This project started on May 15th.

With nothing before me but TIME, and the recent success of stripping and staining the vanity, I thought it would be worth the effort to strip and refinish the kitchen cupboards.  We knew it would take a lot of elbow grease and time, but it would still be a LOT more affordable than a kitchen redo.  (We could never afford a redo!!!)

Unfortunately, despite the right materials and the right process I could NOT get the stain lifted from the doors.   I pondered my options and then decided that the best step at this point would be to use the same process I used in the laundry room two years ago.  While it wasn’t plan A, it was a solid plan B.

Weeks and weeks and layers and layers.

First – the kitchen has too many doors and drawers for me to lay them all out in the basement at once.  I divided it into three unequal parts.  I went by sections that made sense.

It was sloppy living for a while.

And the basement was a little uncomfortable.  Thankfully we had some large boxes that our treadmill had come in that we could use to stain in.

The second section was the largest.

Every surface had to have three coats of gel stain each applied three days apart.  Then it needed three layers of sealant, each three days apart.

And let’s remember that each door has two sides.

I tried to stay right on top of it, but life did have me miss a day or two.

Still – it was a real pleasure to put the whole thing back together.
In the process we also decided to leave the doors off the large cupboard and I put peel and stick wall paper inside.
I am very happy with the end result.

Nothing is new about us tackling home improvements in the summertime.  With my time eaten up by homeschooling, September through April are consumed with normal activities.  Summer means time to address the house.

We actually started with new ceiling lights in the down stairs and up stairs hallways.

And I stripped and stained the vanity in the main bathroom.

Then we moved to paint the family room and buy a new rug.

The rug makes me very, very happy.

Look closely!

A YEAR ago Thanksgiving weekend, John and I were discussing Stewart’s asthma and how it had seemingly been getting worse.  Was it is busy college schedule?  Was he not eating well?  Sleeping well?  And then, as I stood at the stove, stirring dinner, it was 100% clear.
“He’s been in his new room since summer and that room still has the original carpet!”  What is more, that room had a rabbit in it when we visited [in 2007] to inspect the house.  Stewart is allergic to rabbits.
So – we ripped out the carpet that weekend and he’s had nothing but an area rug over the subfloor ever since. 
We decided to use some of John’s vacation time to have him spend two days doing the new floor.

Mama could hardly stand to look at that empty room with a new floor and old paint!  So she convinced everyone to let her paint the room.
Tab helped me prep it.

And a quick paint job it was.  From here on out, I’ve decreed that bedrooms for anyone over 12 years old just get a neutral color!  I believe we will have musical bedrooms for the next 10 years as kids come and go to college…

It took almost an entire month.
Although their was nothing actually wrong with the laundry room the way it was, I wanted to spruce it up a bit.  It was actually my second choice for a summer project, but it was likely to be cheaper and faster than redoing the powder room so John moved it to first place.
My friend Emily and I painted it > 11 years ago when we first bought the house.  I picked the color Flan, and John put down new flooring and some wire racks.  It has worked just fine for all these years.


I removed the doors and John helped me set them out around the basement.
I thought I had ordered the paint I needed and while I waited for it to be delivered, I painted the walls “Fencepost” white by Glidden.

I washed the doors with TSP substitute and on 7/12 realized the paint had not been ordered.  I went to Woodcraft in Henrietta to buy what I needed.
I used General Finishes Gel Stain in Gray.  It was a long process.  Each side needed three coats, and three days to dry in between layers.  Then we needed three layers of Seal Coat.  It was a long process, but worth every moment. 

Meanwhile, in the midst of this, John started working on the “ship lap” wall.

Yes… they sanded in the family room.

Cut outside.

It went up quickly.

Doors were finally finished and we ordered hardware from Amazon.

It’s beautiful!

And now that i spent that much time in the basement… I now have some ideas for updating that area.  🙂

When we first moved in, we hired someone to paint many rooms of the house, including the upstairs hall and stairwell.

Again in 2014, we had someone paint these areas.

The second time it was not done at all well, and that, plus four years of marking it up, and it was well overdue.

I love to paint.  And it has always bugged me that I didn’t have a way to paint this area.

I looked into it on and off for over a year, and we finally dug in.

A new ladder, a silly wooden box for the steps, some raw grit, and a trusted spotter and I got it painted!!!

I was shaking so much the little tool in my hand was rattling.

Isn’t it pretty!?