A while back I decided that in order to expedite completing this house before another 7 years passes, I needed to hire out a few things. Cabinet doors for the kitchen was one of those things. I measured all the cabinet openings for doors and drawer fronts– three times to make sure I ordered the correct sizes. Then I placed my order. (There are lots of companies that make custom cabinet doors, both online and locally. Do an internet search and you might be surprised how close to home you find a source. Some places will even paint them for you.)
The doors and drawer fronts arrived weeks ago so I stacked them in the corner of the living room until I was ready to deal with them. I’m excited to say that I am finally FINISHING the kitchen!
Kitchen 5 years ago
Yes, this is the kitchen I built 5 years ago. Cabinet doors have not been a priority because I had lots of projects that needed to be done for functional purposes. The kitchen looks just as it did when I last posted about it. That post was probably about the New, new, new pantry. (Third time’s a charm.) It looked about like this.
I normally take over Wes’ garage to create a spray booth for painting. It’s currently cold and wet outside and temperature and humidity always negatively affect my painting experience. So the garage is out.
Painting Cabinet Doors
Being in the middle of the basement remodel provided a perfect place for me to paint the cabinet doors. The carpet is getting replaced so I don’t have to protect the floor. I haven’t painted the walls yet so I can use the walls to test my spray pattern without having to tape up large sections of craft paper. Also the basement is large so there is lots of room for “drying places” for the doors. I set up sawhorses with 2x4s for extra space next to my drying rack. Even with that, I had to do the doors in three batches.
Painting cabinet doors is such a tedious process. Prime the fronts. Let that dry. Prime the backs. Let that dry. Lightly sand. Paint backs. Dry. Paint fronts… I spent 5 days completing that process.
I’ve included a video of the spraying process. Lifting the door off the “rotating stool” and setting it into a slot on the drying rack. Front and back, sand, front and back again. 5 days. ‘Nough said.
Repainting Kitchen Cabinets
While cabinet doors were drying…
I worked upstairs on the kitchen. I needed to repaint all the cabinets. Five years ago, I painted the island cabinets grey. Five years ago, grey was THE color! Grey is no longer — so the grey had to go. I went with white because it is classic and safe.
I repainted the white cabinets as well because the white cabinet paint I used five years ago is not going to match freshly painted cabinet doors, even if it were the same color. That being said, it is not the same color. The white cabinet paint I used five years ago was more creamy than what I currently enjoy.
I originally coated the top of the China Hutch with clearcoat so I sanded all that off before painting.
The window seat (with a toe kick vacuum port), never even got a complete paint job. It required filling nail holes and sanding before prime and paint. Still to be done, the toekick vacuum port needs to be pushed forward a couple inches. It is not easy to access because of the depth of the toekick. No better time to do that but now.
I had to remove one of the floating shelves anyway because the light quit working so I removed them all. It’s much easier to paint them with the sprayer, downstairs.
I removed a couple screws and pulled the whole fridge/freezer combo forward. That took about 2 minutes. Taping off takes a bit longer and doesn’t always work as you want it to. So I opted to move the fridge out of the way. The ovens, I taped off.
In this last week I used my sprayer to paint ALL the cabinet doors and drawer fronts for the kitchen. And I crawled around with a roller and brush and painted to paint the faceframes and visible cabinet sides. (Note to self: use knee pads on day 1 instead of waiting until day 2 when your knees are already bruised and sore.)
The kitchen is a bit of a mess because I had to pull stuff out of cabinets so they weren’t in my way. They got piled on the island — because it’s just for a day or two. (Note to self: just find a place to neatly store things so the kitchen continues to be pleasantly useable, instead of —this!)
You all know how much Wes loves living in chaos. AND he really doesn’t like anyone messing up his kitchen. LOL He’s being a good sport about it though because it’s a means to an end.
I think that will last about another week so I need to use that as a goal for completing the install. Installing full inset doors is super tedious. It makes me tired just thinking about it. Which is another reason I probably put this project off for SO LONG. But I’m in it now so there’s no other way to approach it than “full speed ahead” and keep going until it’s done.
Charisse Andrews says
I love how you keep it real, sharing the reality of a project. It is so much more than a before and after photo. Oh my, so much more. I can’t wait to see the finished kitchen. From what you have shared, already it has style and what looks like real functionality and awesome architectural details, like that coffered ceiling. Keep going…..you are soooo close! Happy Holidays to you and the family.
Sandra says
Happy Holidays to you too! Thanks for your encouragement. I’m pretty excited to see it done too.
Kelly F says
Beautiful! I love watching your progress. I can’t wait to see it done. Would you be willing to share your fridge/freezer info? Do you love it? Are there any cons? It’s just what I’m looking for.
Sandra says
The fridge and freezer are Frigidaire. We loved them for 4 1/2 years until the fridge broke. We purchased at Home Depot with the 5 year warrantee. It took them 48 days to get it fixed. So…I would purchase this set again but only from a local business that has in house, technicians to do repairs.
Tom says
I noticed in your instagram feed that you were fitting the doors prior to painting them. Is that something you do to just make sure that everything fits perfectly? It seems like a lot of extra work to put them up and pull them all down for painting, so I figured you probably had a good reason.
Sandra says
With full inset doors the doors need to be perfectly sized. I’d rather do any shaving needed before painting, rather than having to re-sand, prime and paint.
Sharon C says
This is looking like a big glamorous and gorgeous kitchen! Oh, I can just imagine sitting on the window seat with a hot cuppa!!!! Can’t wait to see your cabinetry doors and drawers all installed. Even with hiring out the build of the door fronts, you still have had so much work to do. Love your work. Awesome job!!!!!
Sandra says
Thank you so much Sharon. It has definitely been a lot of work and I am so excited to get it finished!
Cheryl says
That is a HUGE job, no wonder you kept putting it off! You are amazing to be doing this on your own. Cannot wait to see the finished kitchen.
Sandra says
For sure! Huge job is what it feels like. At some point it has to be completed. I’m excited to get it done!
Karen Zinn says
You seem to be a kind of person that can’t sit still always has to have a project going you make me tired just following your site. Great job
Sandra says
I guess you’re right. Some days I don’t want to get up in the morning but the thought of making progress on a project gets my feet on the floor.
Arlene Baker says
You continue to amaze me!
Sandra says
Well thanks!
Donna L. says
Hang in there, the light at the end of the tunnel is now visible! (I think you can, I think you can, I know you can!)
That is one heckuva kitchen you’ve created! I think that is the first time I’ve ever liked a sink in the island. I’ve not seen the sink placed on the end of the island before. (I typically hate sinks in the island because that is my main prep surface and I loathe giving up precious work space to the sink and the dishes that end up around it.)
I’m going to dive 5 years back into your archives and read all about your kitchen. I think it is already amazing and I look forward to when you have time to share the completed project. Best of everything to you as you race to get it all done!
Sandra says
Thanks Donna! That’s what I have to keep telling myself too. “I think I can…” LOL I drew up over 20 different layouts of this kitchen before I decided where to put everything. I don’t think putting a sink in the middle of the prep area was in any of the options. I don’t like that either. The only thing I would change is that having a pull out garbage can over there would be handy. The garbage cans are by the sinks.
Chris says
Your kitchen is beautiful especially the ceilings. And doing it yourself saving so much money. Great job!
Jeanna Grabuskie says
Thanks for all the great inspiration. I purchased my first power tools because of you inspiration. I have just completed my first closet organizer, it was a complete double hanging cabinet for difficult walkin closet that has an access door in the middle. I plan to use your bathroom cabinet over the toilet the boys bathroom too. Thanks again and I can’t wait to see the kitchen reveal and what will inspire me for my new kitchen!
Melanie S says
Looks amazing! What a great idea to put the doors on a rotating stool instead of moving around all 4 sides! That would have made my kitchen remodel SO MUCH EASIER.