The Costs So Far

The total costs to date: Paint: Kilz (recommended by Consumers Reports) $30.00 Painting stuff $20.00 Flooring $174.26 Giani countertop paint $103.12 Complete Franke sink and faucet from Lowes $261.25 Plumber $378.75 Ceiling tile samples (where are they?) $25.00 Total: $992.38

Starting the floors

Yesterday, I pulled off all the molding and quarter rounds and didn't break a single one! I can reuse them! But I was totally grossed out by the amount of dirt they were hiding. Today, I cleaned those areas because I want the new faux wood slats to stick down well. And I want the area to have a clean look even though this area will be covered.

I did identify where I took the molding and quarter rounds from so we can put them back.

Mark has to pull the nails from the molding because I want to clean them off, too.

In cleaning parts of the floor today with a scrub brush, I learned why I will have to be gentle on the new counters. I did spill paint on the floor (which is why I love putting in new floors after I paint!) I had to scrub, but the counter top paint came off the floor. Giani recommends using only a dish cloth with antibacterial soap to clean the counters. I can live with that.

Above are my before photos of the floor. In my up-close and personal view of the flooring today, it is worn. There are cracks in it. This is the advantage of having mottled-looking linoleum -- the wear-and-tear gets hidden in the patterns and colors.

Another View

This is a before and after photo from about the same perspective. The more I look at this counter, the happier I get. I got this new look by spending $100.

The kitchen counters are done. I was hit by moments of perfectionism while I was painting. But now that they're done, I can't believe the difference in the kitchen. I am so pleased.

The steps with the Giani were to clean the counters with a degreaser and then paint with the black primer. You wait for 6 hours and then you put the "minerals" on, using the spiny part of a faux natural sponge. You then wait another two hours to put the top coat on. Two coats of topcoat are needed.

The Sink

After painting came the sink. The old sink was a cast iron Kohler that showed major chips and was a pain to clean. Because the plumbing was set for it, I searched for a perfect match so we could make it an easy swap.

Yeah, right.

Although it was a standard 33" x 22" sink, it was offset. The left bowl was smaller and shallower than the right bowl. The right bowl was nine inches deep. The left bowl, 5 inches.

I played with a lot of sinks. The acrylic sinks look beautiful, but then I heard there were issues if you put a hot pot in it. There are times when I will take a pot from the stove and set it in my sink. Acrylic was out.

The composite granite sinks are gorgeous, but at that time I was searching for the perfect match. Composite granite sinks were in the $250 range but required a separate faucet. Cast iron was out.

I kept coming back to stainless steel. The Kohler Toccata was an almost perfect match, but it would have to be special ordered.

One day at Lowe's, we found a ready-to-install sink and faucet package from Franke. Together, they were less than the Toccata. We purchased the Franke.

We called our plumber. Yes, we've done plumbing in the past, but this kitchen sink seemed daunting. These are the times when you need an expert. And the expert saved us. The original plumbing for the sink, garbage disposal and dishwasher was a Rube Goldberg design (for those of you unfamiliar with Rube Goldberg, http://www.rubegoldberg.com/ .) I wish I had taken a photo of it. The drain pipe had actually fallen away once as the dishwasher was draining, creating a flood in the kitchen which then seeped downstairs into my husband's office. Because the drain pipe would often slip down, we propped a box under it.

Our plumber, Keith, noted other issues. The opening for the sink was not centered for either the window or the cabinet under it. Someone simply cut a hole in the formica and didn't seem to care where it ended up. And although this sink matched the outside measurements of the cast iron one, the opening created issues for clipping the sink in correctly. Keith solved the problem with a piece of plywood. The sink and faucet cost $229.00 and included a faucet. The plumber cost $350.00. But the new sink does look beautiful. I was amazed at how it made a difference in the kitchen's appearance -- even with counters that are still blue. And the plumbing is now trustworthy as well. So far, new sink and new paint. Next step is to turn my blue formica counters into faux granite formica counters. But it already looks so much better!

Let the games begin

Since we bought this house, I have despised the kitchen. But I've lived with it. A previous owner was into Country French. We were able to remove blue rug (and expose a gorgeous wood floor,) the flowery drapes, valances and such in other rooms of the house. But the kitchen was a challenge. The kitchen has blue formica countertops that are a bit worse for wear. Someone paneled the walls with diagonal slats of wood and then painted them white. These white panels also make up the backsplash. The floor is wall-to-wall linoleum or vinyl or whatever that stuff is called. It is beige and blue. Someone in this house loved blue. It is coming up at the seam in front of the dishwasher. The ceiling is the piece-de-resistance -- a beigey wallpaper with blue borders that feature pink flowers. I don't do flowery wallpaper, especially flowery wallpaper that's on my ceiling. But I've been at a loss as to how to fix that. Last fall, I took out a student loan for graduate school. It was for more than I needed for school. My plan was to use that money this summer to redo my kitchen. However, my husband lost his job. I am realizing that I can't replace the countertops. I can't have someone come in and redo my floors as I originally hoped. But I am so sick of this kitchen. I bought the dining room chandelier two years ago from Habitat for Humanity. It replaced a bright gold-toned chandelier. The ceiling lights in the kitchen were bought and installed last year. They replaced two boxed neon lights that dropped from the ceiling. The goal is to change this kitchen but do it as inexpensively as possible and do as much of the work ourselves as possible. The theme is faux because I found a product, Giani Granite Paint, to change my blue countertops so they look like granite. I found another product made from plastic that will make ceiling look like it is a tin ceiling. I am hoping that black metal tiles will work for the backsplash. And we're going to put vinyl wood slats on the floor.