Sometimes things happen

Well if you’ve seen tumbleweed flying down my street in Blogville, I’m just here to say, ‘YES’ I’m alive and kicking. 
You ever start a project, and even though its a big one and you think you have it all planned out in your mind… things never quite go as expected?
My kitchen has been at a bit of a standstill lately.  Although we are in the final stages of putting finishing trim work on, the range hood has proved much more complicated than anticipated.
“What’s so hard about making a box with a fan in it?” I asked naively. “How hard can it be?” I questioned, in my best smart-ass tone.
I shoulda shaddap.  It’s HARD!
Spending weeks in a cold garage priming, sanding, painting and glazing 24 cupboard doors was nuthin’ compared to this.  Oh, but I will have a tutorial on it! You can count on that.  After all the bugs have been worked out, I will finally lay it out in easy to follow steps for someone else to have a much simpler time at assembling one (and I’m sure in a fraction of the time spent)
For now, my DBF has one of these on his hand, thanks to me. I now officially have table saw nightmares.  Yup, it’s happened. 
A nice sunny Saturday to be spent working to finish the kitchen, instead was spent in the emergency room acquiring a few stitches for Mr. Charming.  I feel terrible.  However, he is on the mend. (Looking around…… shhhh…... I’m already planning this weekend for finishing the job.)   Poor bugger.
A big kiss for Mr. Charming, he truly IS my hero.
Any man who needs stitches and would rather put duct tape on it and keep working is worth his weight in gold. 
Update coming this weekend!
Thanks all.

the kitchen chronicles – Part 7

Yup – I’m still working …

Alright.  Time for another update.  It really feels like forever since I’ve started this project, but working full time while renovating does not make for a quick makeover.

So here is the work in progress. The cupboard doors are going up, the counter has arrived and the new faucet and kitchen sink has been installed.  It’s really starting to shape up.

Here is a quick comparison -  The drawers on the left are the old plywood version and the cupboard doors on the right are the new improved version. The kick plate still has to be installed as well as the backsplash and light valance. 

It’s really hard to make something look so pretty when the wall behind is so ugly !

Being in the middle of reno’s doesn’t stop me from baking.

Mini blueberry muffins…….mmmmmmmmmmmmm~!

Coming up..

Backsplash

Make Your Own Range Hood  - Tutorial

Converting an old wine rack to shelf

Finishing Moulding and Trim

what’s your kitchen style?

As I’ve been in the midst of redoing my kitchen, I’ve also been scouring the net for ideas, styles and colours.  But I’ve come to realize something.  It really doesn’t matter what’s new on the market, or what the current trend is. My style is still my style.   And I always gravitate to the Rustic, Country or Tuscan style kitchen.  Anything too streamlined, new or too shiny, simply doesn’t appeal to me. It’s strictly a personal preference. 

Take a look at this kitchen.  Everything about this rustic style grabs my attention. The warm feel, the wood floors, the brick.  The textures and colours are warming and appealing.

I could grab my spatula and move right into this one.

Can you just imagine the view from this place?  I’m left with a burning desire to see the rest of this house.

I can just smell the wood burning fire in this home. The rustic table legs, columns and beams are fabulous. Check out the chairs at either ends of the table.

(I really do have a thing for black islands)

I simply adore the floor in this kitchen as well as the textured treatment on the walls.

 

No.. wait!!  Maybe my spatula and I will move into this one!!

So there are a few of my ALL TIME DREAM KITCHENS!

What’s your kitchen style?

the kitchen chronicles – Part 6

Update on Island Stools

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll or left me an email with with your valued comments.  The majority of you thought the stools should be painted cream to match the new cupboards. (NOT the cupboards seen in the pictures below, new cupboards will be hung very shortly.)

So, to recap… Island and stools before….

Island and stools now.

I left the tops as is as I didn’t want to have to deal with scratched, chipped, marked painted tops. These stools get a LOT of use!  The tops might change when the kitchen is completed, but for now, they’ll remain wood.  (Notice the beautiful background in this pictures.. yikes!!)

I am still finishing the cupboard doors, and I’m hoping to have them hung this week.  The new countertops will be coming shortly as well.  There will also be a tutorial on how to build a range hood cover.

For now….. I have worked till dusk.  Time to relax….  that wine is starting to look good.

Flowers courtesy of my Mr. Charming.  Thank you sweetie. 

the kitchen chronicles - Part 5

Island Transformation Preview

Now on to the Island.  If you've been following The Kitchen Chronicles you've seen the Island was built and painted red for this kitchen. It's been red for almost 3 years.

But now as this part of the kitchen goes through some changes, so does the Island. This change in colour is in preparation for a new countertop, (coming soon).
As much as I loved the red, the black really pops in the kitchen and will be a terrific contrast to the aged cream new cupboard doors.  The distressed areas of the island show the layers of paint this piece has gone through giving off a true aged look.

Now you can help me out with the 'stool' situation.

Take a look at the poll over to the right --->

Let me know what YOU think should be done with the stools?

Thanks !!

This post linked up to Make Your Monday @ Twice Remembered

the kitchen chronicles - Part 4 - glazing cupboard doors

Glazing Painted MDF Cabinet Doors

Ok.. So we've covered the priming and painting of the cupboard doors, and after a day or two of drying time it's time for the next step.   Once the paint has thoroughly dried take a sanding block and once again lightly sand the doors, just to smooth out any remaining bumps.

In this picture I have lightly sanded the paint and distressed edges in preparation for glazing.

Apply the glaze in the edges first and on sanded, distressed areas.

Wipe down with damp cloth leaving glaze in the crevices and on the raw edges.

The doors on top are finished

Here is a little sneak peek of what it's going to look like with the hardware

We're getting there!

Next Up.... Island Transformation Preview

Linked up at Talented Tuesdays @ My Frugal Family

apple pie in a jar – a little diversion !

I’ve been so busy sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding, sanding, painting, that I just needed a sweet diversion.   And here it is! 

Apple pie in a jar.   In case any of you have missed this phenomenon in blogland, here is where I found it.  These gals are amazing!!! Our Best Bites has the recipe over there. Check it out.

These little babies were a hit in my household !

Ok… Now back to our regular scheduled sanding, painting, sanding, blahhh ..blahhh… blahhhhhhh

the kitchen chronicles - Part 3 - working with mdf

Painting MDF Cabinet Doors

Replacing kitchen cabinets is a very costly undertaking.  Since the actual cabinets in my kitchen were good, I decided to go the less costly way and replace the doors.  I checked the price of doors at Home Depot and other stores and the average cost of a suitable door was $95-$120.. that's Canadian, folks, (far too much since I have quite a few in the kitchen.) 

I decided to go with MDF doors.  I had someone make the doors for me.  If you've never seen a CNC machine at work, take a gander over at youtube and watch one in action.  They cut doors from MDF like a knife goes through butter.  It's facinating.

The price of these MDF doors?  $7 - $20, according to size.

Here are the raw MDF doors as they were delivered to me.  I decided to finish them myself.

Painting MDF is very different from painting wood. MDF soaks up the paint as it's 'cut' surfaces are somewhat FUZZY.  Don't bother to sand the fuzzies too much in it's raw state, you'll be there forever.

The first thing you need is a REALLY GOOD PRIMER.

The best primer I've found BY FAR is KILZ.  This stuff sprays on amazingly!  Try it and I assure you, you won't use anything else. It's a primer, sealer and stainblocker.  The best out there. You'll use HALF of what you would use with another product, and because it goes on so great, you'll have less overspray in the air.

Another thing you need to know about MDF is it is very absorbent.  Because of its absorbency, using a lot of latex products on it can sometimes swell the MDF.  Something you definitely don't want.  Use all oil based products if you can.

In this picture below, you can see the 'fuzzies' as the primer is sprayed on the raw surface. It doesn't take too long to dry as the MDF just sucks in the primer.  Give it two coats of primer.

Below is a picture with two coats of dried primer.  You can definitely see the rough, pebbly-like surface.

Once thoroughly dry, take a sanding block and sand away! A fresh sanding block will allow you to get into the edges with a crisp firm block edge.

I don't think it's too easy to see, but the door on the left has been sanded and the door on the right has not.  The difference is really amazing.  They turn out very smooth.

Give it a good vacuum and a wipedown with a tack cloth, and paint as you like.

I'm giving my doors a coat of Rustoleum Heirloom White to start.

Here is a picture of one painted, (propped up on canned pumpkin - will be baking later on)

Next up - Glazing Cupboard Doors 

the kitchen chronicles - Part 2

So now that you've seen one half of my kitchen, (the nice half) it's time to reveal the not-so-nice half. The previous owners rearranged the kitchen cabinets from the original layout, and I'm glad they did, but they didn't reuse the original cabinet doors, they made new ones ...  out of plywood.  Terribly painted plywood cupboard doors, Complete, with a plywood hood cover.  tsk.. tsk..... terrible.

Unfortunately, my camera isn't all that great and any real close up pictures I took just came out blurry.. so you'll have to take my word for the fact that these thickly-paint-ladened doors are just plain nasty.

I won't even start the appliance rant! But never the less, I cook, bake and prepare all meals in this lovely setting.... you can see my freshly baked buttermilk pie out to cool!

Ooohhh, now let's take a peek at that GORGEOUS tile countertop, shall we ?? Slightly uneven, ALWAYS hard to clean and I'm sure totally unsanitary no matter how many harsh chemicals I use on it. 

How about that devine backsplash?

Now you see it ??

Now you don't !

Next up............ Replacing Cupboard Doors