Busy Weekend and Icy Morning

Hello friends,...guess what I started this weekend??? I will give you a clue.

First I have to show you what I woke up to this morning...ICE!

That is a sheet of ice on my kitchen window and my deck is a solid sheet of ice also.

         

I braved the very real threat of slipping and breaking my neck and gingerly ventured out to fill the bird water dishes. Mr. Mockingbird was very appreciative.

Ok...back to my weekend. I finally started something I have been wanting to do for ages.

Paint my kitchen cabinets!

I'm looking for a brighter, cleaner look which is why I choose pale grey for the walls. I really love the look of a farmhouse style with a few open cabinets so some of my dishes will be exposed. I am thinking the middle cabinets above..the ones with the white dishes. I'll remove the rif-raf on those shelves and that will give it a tidier appearance. 

Are you a 'move everything out of the way' type of painter or a 'paint around it' type? As you can probably see from my photos, I paint around everything. I remove curtains and anything on walls, but that is it. I am a very careful and neat painter.

I got all my painting tools together.....Ooooops, not those tools

That's better!

I have used Behr Ultra before and had very good results. It is a pretty good primer/paint all in one. 

I choose a very calm off white called Bleached Linen.

My sweet hubby was nice enough to volunteer to do the sanding. Sorry, I can only show you his hand...if I show you his face, I will have to hunt you all down and kill you ;-)

After all he is a Federal Agent ! (he rolls his eyes whenever I say that)

To be on the safe side, I decided to use Glidden Gripper primer/sealer which is specially formulated to adhere to slick surfaces like metal, glass and porcelain. My Behr paint does have a primer in it, but it is not a sealer and I want to be really sure that the wood color does not show through.

  Here we go...first coat of primer is going on. I rolled the primer on and then smoothed it with a 3 inch angle brush.

This is my favorite part because it means there is no turning back.

I am going to paint this in two stages..first the top cabinets and wall units. Then the bottom cabinets. I am hoping that will cause as little as possible kitchen disruption.

See that wall on the outside of the refrigerator...it will get a pretty piece of beadboard to cover it. The shelves over the fridge will stay doorless. I'm thinking that is a great place for all my cookbooks.

See that door under the sink...it's coming off and I am going to sew a pretty curtain..like in a 1940's farm kitchen. I think that will be a fun way to bring in some color.

I have a cooktop island which will be surrounded by beadboard and painted black. I want it to look like a totally separate piece of furniture...no matchy-matchy.

I have plans to remodel the bottom shelf here to fit in my small microwave...up and off the counter.

The smaller doors from over the refridge will be installed here, above the microwave. All open shelves will get some nice finishing trim.

Click to get a really good look at this handsome guy!

Look who came to visit while I was painting!

Ok..so that is just the beginning..I will be keeping you posted on my progress. 

Have a great day!

Until next time...be kind and stay creative.
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