Today Is the Day!

 I know you know that I love projects...but, some more than others! I like projects that give me something new...not so much projects that just maintain and don't really look all that different after they're done. But, unfortunately, if you want to keep your house in order, there are just some projects that are like that! And today is one of those!!

I have put this off for as long as I could and, today my "new eyes" got a glimpse and there was no turning back! If you have been following me for a long time, you might remember that I did a post a good while back about re-doing my kitchen. I re-did the kitchen before I had this blog and well before I documented everything with photos. And so, it was a task to even find some old pictures for the "before" pictures. 

In any case, we bought our house new in 1973. Back then avocado green was the trend and I loved our kitchen. It had avocado green formica counters, avocado green appliances and sink, an avocado green hanging light (that my very tall husband kept bumping into) and formica "oak" cabinets with an avocado green design etched into them. Boy I loved that kitchen...until I didn't. Green went out and I could not think of anything I wanted more than to re-do that room. The problem was that we had three children who were all about to enter college and my husband had just left his secure job to open his own C.P.A. practice. There really was not a lot of disposable income at that point.

But, Lowes had become my new best friend and I would roam those aisles just trying to come up with a solution. And then one day I asked my husband what he thought about us re-doing the kitchen and, his answer was always the same (usually as a joke I think but I was never quite sure -Lol) "you can do anything you want as long as it doesn't cost a lot". And those were my challenge words. I was going to do it or die trying.

I discovered a brand new product that would adhere to formica (there are now lots of them available) without sanding and that was all it took. I loaded up on paint and then had to come to a solution for covering the ugly etchings in the doors. Wood trim was the solution but, this was also all before my miter saw days so I knew mitered corners were out. And, so was fancy molding wood-it was way too expensive. I ended up going with furring strips which were about $2 per 8' board and could be easily cut with my saber saw.

So that is what I did...along with new hardware, new appliances, stainless sink, crown moldings around the top (which I did have done professionally), a new pantry added, etc. And so that is how the kitchen has stayed for a long time. And it would be great except that the molding that I added is not only not a nice hard wood but, because of the way I did it, there is about a 1/4" face all the way around that catches any spills, drips, dust, etc, and so requires a fair amount of cleaning. And, with the cleaning comes the eventual peeling and chipping of the paint...so that requires the many touch-ups...which, I do whenever I can't take it any longer. And that day is today!

And so, this is what things look like right now.

I have finished washing everything with PineSol so it smells good but the touch up areas are way more than I had thought...not to mention that it is way past time to replace all of the shelf lining paper and possibly give the inside of the cabinets a new coat of paint.

And here is my dilemma. I have thought seriously about repainting everything with a chalk paint and maybe even changing the color. But, I really can't decide. I love painting with chalk paint but I just realized that not only would all of the doors and drawers need painting but so would all of the cabinet boxes. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I do have a fair amount of cabinetry...and that will be a HUGE job. I know I did it once, but I was a lot younger then. And so, I wait for this to dry.

All those places that look dirty are really just chipped paint. Maybe by the time it dries I will have decided what I will do. I'm off to eat some lunch and ponder. You'll be the first to know when I decide. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned. At least there's some "pretty" at the other end of the bar!