Cabinet Capers: Prep Stage

Let's back-track a couple months!

While Brett The Handy-Man broke his tail on the walls, sink and countertops, I went quite easy on myself (for now) and focused on the cabinetry.

Rather than drop a cool $7 grand on custom cabinets (meeeps!), I decided to give my builder cabinets a refresh and save on my renovation costs.  I turned to my DIY gurus over at Young House Love for a little bit of advice, but wound up “borrowing” their entire shopping list and process.  Hey, if it works, why reinvent the wheel?  I am so not original!

Since Sherry and John Petersik were just winding their kitchen reno down as I was embarking on mine, I thought: how serendipitous!  I don’t know what I would do without this lovely duo and their DIY advice. They make me want to move to Richmond, VA just so I can be BFFs with them.  That didn't come off as creepers did it? Sorry. Back to the whole point of this post because I have clearly strayed:

First, I had to take all of the drawers out and the doors off, and strip everything of its hardware.

 

<<Sidebar: I did my best to keep the hardware that I would be reusing together. I numbered the six lower cabinets and labeled cups to keep the shtufff in.  It was a valiant effort that fell by the wayside in the end.>>

I started prepping the decorative panels by using sprayable Next Degreaser from Home Depot. It was really easy to use, low VOC (but still pretty potent) and non-flammable, because you know I left it on the gas stove top, like, a lot.

Shake it, spray it, let in soak a little and scrub it girl! The directions said to scrub with a rag, but based on the sheer amount of poop-ature I have found, I figured I should use heavy-duty scouring pads.  Then the rag for clean-up/wipe-down.

The plank on the top has been degreased and the one on the bottom has not.  See how much light the bottom one reflects? That’s because it’s slimy and gross and the top one is squeeeky clean!

Next came the really fun part: filling up the old hardware holes! I have a brand new obsession over wood filler.  It’s a seriously good time!

Again, based on what the Petersik’s suggested, I used Elmer’s Pro Wood Filler found at Home Depot.  Slap it on there…

 
…smoosh it in…

…scrape it off…

…let dry and repeat!  Each plank needed about two layers of gook to make it flush with the board.

Here’s everybody all solidified and ready for some sanding action:

I love my little Mouse by Black&Decker! She really gets the job done, even down to those tough corners.

Listen to me; I sound like I used to do blow with the ShamWow! guy. 

Next came another wipe-down with a damp cloth and a couple coats of primer. I used Benjamin Moore’s Stix primer, which covered really well but is really high in VOCs (or at least it felt like it, high being the operative word.) Lord knows I really don’t like feeling that way, so I would not recommend using it in a poorly ventilated room.

YHL recommended Zinsser Smart Prime, and after this experience I totally went out and bought some of that instead. It's hard to find in Tuscaloosa, but not impossible! Stix certainly got the job done but not without some provisions:

An entire family-size bag of mini powdered doughnuts would have also been appropriate, but I am trying to maintain my girlish figure, thank you.

More cabinetry to come, friends! Remain on the edge of you seats!

~Easty-Lou

Making Tabletops from Lemons

Have I mentioned how much I love reclaimed wood? A lot. And I happened to find some in my house! The previous owners had jimmy-rigged a “storage system” over the toilet in the master bathroom – yes, open storage over the toilet – that left these purty little shapes on my wall when I immediately ripped them down:

I see it; the off-center toilet bugs me too.

I mean, it was like the first thing I did in the house, right after closing.  Sups hid. (“super hideous” if you don’t happen to speak Princess) Face it, this idea of storage was a dud and part of me really wishes they hadn’t painted over the yellow walls; so sunny!

I was able to salvage the shelves by removing the supports and sanding everything down. You may remember this post where I stripped down the longest one (that was over the closet door) and we last left everything looking like this:

Well I finally got my hands on a jig saw and quartered the six footer into submission. When laid together, it was all starting to look like a 3x3.08’ tabletop. Yay!

I even found use for part of the old supports by using them as the connecting pieces.  I laid everything out the way I wanted it and started gluing.

Since each support had two holes predrilled from where it attached to the wall, I used some washers to secure the screws. After those were in, I just screwed directly into the wood in a bunch of other spots. The wood is super soft so I didn't need a drill bit, but I did have to make sure I didn’t get to close to the ends for fear of it splitting.

 

Here it is with everything screwed in:

And here it is all done!

I am storing it indoors and laid flat so that there isn't any warp-age between now and when I actually get the table base and banquette seating together during Phase 2. I will probably need to seal the wood since it will be used for dining, but it feels so good to cross something off of the list!  The stripe-y natural wood is going to be a warm, welcome contrast to all of the stainless steel in the room and the cool blue walls.

Did anyone else get to cross something off their list this weekend? Or rip something apart and put it back together? Do tell!

~Easty