My Kitchen Re-decor

Ok so i’ve lived with my outdated kitchen for as long as we’ve lived here… like 9 years.  Now that we’re getting ready to sell, I fix up my kitchen.  Kinda sad huh?  I’m making great changes for someone else to enjoy.  I’m such a dork.
But alas, I want to share my experience with you in hopes that you’ll fix up your kitchen today and enjoy it while you’re there.

Here’s a picture of my kitchen before I started the work.

It’s not too bad.  The wood of the cabinets is just a plain oak, but the ends of the cabinets have some kind of crappy (for lack of a better word) contact paper on them.  They suck.  I was either going to paint them white, or super dark.  There’s no middle ground for me.    After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that the dark kitchens are all the rage right now, so that’s what I opted for.  I looked at several cabinet resurfacing kits like the Rustoleum kit (http://cabinets.rustoleumtransformations.com/).  A friend of mine used it with great results.  But the pro painter in me decided to create my own “kit”.  So, I bought Zinzer oil based primer, and some Behr premium paint/primer in one.  I wanted great coverage and wear.  I got the color “espresso bean”.  Picking the color was the hardest part…ok, that’s not quite true.  I guess it was the hardest decision though.

Here’s my supply list for the cabinets.
Zinzer Primer
Beher premium pain/primer in expresso bean
LOTS of painter’s tape
TSP cleaner/degreaser
liquid sander/deglosser
wood putty
putty knife
ziplock baggies
paint trays and foam rollers
foam brushes (foam works better for no paint lines).
aluminum foil
electric screwdriver
So with all of my supplies in hand, I drew a map of my kitchen and numbered each cabinet door. Then I put a small piece of painter’s tape with the number on each door. I had to move the labels around as I worked, but the tape has to stay on each door. Then we removed each door from the base of the cabinets. We removed all the hardware from each door and put the hardware in a baggie with the number of the door on it. YOU DO NOT WANT TO SKIP THIS STEP. It will save you a ton of time later when you have to re-assemble the cabinets.

Now, I occasionally wipe down my cabinets, but to get the primer to adhere, it’s important to really clean them. I used this TSP degreaser.(see picture).  I got it at Home Depot, but Ace has it too.  It worked really well getting them clean.

After they dried, instead of sanding the cabinets, I used a liquid sander/deglosser.  Now, I’d never heard of a deglosser, but apparently it breaks up the finish and gives the cabinets a more pourous surface.  So then I wiped down all the cabinets and drawers with the deglosser.  I’m tired already!  But I know how much money I’ll save, so I keep pluggin along….

One more paint prep, patch the holes.  We wanted to reposition the handles on our cabinets, so I filled all the holes with wood putty.  Really pack it in the holes and be generous because it shrinks as it dries.  You then sand off any extra until it’s smooth.

I set up a work station in my garage.  I double stacked packing boxes and laid the cabinets out in an assembly line.  Time to start with the primer.  The primer is thick so be sure to use a light touch with your foam brush and roller.  I used an oil-based primer so I bought disposable brushes.

At first I had chosen a more chocolate brown color, but after the first coat, I hated it, so I went to Home Depot and got the beautiful “espresso bean”.    I did a single coat of primer (which won’t look great but who cares) and then at least two coats of the Behr paint/primer.  I tried just the paint with no primer and it wasn’t gonna cover in two coats.  Save yourself some time, get the paint/primer.  Even though you primed it will be great.  Trust me.  It’s important to use a FOAM roller and brush.  After each coat, lightly go over it with the roller and smooth out any roller lines.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.  It will look super crappy if you have roller or brush lines.  Don’t use a paint brush.  You’ll regret it.

By this time I needed a “Muffin” break.  So I spent some time with my dog.

Ok, so here’s how messy my kitchen was for the 4 days of cabinet mayhem.   I did the drawers inside the house.  It was easier and I was lonely all by myself in the garage.  Besides I wanted to share the paint fumes with the rest of the family.  Misery LOVES company.  ^_^

You’ll notice here that I’ve taped off EVERYTHING.  I can get a little messy.  In this picture, I’ve started priming the cabinets themselves.

NOTE:  one thing I wish I did.  After you tape off, run a thin brushing of “faux glaze” over the tape edge on the cabinets.  It will seal off that edge and keep the paint from bleeding under the tape.  (see below cause I remembered to do this for the countertops)

I waited two days for things to dry.  I didnt want to nick any of my new paint.  Remove your tape before it’s dry and score the edge with a utility knife so that you don’t rip your lovely paint right off the cabinets with the tape.

We referred to our cabinet map and I got out the baggies with the hardware and matched them to the cabinet doors as we reassembled the room.

This was the only part of the project where my husband helped.  There’s a reason for that.  If he can do something wrong the first time, he will.  He put some handles on upside down and we had to repair/replace them.  But eventually he got it and the hardware looks great.

Now on to the counters…

I bought the Giani Countertop paint system.  It’s just enough primer, faux colors and glaze to do my counters.  One kit is all I needed but I didn’t do the island.  I would have needed another kit for that.  The color I used is called “White Diamond” (http://gianigranite.com/productscountertoppaint.html).

Again, tape off everything and go over the tape edge with a faux glaze.  It’s clear and will seal off the tape edge.  They don’t tell you that in the demo video, but trust me, it’s a good idea.  (see my pretty cabinets?)

Now I put the primer on.  I used two coats to get even coverage.  It has to dry for 8 hours.  It will dry to a matte finish.

Then I just followed the instructions.  One trick I learned in faux finishing is that I dab a LOT with my sponge until it’s almost dry before I grab more paint on it.  It helps to blend the colors more evenly and naturally.   I also used the primer to go around the white spots and give it a “vein” look.  I dabbed it with a dry sponge so it didn’t look too stark black.

Be sure to watch the video about the final gloss application.  I wanted it very smooth.  Mine turned out great because I blend my faux paints so much that they dont have a “raised” look.

Here’s the final kitchen.

I added some under cabinet lights to give more dimension to the room as well.  They look so cool.

Now, don’t put off refinishing your kitchen.  Do it this week and you’ll get to enjoy it now!