Remodeling my Kitchen - Part One

I was hesitant to share this post but have gotten too excited to hold it in any longer. I am refinishing my kitchen. The cupboards are done, but my counter tops are not finished yet. I was going to wait until the end to show the wonderful "after" picture but decided I will show you as we go along and let your imagination finish it, as that is what I am left doing at this point.

So this is what I am seeing, in my head.

I love everything about this kitchen! I love the white cabinets, the wood counter tops and the bead board backsplash. Everything, this is just what I am going for but a titch more rustic in the cupboards. Picture bellow. (All pictures from Country Living)

I like the feel of this old drawer cabinet. 

I love these shelves. I will be putting three shelves on one of the walls in the kitchen, by the fridge. I think it is darling to fill the containers with flour, sugar, oats ... you get the idea. I love the cabinet on the left as well!

This is the width and color of wood I like for the counter tops.

Alright, so once I found what I liked, I told my husband all about it. One of my personality traits is I am not patient. Once I have something on my mind and I know what I want, I get right to work. This is just what I did.

Here is the before picture of my kitchen. Everything is fine when it comes to quality and holding up but it is very out of date and doesn't scream spend three hours a day in me!

I started digging in. My little guy wanted his hands in the project as well. He sat in my lap the whole time I used the drill to take the doors off. 

 After painting, glazing and sanding my cupboards were done in less than 6 days. I painted all the hardware (again) with a better paint.

Okay, so lets talk about what worked and what has not worked.

Hardware A while back I posted about painting your hardware. Well, I found that the spray I used rubbed off. I used a different spray that is textured this time around. It grabbed on nicely and I could put a nice thick coat on them. After just a week the texture wore down and they are much smoother now. I have researched and it seems to  be this is the best way to go

Sanding You don't have to strip or do an aggressive sand. Just make sure you scratch up your surface with sand paper.  I could tell a difference in places I wasn't very thorough. Take the time to get the corners and creases.

Paint I went to Home Depot and chose their brand. I chose the paint with the primer included. They say it only takes two coats but I felt like three worked best for my project.

I added an additive to the paint to make it so I didn't have any brush strokes from the paint brush. This worked great and really did what it said it would do. I was really excited when I found this product because one of my biggest concerns was the brush strokes. Also, high quality paint brushes are a key as well.

I did a light brown glaze on top. I did this because it helps with the rustic look and it makes the cupboards look a lot more forgiving of my mistakes and imperfections. My goal was for the glaze to show all the dents and marks.

I also sanded all the corners. I was exceptionally happy with how the sanding highlighted the center design.

I have been using my cupboards for a few weeks and I have been super happy with them. They wipe up really nicely, and I haven't had one problem with them thus far. I would highly recommend doing this if you want to switch things up and are ready for something new. It is a super fun project with great results.

So... back to drawing board. My husband mapped and designed my counter tops.  Now he and my Dad are making them in the shop. I also will be putting in a bead board backsplash and wood shelves. I will keep you updated on our progress.

Have any of you refinished your kitchen? Are any of you wanting to refinish your kitchen? Please feel free to ask questions or make comments!