Preparing for Transformation Weekend

Jake spent the week doing some odd and end project preparing for this upcoming weekend where it is out with the old cabinets, counters, and sink and in with the new cabinets, counter, and sink! I could not be more excited!

There were a few places on the walls that needed to be touched up... one being an area where we changed our plan and will know have a little nook for our coffee pot, mail, etc. The other being a small mistake that was missed prior to installing the drywall. The outlet for the refrigerator needed to be moved six inches to the right in order for the cabinets to fit in place correctly and to still be able to plug in the fridge. 

All of the base cabinets are now primed and painted and ready to be installed! the doors are not quite ready, but I would prefer to keep those off until the end to avoid nicks and dents when installing the flooring and trim.

We also spent a good amount of time this week looking at, discussing, and disagreeing on a back-splash for the kitchen and lighting for both the kitchen and dining room... we still have not reached a decision or agreement. We had such an easy time agreeing on everything else for this project - eventually we will see eye to eye!

This weekend Fin and I took a mini trip to my parent's house to give Jake time to demo the old base cabinets, counters, and sinks and replace them with the new ones! 

I am very excited for the next blog as more and more of the kitchen is slowly being completed!!!

One Month In...Where We Are At!

We are officially one month into this massive project. So far everything is going very well! We are a tiny bit behind schedule due to some illness hitting our house! However, we are still on track to be done by October 23rd! Two weeks from now I will be able to look into the kitchen and dining room and it will be a total transformation.

So, where are we at?? Well this past weekend we made huge progress! 

The new sink, faucet, and garbage disposal arrived on Friday. The new counters arrived on Saturday and on Sunday the new appliances arrived!

On Saturday Jake worked on sanding cabinets while I worked on priming and painting them! On Sunday I finished the second coat of paint in the kitchen. Jake installed a new back door - we had timed this to happen when the new appliances were delivered because the door had to be completely removed, not to mention it was an old wooden door that was completely warped and impossible to shut. Sunday afternoon my dad helped Jake hang the upper cabinets in the kitchen. He is capable of installing the base cabinets but it was sure nice to have someone stronger than me to help install the uppers! 

Although the pictures don't particularly show the large amount of progress that was made over the weekend....believe me, we are getting closer and both Jake and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...still a ways away, but it is there!

priming and painting cabinets

new counters!!

time for the old door to go!

new door! - still needs paint, but it was a chilly day to have no door :)

new dishwasher and microwave

new fridge and stove - they took the old appliances so we have to use them right away.

hanging cabinets

two of the upper cabinets installed!

Friday Night Fun!

Last night I completed painting our accent wall by applying the second coat of paint! The accent color throughout our house is a dark orange color named "aged cognac." It is similar to a color we had in our old house and was my favorite color that we had used. It looks great!

Jake is working on sanding, priming, and painting our new cabinets! Six out of fourteen cabinets are sanded and primed! We bought stock cabinets which theoretically should not need sanding but in order to make them super smooth and look very nice we are sanding them. We are painting the cabinets an off-white color named "milk paint." All cabinet doors and drawers will get soft close hinges and oil rubbed bronze hardware!

priming cabinets

a little art on the only remaining upper cabinet

and one of Fin just because he was looking cute in fall clothes :)

Priming and Painting!!

We are officially coating the walls! Sunday Jake primed all of the walls using a paint sprayer - a handy tool if I may add. Yesterday he painted the walls and the ceiling in what will be the main color throughout our house! The color is called Happy Trails and is a tan/beige hue. We will be doing white trim throughout the house so the color is dark enough to look good against white trim but light enough to not shrink the space! It is perfect! The walls will need a second coat, but it looks fantastic!!

Prime Time!

Jake has been hard at work mudding and sanding, mudding and sanding, mudding and sanding! The mudding and sanding is finally complete!! The area is clean and we are ready to start priming and painting!! The progress we are making is very exciting!! Fin was thrilled to help dad this week as Jake showed him how to mud, sand,and clean up!

Mudding and Sanding

This week is all about mudding and sanding the drywall. Jake will literally be spending the entire week doing this. Since he is not a professional drywall installer, he is taking his time and doing small layers to ensure he doesn't overdo the mud. So far, so good! The first round is complete and everything is looking great! It is starting to get very exciting in our house! 

We have all of the kitchen entrances sealed off so the only way to get into the kitchen is to go out the front door and walk around the house and go in the back door. This is a pain, but it is preventing large amounts of dust from getting everywhere else in the house. "Pain is temporary. Pride is forever" That is how I feel about this situation.... the hassle and mess is temporary but the kitchen will be beautiful and we will like it forever, or at least until we decide to move and do it to another house! :)

A New Door Opens!

Fin and I have spent the last two evenings at my parents house giving Jake an ample amount of time to get things done!!

He had been a busy guy!

He finished the electrical on the north wall of the kitchen.

He removed the siding, door, and window on the west wall of the dining room.

He built a header to support the new French Door that will lead out to the three seasons porch. 

He finished insulating and completed drywall installation! The paneling is officially gone! It has already been such an amazing transformation! 

He plans to take the weekend off and enjoy time with family! Next week begins mudding and sanding (a mess) :-)