchen as I built up the molding on the cabinets.  Now you can see that I gave in to PT, who did not want me building cabinets on top of our existing cabinets.  I guess I will continue to drool and dream over my inspiration photos!! 

{SHRUG} 

Win some……you lose some! 

Marriage is all about compromise!!!  😉

Here it is completed! 

If you are going to paint your cabinets, and I highly recommend it if you are really tired of your old, faded oak cabinets, then you need to have the patience to do the job right the first go round.  Painting cabinets is tedious….. never seems to end…..makes your back hurt….aggravates the arthritis in your fingers and hands…..BUT can freshen up the space…..make your friends go ooooohhhh and aaaahhhh……. for very little mulah!!!!

You just have to have patience!

You will hear some people saying that they painted their cabinets over the weekend.  A) If that is true, then they must have had Alison Victoria and her Kitchen Crashers crew helping them get it done, B) They have an even smaller kitchen than ours, or C) They did not do the proper prep work prior to painting that first coat.

I would have to look at my planner (yes, I still use a binder planner system to schedule my days) to be official, but I think that this took me 3 weeks from start to finish.

Just a reminder……I work full-time!  I started this project during one of the busiest times of my work year.  So these cabinets were worked on in the evenings and most weekends.  This also includes me adding molding to the tops and bottom of the wall cabinets.

Basically it was a “two for”!   Two separate projects for one basic idea/concept!

I will definitely be sharing how I bulked up the molding on top of the cabinets soon!  I also added some trim molding to the bottoms of the wall cabinets as well. 

I really like how all of this turned out, and believe it gives our kitchen a little more dimension and looks like the customization that you would find in a higher end home!

I will also share (if you want) how I painted these bad boys!  I can tell you right now that it was alot of cleaning, sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding some more and then a few coats of poly. 

Hmmmm…..I think I just spelled it out for you all!!  LOL!

The kitchen is far from being completed. 😉

The white cabinets have made it glaringly obvious that I need to do the following:

1. Walls need to get painted.  Not only to fix the areas where the crown molding was moved up 4 inches, but to give a little contrast to the bright white cabinets.
2. Counter tops are now too light for this space.  I am waffling between biting the bullet and getting some granite (buyers seem to prefer granite), choosing another laminate counter top (they have made huge strides in Formica, and part of me says that we would never recoup the granite investment), or having a little fun and painting our existing counter tops to either look like granite, soapstone or concrete.  This would get us through another 2-3 years at least.
3. New sink and faucet.  This all depends on what happens above.  We would only get these if a new counter top was installed. 
4. New floors.  I am waffling between continuing our hardwood floor that is in our family room, or switching to the tile that looks like hardwood floor.  Anyone have experience in transitioning from 2 1/2″ wood to a wider tile floor?????  Opinions and thoughts are welcomed and appreciated……please!!
5. Once the flooring is done then I will add some legs and baseboard to complete the base of the kitchen cabinets.
6. I can’t forget about new curtains.  As much as I love the black fruit fabric that has the reds, golds and greens flowing thru it; I think I am ready to make a change.  I am thinking of brightening up the space even more with blues, greens and browns.  This one might happen sooner than later, as I am hoping that my  Mom will help me look tomorrow!  Keep your fingers crossed!!! 😉

I think that may be it for now!

Actually, let me say one thing before wishing you all a FAB weekend!  You might have cabinets that are looking dated, but not a fan of painted cabinets.  That’s okay.  We all have different tastes, and you can still update your cabinets…..just use stain!!!  Win/Win for everyone!

I know I have missed something.  If I remember what it is, I will either update this rambling post, OR do another one!

Take care,

Shaunna