Finished Cabinets

Here they are! I'm so excited with the final results, the new pulls on the doors really make a huge difference.

 And because I like to see before and afters side by side:

And now that the cabinets look so great, my list of to do's in the kitchen is growing very fast. 

So don't be surprised if you see a post called "More kitchen changes" coming soon! 

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing

A couple of posts ago, I alluded to this project that my mom, sister, and I started a week and a half ago. Awhile back I read a blog review about a product, Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformation. I was intrigued and read every review I could about it, and I was hooked. After some eye batting and sweet smiles and pretty pretty pleases Bryce came around to the idea too. It is really simple, but does take some time. There are four steps, 1- Degloss  2- Bond Coat   3- Glazing  4- Top Coat   (I'll go into detail further down)

Here's the before shot. Sorry for the bright glow in the middle!

After taking off all the doors and hardware, lay everything out and prop them up to get easy access to the edges (we used cd's under the edges to lift the doors off the table) One of the reasons I was so intrigued by this product is that you don't need to sand everything, you just go right over the existing finish. You can tell that I did sand a few spots just to get the holes a little smoother.

Step 1  De-glossing

I hate prep work on projects, with a passion, so this wasn't my favorite step, but it wasn't terrible either. The kit comes with one bottle of de-glosser and 2 scrub pads (I had to buy more after the doors were done to finish the frames) Simply coat your scrub pad with the de-glosser and scrub every inch of the cabinets. This gets rid of any dirt and grease that builds up on cabinets. Follow up with a wet and dry rag and let everything dry for an hour.

Step 2 - Bond Coat

This is where it starts to get fun. Putting the color on the cabinets. Nothing more really to say about this. You put two coats of the paint on the cabinets. It goes on really easy like paint, but is thinner more like a stain. You'll still see some of the grain through the bond coat which gives it more of a realistic look. I chose the color Cabernet. There are only about 20 different colors,  you can't just pick any color you can imagine - but they do have a wide range so you should find something you like. I wish I had invested in better brushes to minimize visible brush strokes, so you might want to look into that if you do this.

 It was kind of crazy down in the basement. Wet red doors everywhere!  We labeled each door with a number/letter on masking tape to help keep track of where they go. We were terrible at moving the tape with the doors so that didn't really help. I had one door that had three tags at the end of all this mess. But if you can keep up with it, it is a great idea!

Step 3 - Glazing

This step I was the most nervous about. I thought it was going to be very hard to get it even, and was just clueless on how to do it. But it was better than I thought it would be. You are bringing to life the wood. You can see the difference between glazed and  not in the next two pictures. A foam brush seemed to work the best to put the glaze on. It comes in a tiny little bottle, you have to be pretty careful so you don't use it all up. Which is weird because all the other steps I have almost half of what they give you left. Anyways, you lightly brush the glaze on and then using the cloths from the kit you wipe it off. This will take off the glaze from most of the wood, but it stays in the grooves and grain to accent it. This really steps up the look of the wood. If more than one person is going to be doing this step make sure you keep an eye on each other's work so you are wiping off the same amount of glaze, keeping everything the same tone. I should also mention that this step is optional. You can decide if you want it when you get here.

Unglazed vs Glazed

Step 4 - Top Coat

I don't have any pictures of this step, but you are just brushing a clear top protective coat on the cabinets. Once again a foam brush seemed to work the best. Make sure that it is a really even and light coat because if it is too thick it will be milky in color. So really watch drips on the edges and in the corners of the frames.

Here is a little comparison of the before and after. Please ignore all the mess, the kitchen was a disaster and I'm so happy to be slowly getting it back in order.

A very inexpensive way to improve the look of the existing hardware is just to coat it with some spray paint. We used Rustoleum's Metallic Silver. It is amazing! Coats so well and has such a polished finished look. After coating the hinges with this spray paint, Bryce declared that he could work for Rustoleum because their products are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. So just three quick coats on both sides, and we have beautiful expensive looking hinges for just $4. 

And here it is, the almost finished Cabernet Cabinets!!! The pulls will arrive in the mail later this week, and once they are installed I'll take another picture to give the full reveal. 

So enjoy your sneak peak.

As you might have been able to tell, I am in love with this product! And highly recommend it to anyone that is looking to freshen up their kitchen, or really any piece of furniture. Here are my favorite things about this product:

1) No sanding or priming! Just just right in and start painting. No dust from sanding everywhere!

2) Super easy clean up. Brushes wash out faster than even regular paint with just water.

3)You get the look of real wood. 

4) Very cheap. I did all of this with the small kit for only $80 and comes with almost everything you need,

A Puppy's Devotion

It's no secret around here that I have some competition for Bryce's attention. We have this dog that LOVES Bryce. When I give Bryce a hug, Bentley will jump up and hug him too and he always has to beat me to the front door when Bryce comes home. I don't mind this, it means that they get to wrestle and I don't have to get involved. They both get tired out and get wrestling out of their systems. Then my little pupster can come curl up on the couch with me!

This morning I got up first and went upstairs to make coffee, check email, and watch my brother's robotics competition online. Bentley got up with me, but only made it up half the stairs before he realized that his main man wasn't with us. He promptly went back down the stairs and curled up to wait for his arrival. Then his day can start! He doesn't even come up here to eat, go outside or play with any of his toys!

I peaked down the stairs and saw this. Too adorable.

I just love his puppy devotion!