Kitchen make over: granite counters & cabinets resurfaced

We called a contractor to get an estimate on our master bathroom. While he was there, just for kicks I asked him what it would cost to resurface our kitchen cabinets as well and change the laminate counters to granite.

We were pleased and signed on the dotted line. Let the transformation begin!

When we bought our home the dated kitchen didn't bother us. I loved the layout and the appliances (except the refrigerator) were new.

We did have lots of cabinet and counter space.

While the master bathroom renovation was going on, the crew got started on the kitchen. First, the counter tops went in. We chose a neutral granite called "Sunset Gold."

The new counters sparkled and even looked nice with the original color on the cabinets. But we knew it would really pop once the cabinets were a dark, rich brown.  We picked a color called "Perfect Brown" from Mohawk Finishing Products.

This project was even messier than the bathroom!

We had to move everything off our counters and everything inside our drawers and most of our cabinets. I should have taken a picture of the rest of the house where we put the contents of our kitchen - or maybe I'm glad I didn't!

The crew took all our cabinet doors and drawers to their shop to sand and stain. They taped off the frame of the cabinets and sanded and stained those at the house, of course. The smell was pretty strong so we stayed in a hotel the first night. We came home to a thick film of purple/brown dust all over the house. It was everywhere!

But you can start to see the color (below). Notice we still don't have a faucet! We went almost a week without a faucet. You don't realize how essential it is until it's gone!

Then the doors arrived! Starting to look like a kitchen again. A warm, new kitchen!

Ahh, finally!! All the doors were hung, the faucet was in, the mess was cleaned and the crew was FINISHED! We were left with a gorgeous kitchen to enjoy!

We wanted to make sure the counters were nice and neutral as to not compete with the strong style of the saltillo tile.

Have you forgotten what the kitchen looked like before? It's such a dramatic change!

We also had the rest of our cabinets stained in the house including the hall cabinets and guest bath. The new darker color really warmed up the house and went better with our style.

Overall, we are pleased with the new look. This whole process was really eye-opening. You can spent a ton of money updating your kitchen and bath, but if you do some research to find more affordable materials it can be done without breaking the bank. 

The cost of re-staining the cabinets was no where close to what it would have cost to demo the cabinets and replace them with new or even custom cabinets.

Granite can get crazy-expensive very quickly as well. We went with a pre-fab granite, which I didn't know existed. It came in pre-cut counter lengths which really cut down on the cost of installation. There were some pricier counters we were drawn to, but went with a simpler pattern that was more neutral.

Here's a recap of the materials:

"Sunset Gold" pre-fab granite counters 

Mohawk Finishing Products Ultra Penetrating Stain in "Perfect Brown."

In the last year, we have made some pretty big improvements to our home from the exterior paint to the updates in the kitchen and master bath. We have been taking our time on projects to improve our home one room at a time. 

What's on your to-do list for updating your home?

Master bath updates turn into demo, renovations

Ever had a small project grow into a major one? :)

We needed a new tub and some tiling done in our master bathroom. Next thing you know, we were hiring a contractor to redo the master bath - tub, tile, floor and cabinet resurfacing. Once we went "all in" we decided to update the kitchen as well (counters & cabinet resurfacing).

And, of course, what was going to take one to two weeks took... eh hem... four weeks. But in the end, it was worth the mess, dust and the money to have two major rooms updated.

Now, here's a look at why we needed the renovations.

 

The tub was settling, allowing water to puddle at the bottom and we had some water damage to the faux tile boards.

And while we're at it, the red floor and the honey oak cabinets were pretty dated.

When we started this process I thought it would be fun and easy to choose tile - from the floor tile, bathroom wall tile, and my favorite, the glass accent tiles. Wow, there are so many colors and types of tiles it was overwhelming!

We knew we wanted something neutral and after a few weekends at every tile store, Lowe's and Home Depot (multiple visits and samples bought) we had our winners. Despite the long search, Joseph & I do have similar tastes so that made it easy once we found something we liked.

Here is what we used (I'll put the names/specifics at the end of the blog):

So, of course, phase one of the project - demolition.

To decide which way to lay our floor tiles we laid them out on the concrete floor. I thought I wanted them up and down, but once we laid them out it was clear they looked much better positioned the other way.

Then the tile started to go in.

 

From there, the crew took all of our cabinet doors off to take them to the shop to sand them down and re-stain them a darker, more modern color. The crew lightly sanded the frame of the cabinets, taped them off and sprayed the new stain on. 

Did I mention everything was a mess?

And now, the reveal of the finished project with the before and after comparisons:

We love how it turned out!

Here are the details of the products we used:

Floor Tile:
12x24 porcelain tile called "Beige Travertino" from Home Depot
Grouted with "Bone"

Wall Tile:
9x12 Daltile Briton Bone ceramic tile from Home Depot
6x6 Daltile Briton Bone ceramic tile from Home Depot
Grouted with "Snow White"

Glass Accent Tile:
Jeffrey Court Cottage Ridge Mini Brick 12x12 in from Home Depot
American Olean 1/2-in x 6-in Delfino Sand Glass Tile Liner 

Bathtub:
Jacuzzi Soaker Tub (no jets)

Bathroom Fixtures:
Moen Branbury Collection

Cabinet Stain:
Mohawk Finishing Products Ultra Penetrating Stain in Van Dyke Brown

Because of the scope of this project and with everything going on in life, we knew we wouldn't tackle such a large project on our own. But it was really great to see each step of the process to give us an idea of how we could tackle a similar project in the future.

One thing we did do ourselves is paint our master bedroom to coordinate with the bathroom. Previously our room was a deep blue, but we painted it a khaki color called Garden Shed from Martha Stewart's line at Home Depot. I was impressed with the BEHR paint plus primer that covered the blue nicely with one coat and just some touch-ups.

Next up: the kitchen transformation!

Cat Conquers Water Bowl video

I just had to share this video!

My parents sent us a St. Louis Cardinals water bowl. It's cute -- it has the STL logo at the bottom, and cardinals around the sides. It's just a bowl filled with water and I had no idea that my curious cat Tobie would be so scared of it!

Take a look, I just happen to catch Tobie acting weird around it and started shooting video with my cell phone.  I have NEVER seen Tobie hiss at anything (Reese hisses at Tobie all day long but Tobie never hisses back). But aparently, this was a scary water bowl!

So what do you think? Did you see, once he finally took a sip he paused again to check it out? He still doesn't seem relaxed when he takes a drink.

What's the silliest thing your pets have done?

Handmade Book Shelf

When I started this blog a few months ago, it was because I was inspired to do some new projects and document the before... middle... and after of my random projects.

I've done a couple of big projects that I just adore.  Like my 'new' chairs and dining table and my favorite, the vintage vanity transformation.

But during a break in my projects (it's still well over 100 and I just cannot bring myself to work out in the garage in these conditions), I've realized my husband and I have done a few blog-worthy projects that are on topic with the projects I love to write about here.

I told you about the checkerboard cutting boards we made one year as Christmas gifts. My husband Joseph gets all the credit on those. I was just his lovely assistant.

There's another project we did together.  Joseph used the power tools and table saw and did all the measurements. I helped hold things while he glued or nailed and then I got to paint it.

I'm talking about this giant bookshelf in our office.

When we moved into our first home, we didn't have a lot of furniture. A book shelf was something Joseph thought he could handle making at home. It turned out great! It's solid wood and put together very nicely.

Joseph used a router to make grooves in the sides, and then glued the shelves into them.

I love how the crown molding turned out. It really finishes off the piece.

We didn't take any photos as Joseph was building it, but recently, we took out all the books to do some dusting and reorganizing (don't worry, we only do this once every 4 years... that's a lot of books to move!).

And no sooner did we get it in the office, we had it filled up.  Joseph is the reader in the family. I contributed with books from college ranging from journalism materials, literature and meteorology text books.

My shelves :)

This piece is solid wood and very sturdy. It stands about 6.5 feet tall and is 3 feet wide. Joseph made the bottom shelf the largest to fit textbooks.

As you can see form the pictures, he may need to make another one to fit the books he's bought since building this shelf.

What's your favorite piece of handmade or solid wood furniture?

Food Storage in Reused Glass Jars

Well, it's just too darn hot to paint anything or work out in the garage on any of my pending projects. I think it was 115 today?! Whew, it will all be worth it when the heat breaks and we're enjoying the 70s for months.

Since I can't transform some beat up furniture... like a vanity or chairs... I've exercised my creativity in the kitchen. Not really cooking anything exciting, but with organization.

I've been saving glass jars for the last few months without a real plan of what I would eventually do with them. They are mostly pasta sauce jars, salad dressing bottles or jelly jars, and all are glass with their own characteristics. I just think glass jars are cute. :)

Recently, I've found some practical uses for them.

We have been buying some dry goods, not really in bulk, but from the bulk section where you scoop out your own portion - mostly nuts, trail mix and dry pastas.

So, we come home with plastic baggies and bread ties.

Trail Mix

Finally, I have a use for the glass jars! haha!

Dry Ravioli, Trail Mix, Tortellini, Pasta, Almonds, Steel Cut Oats

Brown Rice Pasta & Steel Cut Oats
(Salsa Jar & Salad Dressing Bottle)

Almonds & more Steel Cut Oats :)
(Jelly Jar & Pasta Sauce Jar)

I haven't really done any comparison, but we feel like we're saving some money because the dry goods are so cheap (at WinCo) and it makes sense that we're not paying for packaging.

You might be able to see that I haven't been too successful on getting rid of all the stickiness from the previous labels. Do you know of anything around the house that takes the sticky residue off? (I don't have Goo Gone)

While I'm using these jars for real storage, they could also have a decor value, of mixing different types of jars with different textures inside. For now, they'll be inside my pantry or on my counter.

How do you stay organized?