As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.  Check out our privacy policy disclosure for more information.

For awhile now I’ve wanted an update in the kitchen – new cabinets or existing cabinets painted.  We’ve lived here for 15 years (where did the time go?) and the time has come!

The cabinets are getting painted!!

We have classic oak cabinets.  I’m sure when they were installed they were great (and some would say they still are).  The cabinets are very sturdy and solid.  But…the oak stain was no longer working in our house.

We’ve updated every room in some way or another.  The kitchen was partially updated in 2010.  We had granite countertops installed and Paul installed a backsplash.  But we never did go forward with changing the cabinets.

There was a lot of discussion about how to go about the cabinet painting.  We knew what we wanted and designed it ourselves.  Paul is very handy and has a lot insight on almost any project.  Usually I will mention an update and he jumps right in and starts planning it.  So, of course, the idea of him tackling this project came up.  We did a little research and asked around.  It was definitely something we thought he could tackle but knew it would take a considerable amount of time.  I’m almost certain that it was me that made the final call, literally…..to a couple of professional painting companies for pricing! LOL

 

The thoughts of exactly how long it would take to finish the project seemed overwhelming and I liked the idea that the painting company we hired took all the cabinet doors and drawer fronts off-site to paint.  We really didn’t have an ideal place to paint them after we had removed them if we had done this project DIY.

And, the kitchen is the go to area of our house.  We spend a lot of time in ours.  It is rather roomy and we find ourselves even sitting at the table at night after dinner watching TV, etc., instead of in our living/den area.  The thought of it being in total disruption for an extended period was a little unsettling to me.

That’s not to say that this project has not been disruptive.  Items temporarily displaced and a general overall unsettled feeling in the kitchen.  And, yes, as soon as all the doors and drawer facings came off, I just had to stand back and laugh (BTW, no pictures included of that mess!).  It’s pretty disturbing seeing all of your kitchen items on display!  It will definitely make you want to re-organize your cabinets.  But it also makes everything easily accessible and handy.  I joked a few times that I didn’t want to put them back on.

And we had last minute visitors 2 days after the doors were removed.  A friend of ours unexpectedly brought his wife over for us to meet.  Nothing like making a first impression with your entire kitchen contents on display!  And afterwards I sweated it much more than I should have.  Anyway, everyone has LOTS of items lurking behind those cabinet doors!

As with all renovations one thing turned into another and painting existing cabinets was only part of the project.  We eventually made a large project even larger with having too much time on our hands.  We decided to move some furniture around, get rid of some furniture, expand the cabinetry, add new door/drawer pulls, install new lighting and outlets and paint all the existing trim in the kitchen area.

We searched ideas (mainly on Pinterest),  purchased a lot of the things we needed online and at the local hardware store (essential business).  If Covid-19 has been good for anything it has been an eye-opener that you can buy just about anything online!

Paul has done all of the changes, besides the cabinet painting, himself (with a little help from me) and has worked hard on it, loved every (almost) minute of it and saved us a ton of money!

 

I’ve read and heard others say that home improvements are booming.  My speculation is that we’ve all been stuck in for so many months that we are discovering that we don’t like or are tired of certain aspects of our homes.  And, in our case, we are spending our summer vacation fund for a kitchen update.  Which I’m OK with!  It’s so exciting seeing the transformation each day.

Continue here:

See Kitchen Update Phase II
and Kitchen Update Phase III !

Dixie