Thursday, August 30, 2012

Kitchen update: paint still peeling!


In my last update about my kitchen remodel, I had chipped off as much old paint as I could from the backsplash areas and a ceiling beam.  I left it at that for a few weeks until yesterday when I looked up at the ceiling beam and saw more paint peeling!  I realized that I could not simply keep chipping off paint and spackling because if I do and paint over it, obviously more old paint will chip underneath and it would look horrible.

Option 1: strip off all of the paint, then paint over with the new paint.

I have too much of a creative mind for option 1!  I kept rolling things over in my mind...

Option 2: Cover the whole beam in new wallpaper that flatters the color and style I'm going with.

How cohesive could that really look though?

A third option hit me like a wrecking ball of creative genius!

Option 3: Cover the whole beam in three wood planks, making it look like a solid wood beam.

I immediately fell in love with the picture in my mind and felt the other options completely inferior.  I shared this idea with my mom and sister.  My mom liked the wallpaper idea, my sister suggested a vinyl, faux wood covering.  Right now I prefer real wood, but my next step needs to be scouting the hardware store to physically see my options and go from there.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Slow start on kitchen makeover


Hey there, been awhile! Still working this seasonal job... I really like where I am but the work is pretty dull most of the time.  I am hoping a permanent position will open up somewhere here, there is a glimmer of possibility with some reorganization that is taking place, preparing for a bunch of people retiring soon.  I have not had the willpower to look elsewhere for a permanent job, I probably won't until I become part-time in the fall.  With that said, I have also lacked the willpower to do home improvement work.  I had been doing some things during the weekends, but summer weekends often get filled up with other events, so what I am trying to say here is: not much has gotten done on the house, ok!

What I have managed to do is get a start on the kitchen. Yes, my husband and I had a prior agreement that the bathroom would be the first project, but you know what? He never started on the bathroom, and I managed to get started on the kitchen first, so there! It happened like this... I was off work for Independance Day and was bored, so I got curious about how easily/difficult the wallpaper would come off in the kitchen.  To my astonishment and utter glee, all it took was a little picking with a fingernail at a corner seam of a panel and whoosh! came peeling off the entire panel in one pull! Another couple hours of that process and the walls were bare, save behind the stove.  Unfortunately, this revealed some gloomy paint chipping underneath.  The ceiling beam and the backsplash are the culprits that need some heavy-handed correction.  After repeating a spackle-and-sanding process that kept leaving more paint chipping, my motivation waned.  I chipped off as much paint as I figured I needed to, which ended up being most of the backsplash and very large spots on the ceiling beam.  Now I need to push myself to finish spackling and sanding it all, and hope no more paint chips.  Hopefully it won't take as long as waiting for a snowy day, because with this drought a rainy day is most unlikely!

After the walls are finally all smooth and whole, the plan is to paint a light green. Following projects for the kitchen include:
- Painting cabinets white and installing knobs
- Installing a mosaic tile backsplash, using those easy/cheap sheets of them
- Painting the light fixtures (applying my "found frills" blog theme here)
- Possibly painting a faux granite on the countertops (Rustoleum Transformations)
- Changing out window treatments, would like to get bamboo blinds or something similar
- Covering the chairs in cloth (again with "found frills" philosophy)

It's a lot of work for sure, but it's a hobby and I can't wait to see my visualization come to life!