About a year ago I used this kit and did our master bathroom cabinets. It took me about 4 days and the reason it took me so long was because of drying time between steps. It was pretty easy overall and was the big test before we took the plunge and did the whole kitchen.
Here is what the kitchen looked like before:
The bottom left of this picture was a big reason we wanted to do this! You can see where the "finish" is rubbed off of that cabinet. We used to keep the dogs in the kitchen when they were puppies and it took a toll on the cabinets and walls. We kept the trash can there to cover it up, but it looked BAD!
We couldn't afford to replace the cabinets, and I didn't want to pay $3,000-$5,000 to have someone else refinish them. A few hundred was really all we could do.
Because the floor is a redish color and we weren't changing the counter tops, we though that darker was the way to go.
I was hoping that I could get most of it done in one week and that by the end of the second week we would have everything moved completely back in and be functional again. The second day our sitter started coughing. I asked her several times if she was sick, and she said no. That night she called to tell me that she had a fever and the next morning she went to a clinic and got tested for the flu. It was positive. I flipped out a little.
First, I was 22 weeks pregnant when we started this process. To get the flu is bad enough, but to be pregnant and have the flu is dangerous. Not to mention that we had waited for over 6 months to drive to Dallas to have Jack's yearly MRI to make sure he didn't have any new tumor growth. These tests always make me nerous anyway, but it had been 16 months since his last MRI, the longest we've ever gone, and it's suggested that you go every 12 months. Jonathan has been in the middle of a crazy project for work and actually got time off to go, and all of a sudden the flu was brought into my house. I called Jack's doctor and mine right away and got prescriptions for tamiflu. I used clorox wipes on every surface of the house I could put one on, and we started drinking soup stock and taking extra vitamins and herbs to help. On Friday Jack started coughing and felt a little warm (we were leaving Monday for Dallas) so I started him on the Tamiflu and upped his herbs. We work really hard, year round, to keep him immune system strong. He has seizures when he gets sick so the best thing to do is to prepare his body so that it can fight something off. Apparently his immune system is pretty strong because his fever never got above 100.1 and it lasted less than 48 hours. He coughed a little for about 4-5 days and didn't eat much when he had the fever and didn't have as much energy as normal, but that was it. Thankfully we still got to go to Dallas for his tests and I didn't get it at all.
Of course with the sitter being sick, I didn't have the same time to work on the kitchen. Papa came over and was a huge help for a few hours a few days, and I had evenings after Jonathan came home, but it set me back at least a week.
The cabinet kit is a 4 step process. 1 - clean them with a special cleaner. Jonathan did this part since it doesn't actually involve paint. 2 - paint. Because of the dark color, it only took 2 coats and then a little touch up. With the bathroom I used a lighter color and it took 4 coats. 3 - deglaze. This brings out the wood texture and really is the whole reason to buy the kit. It was right around $70 for the whole thing (not including new drawer pulls, shelf paper, hinges, paint brushes, drop clothes, etc.) but if you aren't going to do this step, you might as well save some $$ and just buy paint. 4 - the top coat. I HATE this step! I am very much a perfectionist and this step is just so tricky. If you get the finish too thin, you see spots that aren't covered. Too thick and you have white patches. It's a royal pain!
It took 3 days to prep the whole thing. That was 2 days longer than we had planned! But when you have lived in a place for 9 years and have a large kitchen, that is what happens!
Someone else wanted to paint too :-)
It took 3 weeks. We lived out of the dining room, at out way too much, and it was a royal pain, but I'm glad that it's done. I will never do it again either!!!! It's like installing the sprinkler system ourselves, we're really glad that it's done, but never again!
So without further adieu, here is the final product:
I painted everything in the kitchen that could be painted. So not just the cabinets, but also the walls, doors, baseboards, and window seals. Everything just needed a fresh coat of paint. I am slightly embarrassed by how awful the walls in there were. Of course I didn't realize how bad they were until I stared putting a fresh coat of paint on.
The evening after I stared on the walls, my lower belly got really sore. I was 24 weeks pregnant and was fine if I was sitting down, but the baby felt really heavy and it hurt if I stood up. I wasn't having braxton hicks (I've already experienced those so I know what they feel like) it was just sore. The next day was my last day standing on the ladder and using the roller and as soon as I started that I figured it out. They were my abs. OMG, and boy did they hurt! I have been pretty sick the whole pregnancy so I haven't done any serious working out and I didn't realize that they were my abs because they aren't in the same place anymore. OUCH!
Thankfully that day I only had one small stretch of wall to do and they have (mostly) recovered. I will say that there is no way I would have been able to do this in the 3rd trimester though.
We still have things to move out of the baby's room and back into the kitchen and still have some shelf paper to install, but the grunt work is done! I think it looks awesome and I'm so glad that it's done. I feel like we should throw a party after we get the rest of the house put back in order now.
The first thing I did today was make Jack a keto pizza, which he liked! And I'm glad to have my kitchen back and fully functional. Now it's time to stock the freezer with food for Jack for when I go into labor and a little for us for when we come home with a new baby.
And before anyone asks, no, I won't help with yours :-)
