Sunday, October 7, 2012

Having Your Cabinets Painted

A week or so ago I told you that Mr. Bill said we could get the kitchen cabinets painted.
I showed you some before shots.
Here. 
I debated this for a long time, but finally knew that nothing would update the kitchen more than paint.
We did a new tile counter and sink about 4 years ago. 
We put in new microwave and stove about two years ago. We also updated the lighting.
Last winter we got a new dishwasher.
It still looked like an 80's kitchen.
One of my other attempts was creating some open storage.
Here:

The process is nearly completed but I thought I would give you a run down of the events in case you are thinking of having this done.

I have only had professional painters once so I am a novice to this whole thing.
I read many blog posts about painting cabinets yourself. I have painted kitchen cabinets twice before  and did not look forward to doing it again. I am not a spring chicken and I knew that it would be hard. 

There are some things to keep in mind if you have professionals paint your kitchen cabinets.

Here is my time line of events.

Sunday Night: 
  • I placed the e-mail to my painter. 
  • I fixed my final meal for the week. 


Monday: 
  • The painter e-mailed me back and asked if they could come Thursday and Friday. I already had a quote from him so I didn't need to schedule a consultation.
  • The first thing  we had to decide was whether to paint the interiors of the cabinets. I read blogs and talked things over with Mr. Bill and my painter, John. Bill wanted them painted but John and I both felt that the laminate insides wouldn't wear too well.  (Thank you, bloggers for that info.) The insides are a light to medium maple color so they aren't that offensive to me. For twenty years I  have felt that they have been very easy to clean.    Since they were clean, I thought it would be less noticeable to have maple interiors rather than scratched interiors. 
  • Next I picked out my color. We went with Dover White from Sherwin Williams. I looked at Google Images for hours Monday night. I went with Dover because it isn't a bright white but it reads white.  I had used it before and I knew the color and liked it. Next I had to pick the sheen. This is important. The sheen I picked is semi-gloss. (I will be talking more about this later. Maybe in another post if this one is too long.) 
  • I picked up store bought meatloaf for dinner.


It was time to prep the kitchen for the painters.






Tuesday:  


  • I began cleaning out the junk drawers. I knew that the kitchen didn't have to be empty, but I was too embarrassed to have the painters see inside my drawers and cabinets. I have 4 junk drawers. (see below)
  • I worked on that from about 5 p.m. until 9:30.
  • For dinner I made sandwiches from the leftover meatloaf. I think Mr. Bill was less than thrilled.


Wednesday:
  • I finished cleaning out the cabinets and removing stuff from the counters and the top of the cabinets that evening. 
  • We had pizza for dinner.   


I overcompensated for the uglies of the cabinets by having lots of knick-knacks in the kitchen. It was an attempt to warm things up in a sea of oak.  We did decide to paint the inside of the top of the buffet cabinet in case I ever want to take these doors off. 

Thursday: 
  • I came home that night to plastic draped everywhere. Everything was papered off. 






  • The house had a horrible smell. I think it was the stuff they sprayed to prep the cabinets for the primer. I saw a can of deglosser. 
I loved seeing it white with primer.


  • The drawers were stacked up and the cabinet doors were all open. I assumed they would take the doors off and spray them outside. They sprayed them on and they sprayed the hinges. The hinges were brassy so I am conflicted about  that. On  the one hand I can change pulls when ORB is out and not have to worry about the hinges. Yet, I don't want hinges with paint chipping off. This is something I should have asked.
  • We went out to Abuelo's for Mexican Food. (Comfort Food.)


Friday: 


  • I was off from work, waiting on my new T.V. cabinet so I stayed home all day. I tried to do some stuff upstairs but was stir crazy waiting to see the cabinets. I wanted to stay out of the painter's hair but it was hard.
  • The oak kept soaking up the paint so I thought I kept seeing spots they missed. I didn't want to seem like I was hovering  but I felt like I was.
  • They left by about 4 o-clock. All the cabinet doors  were left propped open with tooth picks. 
  • The smell was not nearly as bad with the paint as it was the day before. 
  • If you are sensitive to smells, I suggest staying in a hotel for a few days.
  • Friday night I ate leftovers and Bill picked up something when he was out.










Saturday:

  • The cabinets were wet but I started putting things back on the counter. I had a farmhouse vibe going before. I think I will be going a different direction this time.
  • Bill got McDonald's for lunch and I ate a sandwich I picked up at the grocery store. 
  • We ate dinner at a wedding. (And no, we weren't wedding crashers ;)


Sunday:


  • The cabinets are dry to the touch but some feel a bit tacky. 
  • I rearranged some dishes and put them back in the cabinets, but really have tried to stay out of the kitchen. 
  • Bill ate lunch out and I sort of foraged. At this point I am getting sick of eating on the fly. We had a brisket for dinner. It has been almost a week since I cooked. 




I tried closing the doors this afternoon, but a few were sticking a tad, so I  propped them all open again with tooth picks.   



I hope that everything will be dry tomorrow. I don't like things in disarray and I can't wait to see this kitchen with the knobs back on.

Since this post is so long I won't talk about sheen. You will have to stay tuned and check back in. :)
I will also take some final pics once the open shelves are staged.

I hope this give you insight into what to expect when professionals come in to paint.
Katie
Linking with,
     Debbie Doos  
 Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style                                                   

10 comments :

  1. Katie your kitchen looks so nice and bright! Love the changes!
    xx
    Anne

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  2. Wow! I guess it pays to hire professionals. Picking the light color brightened up your entire room. A beautiful transformation! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  3. I love the white cabinets. The white made your kitchen look so clean and updated. From what I could see so far you have a beautiful kitchen in the process.

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  4. Wow what a process, and you sure have everything worked out. The white does make you kitchen look completely different, so very nice and bright now. A beautiful transformation! Thanks for sharing your inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!

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  5. They look great! I hope you're happy with them after all of this... I think they look great :)

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  6. I know the total JOY of having this done. I lived in OAK land for 3 years and had to have mine White.
    I'm following you now to be sure I dont miss your future posts.

    you are gonna be Over the Moon thrilled with your new kitchen. It already looks amazingly beautiful and I am so happy or you.
    Sonny

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  7. That was a splendid transformation! Your painter definitely did a fine job on your kitchen cabinets. They look immaculate and heavenly. And good choice of color too! The Dover white paint brings out the beauty of the cabinets. It definitely adds character to the space and the fixtures.

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  10. What a difference! Really like it. We painted before at another house but my husband looks at me like I am a wild woman whenever I mention painting the cabinets in our current house! Eventually we wil!

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