Our week's project...

[CSK'sMom]

We finally got around to basically finishing the kitchen off. We did the granite countertop and marble backsplash a couple of years ago. When we installed the dishwasher we had to move a bank of drawers and rebuild them narrower. When the over the range microwave went in we had to cut the upper cabinet and move it over a couple of inches.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4619/kitchenbefore4es3.th.jpg (http://img13.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenbefore4es3.jpg)
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1914/kitchenbefore2mx3.th.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenbefore2mx3.jpg)

A couple of sheets of birch plywood later with some ebony stain and varathane and it's looking pretty good. Cheap hardware off Ebay and it's looking pretty darn snazzy. A pretty dramatic makeover for ... <drumroll please>... $409!

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5071/kitchenafter2oe8.th.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenafter2oe8.jpg)
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7834/kitchenafter1nv8.th.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenafter1nv8.jpg)
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3302/kitchenafter4yx5.th.jpg (http://img13.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenafter4yx5.jpg)

We bought the new fridge yesterday and now just have the floor left to go in the next month or two. I think I have to work on hubby for a new dishwasher as well, LOL!

[speedyforme]

wow, how did you stain the cabinets? (the process) I mean...

[Si98]

The dual color looks nice. Very good job.

[CSK'sMom]

Speedy, staining it easy. You literally wipe it on with a rag, let it sit for 5-15 minutes and then wipe off the excess. My upper cabinets have 2 coats of Minwax Ebony stain on them. After staining and it's dry you can then varathane which is what actually seals the wood and provides the protective finish.

Thanks Si, I've always wanted a two tone kitchen but hubby wasn't too sure and took some convincing.

[speedyforme]

Speedy, staining it easy. You literally wipe it on with a rag, let it sit for 5-15 minutes and then wipe off the excess. My upper cabinets have 2 coats of Minwax Ebony stain on them. After staining and it's dry you can then varathane which is what actually seals the wood and provides the protective finish.

Thanks Si, I've always wanted a two tone kitchen but hubby wasn't too sure and took some convincing.

Thanks, no sanding required?

[CSK'sMom]

Yep, sanded all the doors after veneering the edges before stain. The plywood we used is actually cabinet grade so it didn't need much in the way of saning. I did 2-3 light coats of varathane after staining then sanded with 320 grit before applying 3-4 more coats. The doors are as smooth as a baby's bottom. :D

[gr8dlr]

If you're going to consider replacing the dishwasher, you could try refacing it. I saw on a home show the "designer" cut thin stainless steel and just refaced the fridge with it. Looked just like stainless steel.

[3weddings]

Great Job!!!!

[Friday5PM]

Pot lights look nice in your kitchen :)

[CSK'sMom]

I remember seeing refacing on one of the shows as well gr8dlr. The dishwasher I currently have doesn't have a panel and track system though. :confused: But with that said, I am pretty sure I saw stainless look Mac Tack at HD. Although on the other hand it's a cheap dishwasher that I always said if I got 5 years out of it I'd be happy... and I think it's 4 years old now. ;)

Thank you Steph! For basically a cosmetic makeover to get it our of the 80's I'm happy. :cheesygri If we stay here I'd actually like to flip the working part of the kitchen to the other side of the room. Part of why I never wanted to spend a ton of money to update it.

Friday, we put the pot lights in when we did the counter. They are the set that HD and Rona has on sale all the time. A breeze to put them in as well as hubby wired them off what was an existing flourescent over the sink on it's own switch. They are all set to wash the cabinets in light and to shine down on the countertop. They actually make working in the kitchen a pleasure now vs. before with the shadows.

[Evil Baby]

very nice. My mom is thinking about doing the same thing. She wasn't sure if it would work though so I sent her a link to your post. Now she is happy to see that it does indeed work.

[CSK'sMom]

Tell her to go for it Evil. Hubby was a bit lazy as well, he didn't want to dig out his table saw last week so he had all the cabinet door cuts done at HD. He just had to drill the european hinge holes. Veneering the edges is just a matter of ironing the tape on and sanding it flush. We only had to actually veneer (with contact cement) the 2 inside corners. We totally replaced the board that caps the mircowave at the stove. We added wood boards to each side of the sink so the doors are now inset into a frame. There was also a reveal at the top of the doors at the bulkhead that we trimmed out to now be flush with the doors....

[bobby]

We finally got around to basically finishing the kitchen off. We did the granite countertop and marble backsplash a couple of years ago. When we installed the dishwasher we had to move a bank of drawers and rebuild them narrower. When the over the range microwave went in we had to cut the upper cabinet and move it over a couple of inches.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4619/kitchenbefore4es3.th.jpg (http://img13.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenbefore4es3.jpg)
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1914/kitchenbefore2mx3.th.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenbefore2mx3.jpg)

A couple of sheets of birch plywood later with some ebony stain and varathane and it's looking pretty good. Cheap hardware off Ebay and it's looking pretty darn snazzy. A pretty dramatic makeover for ... <drumroll please>... $409!

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5071/kitchenafter2oe8.th.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenafter2oe8.jpg)
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7834/kitchenafter1nv8.th.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenafter1nv8.jpg)
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3302/kitchenafter4yx5.th.jpg (http://img13.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kitchenafter4yx5.jpg)

We bought the new fridge yesterday and now just have the floor left to go in the next month or two. I think I have to work on hubby for a new dishwasher as well, LOL!

Hi CSK Mom


Just need to ask you a question my kitchen is similar to your kitchen I just want to find out whats above the cabinets I am thinking of removing the wall so that the cabinet can go up to the ceiling . Is it just hollow or is there any water pipes

Thanks

[pintobean]

Nice work CSK'sMom! DIY two-tone cabinets are not something that I'd be daring enough to try in my house, but the way you did it looks very nice. The wood grain on the bottom cabinets is very chic! The only thing I'd be critical of is the paint colour on the walls; it kinda looks like neon lime green and is totally reminiscent of the 80's. Maybe I'm wrong and the pictures and lighting just make it look bad? If you're up for repainting now, I would probably suggest going with a neutral tan or beige - in my mind I think that something that matches the colour palette of the tiled backsplash would look awesome.

bobby - I think the "wall" above the cabinets that you are referring to is actually a "bulkhead". It is where the builder hides the HVAC ductwork... So while it most likely won't contain water pipes, I am almost certain that it won't be hollow either. If you want to remove this "wall", you will need to re-run the ductwork which can be a difficult and messy job. When I bought my house off the plan, my builder offered to eliminate the bulkhead by running the ductwork through the ceiling above. It cost a little bit more, but since I plan on running valance lighting above my cabinets, I think it was worth it.

[CSK'sMom]

Bobby, as Pinto said it depends. In some houses they are hollow (my inlaws is, we checked) but ours is not. Ours actually has a heating duct in it as well as plumbing drain lines for our upstairs bath. I would have loved to remove it but it just wasn't going to happen at this time.

Pinto, the color of my kitchen is more of a clean, celery green than it shows in the pics. It's a Debbie Travis color called Crunchy Celery (CF7K). I am sooOOooo not into neutral colored walls. My livingroom is actually a watery turquoise color. ;) I tend to keep the neutral colors on things like furniture that will be around a while and use color on the walls, which I tend to change pretty often by most people's standards (2-3 years at the most).

[3weddings]

Bobby, as Pinto said it depends. In some houses they are hollow (my inlaws is, we checked) but ours is not. Ours actually has a heating duct in it as well as plumbing drain lines for our upstairs bath. I would have loved to remove it but it just wasn't going to happen at this time.

I have the same problem in this kitchen, can't remove it. I did see some ideas last week where they bulkhead was painted to match the cabinets and a small amount of crown was added to the top of the cabinet. It really disguised the bulkhead well.

[Keelie]

Looks great!! And must feel so rewarding.

I'm surprised at the cabinets, I would have thought dark on the bottom, but this goes together very well. Nice job.

[creamsoda]

I'm very new to DIY projects. So a basic question ...

If you are updating your cabinets (in your case, painting), do you have to leave the door handles as per the original look?

We have kitchen doors that don't have handles, but instead have that metal "rod" that runs across the length of the door at the bottom. If we update the cabinet front (painting, not refacing with new doors), are we stuck keeping that same type of handle? I think that's what keeps the doors looking old.

http://craigspic.com/548/69588/1245853739-595.jpg.php

Suggestions? Thank you.

[alpwhite46]

that looks awesome ...
keep up the good work

[CSK'sMom]

I've seen those handlede a couple of different ways. You can paint them out the same color that you paint the cabinets. There is another option as well if you're handy. You can cut them off and replace the strip with MDF. Caulk the join of the 2 and prime and paint. It becomes seamless and then you can place new handles of your choice.

[stealth]

Not really a fan of the plywood look, but you cant please everybody :)

Still the improvement is vast, and pricepoint unbeatable.
Well done!

[purplesnow22]

Wow, great work! Thanks for sharing. I love the pot lights. I think the green wall color is the same as my computer room.
CSK'sMom, I am planning to paint my powder room this color: Purple Granite (http://www.colorcharts.org/ccorg/resources/colors.aspx?companyid=124562&lineid=852&cbn=UBL7-5FQ8-MFPW). The powder room is small, and no windows; but the sink and toilet is white, and I am thinking to replace a nice bathroom light. Just wondering what's your opinion? (It's really my first time to try such dark color)

[CSK'sMom]

I really like that color purplesnow! I have always been of the mindset that powder rooms and bathrooms are where you can have a bit of fun and go dramatic. Especially with a powder room it's not going to ever look big no matter the color on the walls so I say go for it. I'd go for really nice either white or dark towels and a a piece of artwork and you'll be all set. :)

[purplesnow22]

I really like that color purplesnow! I have always been of the mindset that powder rooms and bathrooms are where you can have a bit of fun and go dramatic. Especially with a powder room it's not going to ever look big no matter the color on the walls so I say go for it. I'd go for really nice either white or dark towels and a a piece of artwork and you'll be all set. :)

Thanks! I'll give it a try with home depot's paint rebate. Thanks for the encouragement, I was so hesitant about the color. But then I thought, ok, if it turns out horrible, I can always repaint it...it just gonna cost me money and time. :P