Dual colored kitchen cabinets

So what do you think?  Eddie likes the idea...he's not so sure that it'll fit our outdated cupboard doors though...

I'm thinking some different hardware.  Maybe some antiquing on the paint?... We'll see

Kitchen Cabinets Day 2

So today we got the cabinets cleaned and sanded. 

-Side bar- Our day started off with a bargain buy!  Just before driving to the new house, we passed a garage sale and a big piece caught Eddie's eye.  It was a little bar.  So Eddie practiced his (illegal U turns and parking) bargaining skills for a bar which the owner assured was just like the bars in Vegas (?).  We loaded it into the back of the Jeep and I had to hop in the back seat to hold onto the bar because it stuck out!

We also made a side trip to Tennessee Gardens, but that's a whole other blog.  ;)

So back to the cleaning of the cabinets.  Oh ew, I had to clean out what had to some mouse's vacation home...coffee filters, tea bags, and a pot holder.  Ugh.  I knew as soon as I saw the shredded paper there had been some Mickey living there at some point.  I could also tell which cupboards were used for the previous owner's baking...powdered sugar, frosting, etc.  Also, there seemed to be a lot of melted chocolate everywhere!  It wasn't even centrally located, just random drawers and shelves had melted chocolate.  After Pine Soling everything, I got some of the cupboards contact papered...what I learned:

1. Work with smaller pieces
2. Measurements are important
3. Contact paper can be pulled up

While I was working on the cupboards, Eddie and Dru cleaned out the shed and took away the bottom of the fountain.  They hauled all the stuff to the dump in Rialto.  All 400 (!!) lbs of stuff cost $15 to dispose of.  Their return trip was also adventurous with them running out of gas!  They had to push the truck to the side of the road, while Eddie jogged(!) to get some gas, and with that they finally returned.  And poor Dru was sent off without even a lunch! 

Lowes = Danger Will Robinson! 

We spent probably an hour plus at Lowes today!  Surprisingly we only picked up a toilet valve, a paint roller, sponges for the roller, and the paint.  We ended up still picking a brown...one with less black.  We tested it on the unpainted wood usually covered by the refrigerator.  We'll do the painting tomorrow.  While at Lowes we also looked at some cabinets...which the guy said we should not order unfinished, but rather choose the style and stain we liked and to order it ... more for a remodel than for just working on the doors.  We also looked at some tile for our bathroom and browsed in general.

I'm going to show Eddie a white and brown cabinet mix...I'll save the pix and post them later.

Kitchen Cabinets Day 1

Yuck.  I hate cleaning, but cleaning I did today.  Scrubbed down the kitchen cabinets, mopped up the floor a smidge.  Taped up the walls.  Took off the doors and other hardware. 

Sans cupboard doors

Seriously shed some sweat doin' work today

Next step, cleaning and papering



Thanks to Eddie's mom, dad, cousin, grandpa, and grandma who came to help us! 

Eddie's Grandma Esther and I tackled the cabinets, while Eddie and his Grandpa Mario walked around looking at all the honey dos.  Then Eddie's parents and Grandma Esther took charge of the yard work.

Eddie's parents saved the day with the power screwdriver which made our job taking off the doors SO much easier!

Grandpa Mario and I fixed a new stopper in this toilet

This whole fixture needs to be fixed

We have the part, we just needed the tools...Monday

And the evening ended on a lovely note:

Tomorrow's agenda: Buying paint (a door's in the car to match at Lowes/Home Depot) and contact paper, sanding, cleaning cabinets, and painting

St. John Bosco Mission

250 registered families
Bells ringing on Sunday mornings
.2 miles from the house

I wonder if it can house 250 wedding guests... ;)

Before going to the house to work today, I drove across the street to St. John Bosco Mission.  All I knew was that it was across the street, so I just kinda drove around looking for a church looking building.  It was actually not too difficult to find with all the houses and a tall church like steeple peeping out among the roofs.  I had originally wanted to go to Mass there this past weekend, but unfortunately the timing was a little off.  Maybe next weekend.

Taupe, brown, and white

All the kitchens I've seen online with taupe walls are done with expresso and white...

Can't get enough stickers!...

I've seen these chandelier decals used in a couple HGTV pictures and I LOVE them!  Buuuut I can't really figure out where I'd use them...  There's already a hanging light in the dining room...and all of the rooms have ceiling fans... I feel like they would go best in a room without a hanging light fixture...

Wonder where I can add this decal...

Seriously loving the chandelier wall decals!

It's Official!

The keys to the house

So we got the keys yesterday!  Everything went through and the house is officially ours!

Yesterday I started measuring to figure out how much paint we'll need.  If anyone was watching, they'd probably have gotten a good laugh as I wrestled with the tape measure.  :)

Today I'm going to the house to measure and scrub down the cabinets because we're starting with them first.  I also will start taping some stuff. 

We still haven't quite decided on the color...  I realized that we can't change the color of the kitchen because it's one whole wall with the rest of the dining and living and hallway! ... So I guess I'm stuck with the mocha...well actually compared to some of the paint chips I brought back from Home Depot on Wednesday, it's actually more of a taupe.  And from looking at various pictures online, I think it's best we stick with that darker brown... I can probably bring in more color around the window and maybe above the cabinets or at the breakfast bar...  I'd like to stay away from brown and blue...maybe orange and brown?...there are are a lot of kitchens with brown and white...and all our appliances will be white...

Where I plan to have a kitchen window herb garden
Need to set up some shelves
Also will add color to kitchen with "window treatments"

After scrubbing down the cabinets today, we'll start taking off the doors and hardware and start sanding it down.  The flat surfaces seem easy enough, I'm worried about the cabinet molding (?).  I guess we'd do that by hand?  We'll go get the paint tonight and tomorrow is marked for painting.