Sunday Renewal

Needing to renew our Florida State Park annual pass for 2014, we went to our local state park, St. Andrews, and went for a reviving beach walk while we were there. Felt nice to get away from the computer, sawdust and paint fumes for a couple hours.

Cabinet Heartache

She thinks any open cabinet door is a portal to Narnia

What I said last post being a relief we found a stain color that matched the existing cabinets, I take it back. We found a stain that matches the color and finish to the existing very nicely, but it quickly went down hill from there.

It was a stain that had the finish mixed in with it, so you don't need a polyurethane coat afterwards. We didn't really care for that attribute, but it matched so well, we gave it a try. To match the intensity of the color to the existing, we needed to do 3-4 coats. Okay fine, that is expected. The application guide called for brush only application.

The coats begin. The first coat went on uneven and the brushstrokes were very visible. We figured it would get better with additional coats. The color evened out as the coats when on, but the brushstroke marks got more exaggerated with each application, making it rough compared to the existing cabinetry. We tried sanding between coats to smooth things out, but as soon as the next coat went on, back to square one. When sanding a section with the final amount of coats on it, after sanding, the finish was uneven. From a distance it looked alright, but up close it looked terrible. We tested going over the existing parts with stain, but it wouldn't stick and just streak. This stain didn't behave like normal stain, it had a very sticky consistency, probably due to the polyurethane already mixed.

Disgruntled with the mess we had, the primer came out. We painted a section of the cabinets with white primer and looked to each other, okay now what? We have a blank canvas in front of us. First thought was a dark brown to mimic what we had. Most likely an over-reaction to the midnight stain heartbreak, we chose an entirely different color in the kitchen. Remember my comment about the color collision in the kitchen, it could bear one more... (paint fumes and late nights can alter one's judgement)

Blue! We picked a stormy blue from the pantone book and picked up a can at Lowe's. I saw a kitchen redo a few minutes earlier in a blog that inspired the blue choice.

Cracked open the can, and painted one door and one panel. Hmmm... Maybe it will dry darker. *Waits a few hours, paints primer on rest of the cabinets.*  Examines the blue again. Crap.

After admitting to each other we don't like it, we go back to the store for another gallon of paint. Blue is still the object of our affection, but to find the right blue.  (We actually like the color itself a lot, just not there, on cabinetry. We will find use for it in a future project)

Zachary cracks open a new gallon of paint.

Rain Storm is its name, and yes, we had a rainstorm yesterday.

The panel test...

Will it be liked or won't it?? Stay tuned for the next episode of As The Paint Dries!

Island

We have a green island now, to add the collision of color of what is the kitchen and living room. I have always liked the idea of an island in a kitchen being different from the normal cabinetry. We added a post from the ceiling to give the island a power outlet. Running electrical from under the floor really wasn't an option, as the house sits on a concrete slab.

The post is growing on me anyway, it gives a little more dimension to the space. Also in the past few days, Zachary has been adding on to the pre-fab cabinets, to give them a custom look. Space above cabinets is always a pickle, whether to leave it open, make more storage, raise the cabinets, or whatever. We don't have a need for additional storage, and it would be hard to reach anyway. We do have an idea for some decorative lighted panels, using xmas lights and stained glass for that space. Once Zachary has the new framing and trim complete around the cabinets, we will start the staining of the new wood, to match the existing. We found a stain that matches the pre-fab cabinets, so that is a relief.

Malevolent Quee

Queequeg, of course, is always in the middle of the action. Most of the loud construction noise and action doesn't bother her. Diogenes will hide at a sound of a sneeze.

Bird!

Doubling Back

Happy New Year Everyone!

After our closet project in the house, we made a u-turn and went back to the kitchen and living room. The windows needed to be trimmed out still, along with doing baseboards, crown molding, etc. That required a lot of coats of stain and polyurethane.

Seeing the windows, etc without trim was starting to drive us crazy, so we decided to double back on the living room and kitchen before continuing on in the house.

Gluing laminate to the counter

Our oven arrived in mid December, so that allowed Zachary to continue on with the trim and cabinet additions in the kitchen. And a good excuse to build us an island for the kitchen.

We held off on putting in an island right away, as we wanted to live in the space a bit and decide what we really needed for storage & utility.

Preview of the island color. Hint: it doesn't match the other cabinets, on purpose!