DIY Kitchen Remodel Adventure

I love, love, LOVE my new house. However, I knew there were two big projects that would have to be done for it to be comfortable to me.

1. The master bath - I NEED a tub. I am a bath lady through and through. I have bath bombs, bubble bars, and salt soaks. Bottom line: I have to remodel to add a tub.

2. The kitchen - As you can see from the photos below, the kitchen is completely functional. I've definitely seen worse kitchens in houses I viewed, but it felt really closed in to me, so I knew I would have to open it up, and lighten it up. 

My first big step was to take down that overhang, but it was SUPER HEAVY, so I took down the absurdly low breakfast bar and cabinet doors while waiting for a friend to stop by to help. Once I got it down, the kitchen had a completely different feel to it.

Yes, that is the same kitchen. As you can see, I had to use a jack to hold up the cabinet I took down after I unscrewed it from that giant metal bar hanging from the ceiling. It left very little residue on the ceiling and wall, which was a marvelous surprise. Now, with the heavy lifting (or so I thought) out of the way, I was all set to paint the cabinets!

Painting was a lot harder, and more time-consuming that I had originally expected, and I went in expecting it to be rough. I had a little over a week before I was set to move out things into the house, and close on my old house, so I wanted to take that time to do any intensive projects that might be hindered by my two fur-babies being in the house, so painting the cabinets had a defined time limit. I didn't want dog hair tumbleweeds to find themselves forever embedded in the paint on my cabinets, so I took some time off of work and primed, painted, and sealed my cabinets.

It took 2 coats of primer, 3 coats of paint, and 3 coats of polycrylic, but the end result is LOVELY. Above you can see how the doors looked before and how they looked after. Now comes the informative part. How did I do this myself? I'm going to list it out for you right now!

Things I Used:

PREP:

1. 220 Grit Sand Paper
2. Clorox Wipes
3. Tacky Cloths
4. Zinsser Oil Based Primer
5. Purdy Brush
6. Spray Paint Primer for Knobs/Handles

PAINTING:

1. Purdy Angled Brush
2. Wood to keep cabinets off of the ground
3. Foam Roller
4. Paint (I used Valspar Signature indoor latex in Fresh Cotton)
5. 2 Sawhorses
6. Bronze Spray Paint for Knobs/Handles

PROTECTING:

1. Purdy Brush
2. Minwax Satin PolyCrylic
3. Paint Sprayer
4. 2 Sawhorses

Steps I Took:

PREP:

1. I washed all of my brushes and removed loose hairs, so I didn't have to worry about them sticking to my primer or paint later in the process. While they were drying...
2. I wiped down the cabinets and handles with the Clorox Wipes. I know this sounds trivial, but you have no clue how much gunk builds up on kitchen cabinets and hardware! Without wiping them down first, your sandpaper will gunk up and not be as effective, and you'll blow through a ton of it. Just trust me, wipe them down first. 
3. Next I sanded them. I just sanded them enough to rough them up and give the primer something to hang onto. Had I wanted to re-stain the cabinets instead of repaint, I would've had to sand down to the wood, which would have taken a lot more time and muscle. If you're looking to repaint, just scuff it up enough to give the primer something to hold onto. 
4. I then took the tacky cloth and wiped down the sanded wood. That seemed to get off all of the dust from sanding. You don't want dust in your paint if you want a pretty, smooth finish. 
5. I wiped them down again with a Clorox wipe after using the tacky cloth. I used about 1 wipe per door. I am a bit of a perfectionist, so I wanted them to be perfect and wanted to make sure all of the dust and gunk was G-O-N-E before priming.
6. I used a regular (non-angled) Purdy brush to prime everything. I started with the backs of the doors, because when the doors are being supported, you can afford some primer from the backs to smudge or be nicked when you're priming the front because the backs of the doors aren't seen often. While priming and painting I set the doors between two sawhorses, so I didn't have to bend down on the floor (I have a bad back) and could get things done standing. I did 2 coats of primer on each side, and since I worked full time, this was an end-of-the-day task I would do before going to my old house. So the way I timed it was:
•  I primed the backs of the doors (which I had set up in the garage), and then I primed the boxes/cabinets inside the kitchen while that primer coat dried. 
• I let them dry overnight.
• I did another coat of primer on the backs of the cabinets and the cabinet boxes.
• I let them dry overnight.
• I did a coat on the front of the cabinet doors.
• I let them dry overnight
• I did a coat on the front of the cabinet doors.
•  Ilet them dry overnight.
7. I Sprayed 2 coats of primer onto my hardware.

PAINTING

1. Now that everything has been properly primed, I can start painting! Using the same sawhorse technique I painted a coat on the backs of the cabinets using a foam roller, and the edges using an angled Purdy brush.
2. While the first coat on the backs of the cabinet doors was drying, I painted the first coat on the cabinet boxes. I used a mix between a 2" foam roller and a regular Purdy Brush. By the time I was finished painting the boxes, I was able to go back in and do the next coat on the backs of the cabinets.
3. My second coat on the backs of the doors was the telling coat. A lot of the other DIY cabinet painting blogs and sites I'd read, they used 2 coats, but that just wasn't crisp or white enough for me, so after the second coat dried, I realized I needed 3 coats. So after I completed the cabinet boxes, I came back and did my 3rd coat on the backs of the doors, then, the boxes. 
4. During this time I also sprayed the hardware bronze for it to dry as the doors did. 
5. After finishing that, I was then finally able to flip them over and concentrate on painting the fronts of the cabinets. I did 3 coats, waiting between each coat for the paint to dry, and I was done painting. It was late at night at this point, so I went home to catch some Zzzs and get ready for the part I feared the most - PROTECTING.

PROTECTING

1. By the time I got around to this part, I was tired, cranky, and upset I was having to use vacation time to paint cabinets. At this point, I was okay with never seeing a paintbrush or cabinet door again. However, I pushed on as I was in media res, and had 3 days until all of the furniture and fur-babies were being moved over to my house. I started on the backs of my cabinets, as usual, and worked my way inside to the cabinet boxes. The polycrylic dries fast, is clear, and (according to my research) can be the thing that makes or breaks your project. I didn't have an issue, though, so don't be afraid to protect your work!
2.  I put on a thin layer with an angled Purdy Brush, and, like when painting, by the time I was done with the boxes, it was time to do the backs again. I kept painting in this order for the next 2 layers, then it was time to flip them over, and protect the fronts.
3. i made sure to organize my hardware, so I was able to put on the hardware as soon as I was happy with the dryness of polycrylic.
4. You're done, and can breathe a sigh of relief as you put those doors back on to reveal your like-new cabinets!

I somehow managed to finish the cabinets in time, and as you can see in the photo above, the counter tops were a bit of a mess with all of my paint samples, tools, and takeout. I cleaned up all of that, and moved in my belongings and the rest of the family!

I also added a new light above the sink to go with my rustic/industrial theme. I'm VERY proud of these "new" cabinets.

The next thing I was to do was add wooden flooring to the side of the peninsula, which would add that rustic look I wanted to have in the kitchen. I used Super 90+ adhesive, and it worked like a charm! I also painted the kitchen Behr's Doeskin Gray, got a new oven and microwave, and updated the chandelier in the dining area by adding new shades. Other than new counter tops, and finishing up the coffee bar, I'm done! Here's the finished product:

It's great looking at it and knowing that you have done it with your own hands. There's no better feeling than taking care of business yourself AND saving money!! If you have any questions, leave a comment, and I'll try my best to answer them!