The Seemingly Never-Ending Kitchen Project

The doors are back on, the drawers are back in and the new hardware is attached. I've got everything put back away!

So, why is this "never-ending" you may ask? We found a great surprise when we were getting ready to put down the new floor. As we were pulling up the linoleum tiles, both layers of linoleum came up. Low and behold...  wood floor!

We thought that we had wood floors underneath, but I thought that it was under quite a few more layers of linoleum. Finding this wonderful surprise ended up slowing us down, though. But I'd say it's worth it!

We had been on track to finish this by the Saturday of my graduation party (I finished my Master's program in December, but got to walk with the other spring grads this May). However, the floor uncovering was a no-brainer and I took back the old tile.

We got the doors and drawers back on, but they really need some more light sanding and another coat of paint. The insides and the trim are so silky smooth, but we needed to install the doors and drawers in order to get everything put away.

I love the cabinet hardware and the color. I also love the wall paint color - it's nice and bright and cheery. I also found this great shelf paper at Target. I only put it on the first shelf of my upper level cabinets because it was a little pricey, but I like how it adds a little fun to the kitchen.

In addition to the wood floor surprise, these are a couple of other surprises that we found. My son, Joey, practice writing his name as a mirror image in permanent marker on the inside of my cabinet. He was 4 at the time. (The "J" is on the right) My husband dated this - it was fun to revisit it and we left it there, although I did paint over it again.

We re-found this brackets in the basement - these same style of brackets are on the outside of our house. I'm going to use these as a decorative element in a set of shelves that I still need to sand, paint and install.

I thought I would share a tip in regards to sanding between coats. Don't use steel wool if you have a white or light colored paint. This is what happened:

It rubbed silver all over the white trim. I ended up sanding lightly with 220 grit sandpaper and then painting again. The white paint migh have covered it, but I will admit to being a little disconcerted with the color.

After my party, I ended up taking a break from the kitchen (and from blogging). My hands were tired and I was tired - done with the whining now.

Here's what else we have in store for us:

• lightly sand doors and drawers and then add the second coat of paint
• remove the glue from the wood floor
• re-finish wood floor
• install open shelves and brackets
• re-install puck lights under cabinets
• paint back door
• install painted trim (already painted at least)
• install painted bead board (alread painted)
• touch up wall paint

The good part about this list is that the intensive work is completed (except the wood floor refinishing). There is a light at the end of the tunnel. YEAH!

Happy projecting -
Nicole