Our Kitchen's Dark Side

From the first time that we saw our house, we knew that the kitchen here was not exactly our style, but it sure had a lot of potential in there.

One of my biggest issues was the colour of those cabinets. It wasn't awful by any means, just not what we wanted. So, when the people over the The Home Depot got in touch and asked if we would be interested in renovating our kitchen quickly and on our own, we jumped right on board! A few weeks later this big bin of fun arrived on our front door step, with everything we would need to take our kitchen to the next level.

It took us a little longer than anticipated to get started due to both B and I getting sick, but by the time Black Friday hit (yup, it was that long ago that this started) I was ready to get moving! (Just as a foot note, we had to break the rules a little. Our kitchen is quite large and the weather was a little cool, so we had to do half of our kitchen first and then jump to the other half afterwards). I began by sketching out the cabinets we were removing and numbering them all. 

I then used some blue painters tape to put the coordinating numbers of each of our cupboard doors. This part ended up being a little silly. We ended up losing the tape while working on the doors since the tape had to come off and things got a little mixed up. Good thing all of the doors are different sizes, so matching them back to their proper spots was not an issue at all for us! 

Next, B removed all of the doors and I wiped them all down with a green multi-purpose cleaner before bringing them out to the garage for the de-glossing phase. B helped with this. I did the de-glossing and he followed along behind me to wipe off all of the de-glosser. It was a little slow going, but much quicker having two sets of hands (as I would later learn). It was really important here to have lint-free cloths, so I highly recommend you make sure you have those on hand for this project.

Before we de-glossed, B also filled any holes (mostly on the drawers where the new pulls would fit completely different), and drilled all of the holes for our new hardware. We decided to change them all since the knobs were far too small for many of our oversized cabinet doors. They just weren't balanced, and the new chrome pulls we have really help to update the look of the kitchen.

So, with all of our cabinets spread out in the garage, new holes drilled and de-glossed, I got to work on the tinted bond coat (don't mind our garage mess).

{After the first coat of colour}

One important thing I learned during the process was to make sure you invest in some really good quality synthetic brushes. The one's we had kept loosing bristles into this coat, so I spent a lot of time trying to carefully lift them out. Sadly, a few got stuck and are still on our doors, but aren't that visible with the darker colour.

Getting the tinted bond coat was quite a tedious process. Each door needs two coats front and back, and you can't forget the edges of the doors either. I had a hard time getting around the small edge of our recessed panel doors, so even after two coats I still had to go back and do some touch-ups before the next step. Honestly, this part would have gone a lot faster if I had an extra set of hands, but it was always me going solo since B needed to watch Halle. It also meant not accomplishing much during the days while B was off at work. This meant the project stretched on much longer than it would normally take if two people were able to give their full attention to it!

Once all of the doors had two coats on each side, we approached the decorative glaze step. At first, B and I were convinced we needed to do this in order to get a more professional look. So, when I headed out to the garage to attempt this coat I started by putting a bit of the glaze on the back of one of the drawers and seeing how it turned out. Just as the instructions stated, it was subtle... VERY subtle. Actually, so subtle that neither B or I could see a huge difference on our dark cupboard doors. With the amount of time required for this step and the subtle change, we opted to skip the decorative glaze and move right onto the protective top coat.

The doors and cupboards only required one application of the top coat which was nice, but at this stage of the game it's the drying process that takes the most time. You need two hours for each coat to properly dry, but they recommend waiting 72 hours before using your cupboards regularly! The waiting game was long but by the end we had a good rhythm and I was lucky to have B taping off the cupboards since he was a lot more precise than I would be. It all took longer than we anticipated (again, because I did the majority of it on my own during the Christmas season), but it was very much worth all of the extra effort!

Here's the side by side of our kitchen on our second walk through and how it looks now:

Here are my top tips for a successful kitchen transformation with the Cabinet Transformation Kit:

1. Measure! PLEASE Measure! We had one kit to start and after B took all of the measurements (as per the kit instructions), it said we would need two kits. This is important because you need to mix all of your tinted base coat together to ensure a consistent colour on all of your cabinets! We're glad we got the second kit because although we didn't use a lot from it, we did need it! We also have some leftover now that we can use when we put in a seating bench in our dining nook!

2. Make sure you have two people who can devout their full attention to this project! If you can do that and give yourself a few days to do EVERYTHING at once (not broken up like we did), you can have this project done really quickly!

3. Invest in GOOD brushes and make sure you have lint free cloths! These will ensure that your cabinets look their best!

4. Be very careful when applying the topcoat. Make sure you aren't stingy when applying the top coat to the door fronts, but also be careful on the edges of your doors. I missed a few spots where the top coat dripped and collected and we had some bubbled edges we needed to sand down and touch up! Not pretty and very annoying. To go along with that, I found it worked best when I applied the top coat to the backs of the doors first and once those dried, I did the front of the doors and edges of the doors at the same time! At least if it dripped a little, it wasn't on the front (and most visible) part of the doors!

5. BE PATIENT! The project can feel tedious at times, doing the same thing over and over, but it's well worth it in the end.

Yup, it took us much longer than we expected BUT the best part was we never lost of the use of our kitchen! Yeah, the doors were off for a while leaving us with our "behind the cupboard door mess" visible to all of our house guests, but it could've been much worse! We never had to pack anything into boxes or not have use of the sink or stove! We could still cook at home and wash our dishes no problem! We could not thank the kind folks over at The Home Depot enough for giving us the chance to try this kit out - and we hope our experience encourages you to try it out as well! It was nice that this update cost us nothing (thanks to The Home Depot, and a friend who gifted us those nice new pulls), but even if we had paid for the kits and supplies ourselves, it wouldn't have cost us much more than $350!

Have you been making any big changes in your home? Anyone else thinking of trying out the Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformation Kit?

As Finished As You'll Get

Welcome back! This afternoon I wanted to take some time to look back at our little Toronto home. Last week, while catching up on some blogs, I realized I never gave you a full reveal of our bathroom makeover. Crazy right? Well, I guess that's probably because we never even saw our bathroom completely finished. Um, WHAT? Yeah. My father had to finish a few things like the transition between the bathroom and the "hallway" and putting up a shower curtain rod AFTER we moved out. 


Even without pictures of the 100% complete bathroom (or as close to 100% as we would get), I thought I would do a mini reveal (with the 1 "after" photo that I have). So first things first, why not take a trip down memory lane and check out the bathroom when we first moved in, in July 2009...

Ooooh, absolutely ugly - no? WOW! What did we ever see in this little house? haha. Anywho - we painted up that bathroom the day we moved in, tile and all, and that October we painted the wood vanity. So for two years, we lived with our bathroom looking like this...

Still not the best, but significantly better than what we had started with, thanks to lots of paint and a new toilet! Then, along came Halle... and with a baby meant the need for a tub. So, back in November we started to rip it all out and start again. It was a long process (clearly), and before we left, the bathroom was looking like this...

Probably not the best angle, but I guess I thought the floor was  a bit more important that the ceiling. Makes sense, right? Taken from the exact same spot as the previous photos as well.

Oh, how I wish I had, had more time to enjoy that little bathroom! B and our father's did such a fabulous job making that place as great as it turned out. I'm glad that at least Halle had a chance to bathe in there quite a few times before we left.

Sources:

Subway Tile: RONA

Vanity: IKEA

Faucet & Shower Hardware: Delta Faucets

Sconces & Mirror: The Home Depot

Finishing Touches

The only way I can possibly start today's post, is by saying thank you to everyone who commented on my announcement yesterday. The news is huge, and is definitely a big change for us. It was so nice to read so many positive and encouraging comments, and we can't wait to share this new adventure with all of you!


With our little home soon going up for sale and rent, it's time that we start putting the finishing touches on our projects, and getting this place into tip-top shape. Here's a little look at what's been happening.


Last Saturday, while I was at my parents place, setting up for B's party, he was at home installing our new bathroom mirror.


We knew we  wanted something with pivots and had looked all over for the perfect mirror. We ended up finding one we liked on the Home Depot US website. B's parents went to find it, but it wasn't available. They did however, have this beautiful Delta Silverton mirror, that was $5 cheaper. Score! It looks perfect in the bathroom...

Now B just needs to go back and centre it properly. From the angle the photo was taken you can't tell, but the mirror sits further to the left of the vanity. This should be fixed this coming weekend.


Yesterday, my Dad came out to spend the day helping us finish up and fix some thing arounds the house. After making some quick adjustments to our front door and closet doors, he got to work on our window frame in the bathroom. Let me say, just having the window frame on makes a huge difference in the space!

Slowly but surely, we are getting there! The outside door trim should be finished off this weekend, as well as the caulking around the tub and our paint touch ups. My father is also building us a small unit that should just slide directly into the storage area at the end of our tub, with adjustable shelving. If all goes to plan, he will deliver it on Saturday when he arrives to help B out around the house. Hopefully early next week I'll be able to share the reveal of the renovation, with before and afters. I think even I am starting to forget how drastic this renovation has been.

Even with a move in our future, the fun isn't over yet! Lots to be accomplished and I'll do my best to share the projects worth sharing!

Just Around the Bend + How to Hack an IKEA Sink

Our finished bathroom is in sight! Since last week B absolutely motored his way through the bathroom, in order for it to be functional for our SuperBowl party this past Sunday. When I posted last week, B and my Dad had finished most of the tiling and installed the pocket door.

Things were looking great, but there was still a lot left to do. During last week B kept himself busy finishing painting, putting up the rest of the grey face tile and grouting the subway tile. On Friday night he stayed up until 2am grouting the subway tile and cleaning it. Unfortunately for all of us, Halle also slept horribly that night. On the upside, the bathroom looked like this (note: early morning light in a north facing room is awful for photos, but was our only option with B working late and him and my father starting early again on Saturday)...

It's hard to tell in these photos, but we used the same warm grey for the subway tiles, as we used on the floors. It's the perfect amount of contrast for the look of the room. All white would've been too stark for my liking, and anything darker just wouldn't have fit.

Saturday morning when my father arrived they got to work trimming out the pocket door, and finishing the ceiling and the last of the tiling. 

I wasn't around to get many photos, as Halle was left fussy after getting a shot on Friday. I did however get a chance to photograph the biggest job they did all day - the prep and installation of our Godmorgon vanity. The first and most important thing to do was to get our ODENSVIK sink ready for our Delta Victorian Two Handle Widespread Faucet. They started out by measuring and marking the sink for our handles to make sure it was 8" center to center spacing.

Then outside the sink went. B started by using his drill to begin the holes for the handles. This part made me extremely nervous as I could see the drill bit bending, and B didn't throw on safety glasses until he moved onto the bigger drill bit. Thankfully he still has both eyes. The important part while doing this, was to keep the sink and the bit wet. It helped keep the drill bit cool and clear of dust for a cleaner cut.

With a small hole started for our diamond bit, B pulled it out and got to work. Again, it's important to keep the sink wet to keep dust down and to stop it from heating up too much from the friction, which could potentially cause cracks. It's also important to keep the drill steady and work slowly - as in, take frequent breaks to wet the sink and the drill bit in order to ensure the cleanest cut possible...

Thankfully, they were successful and we ended up with perfectly cut circles to install the faucet handles.

Then came the exciting bit - finally getting the vanity into place and working! It fits perfectly into the space, with a couple inches on either side of it - perfect for sliding the shower curtain behind.

But did you think I was going to give it all away now? We are SO close to done, I am tempted to make you all wait until the finishing touches are all in place I am ready for a big reveal.... and I just may do that! Halle says "Nothing to see here people"...

So, I guess now you will just have to wait! 

There's MORE!

... Bathroom renovation that is! While I was out chatting with some fabulous bloggers on Saturday night, B and my Dad were at home slaving away on the bathroom (Halle was hanging out with Grandma). Before I get to what they accomplished, I need to post a photo of where the bathroom was at my last update...

{Start of the tile in the tub}

{Last of the drywall}

{grout going on the floor}

The bathroom was a little further than this when they started working on it on Saturday. B had did some more mudding on the walls and we had both added some more tile to tub area, as well as onto the side of the tub. Those men worked hard on Saturday though and when I got home Saturday evening I was thrilled to see this...

You'll see that paint has already started to go on the walls. B primed while I was out and started painting the bottom half when I got home. We started at the bottom so that we could put on the baseboard and not have to worry about taping it off to paint the walls. The colour is called Epiphany from Para Paints. I actually picked it out at the same time as the living room paint and have been anxiously awaiting getting it on the walls. A huge thanks to Para for supplying us with the paint - we love it! The coverage is fantastic and it dries in the perfect amount of time. Not too quickly that it makes it hard to paint, but quick enough that you aren't waiting ages to get another coat on. It's absolutely the perfect shade of blue too, with the right amount of grey undertone in it - I am in L-O-V-E!

Sunday, my parents were over again and those men wasted no time at all. There was all kinds of tiling and mudding going on. Thankfully we have been having a very mild winter, so cutting those tiles on the back deck with the wet saw was not too big of a deal for them. Look what they accomplished on Sunday....

Are you seeing how fabulous this is!? I stand in Halle's nursery and that bathroom just shines! A far cry from the old, dated space it was when we moved in just over two and a half years ago. 

Aside from finishing the tile in the tub, and on the side of the tub (did you notice that?), B also tested out the heated floor (perfect!), and they started to install our baseboards...

Yes, you are seeing that correctly. We are using our floor tile as baseboard as well. My Dad did this when he tiled their main floor and B and I loved the look and how much easier it was to keep clean, so we opted for it in the bathroom as well. The tile was cut to 4" and we used silver edging on top to hide the cut edge of the tile. It's so much easier to wipe clean, and no worries of having to paint it, or touch it up in the future. 

One of my favourite additions though, is our new pocket door...

It's so nice to have a door on here again, especially since we just want to get our toilet back in place at this point. We managed to find the door at Lowe's, in stock. It looks similar to the closet doors we put in the front entrance, without the lines in the panels. 

We liked this, since it carries on the look without being exactly the same. If we continue to replace the glass panelled doors in our home, we have a style we want to stick with as well. Now just to decide how we want to paint it. I'm thinking of just pulling out the plain old white and sticking to that for now. It's a really small landing so I don't want to overwhelm it with colour - what would you do?

We're still hoping to have most of it wrapped up for our Superbowl Party this coming Sunday. At least have a functional toilet and vanity again. It's so exciting to finally have this whole project coming to an end.