I promised to keep you posted on Smuffy’s monumental project. Welcome to the third and hopefully, most painful, installment. It’s a little late in posting as the clogged internet has been refusing to put photos in my posts.
Earlier, in “A Glimmer of Hope and Stainless Steel”, I shared the little chunk of the project that propelled me forward into the world of a glorious new refrigerator, wall oven and fancy-schmancy dishwasher. After that, we took time out for Thanksgiving, Christmas and to become grandparents. Smuffy then entered another busy season with his business while it was way too cold to be in the workshop messing with wood. Now, at last, we are making progress again!
If you’d like to see my embarrassing kitchen “before” photos, click here, but read the whole post so you’ll have a little compassion.
Have you ever had one of those uneasy feelings – as though you’re being followed by a mysterious “something”? Your Pollyanna nature tries to reassure you that you’ll never have to turn and face it and that it is probably just a series of spooky shadows, but eventually, you round a corner and there it is – the “thing” you knew was there but dreaded meeting face to face. Trying to duck your head and peer at it through only one squinting eye doesn’t help. We’ll, sooner or later it happens to us all and it has happened to me.
Smuffy is a marvel when it comes to undertaking almost any project, but he’s a numbers kinda guy and likes things in columns and rows. Nuance and the artistic sense elude him in some instances, though he does have appreciation for it. For some time, even though I’d labored over the perfect off-white paint for my cabinetry and the antiquing glaze that would go on over it followed by a couple of coats of polyurethane, I’d been deluding myself into thinking Smuffy would be the painter of these glorious creations. I should have known. Full of the can-do spirit he is – gifted with an artist’s touch he is not.
He got the primer on and the first coat of paint and asked me to inspect. I murmured a prayer and did so. Difficult as it was to declare them a tad crummy, I forced myself to be honest. It was mere practice as I then pushed past my lips the notion that perhaps I needed to paint these myself. (Though painfully slow, I am neat as a pin.) Smuffy’s eyes lit up and he rushed to hand me the paint buckets and all the rest of the supplies. I’d known, deep in my heart that Smuffy’s painting style and choice of tools, while fast and thorough, might not produce the results I desired. He’s an expert at detail work, just not this particular kind. That lurking instinct had caught up with me and how here I was, holding the brush, the mini roller and newly sanded face frames, shaking my head, groaning a little, but not surprised that I hadn’t managed to outrun this dreaded task.
First I used a Benjamin Moore trim paint in Fresh Narcissus with Floe-trol (from Home Depot) added to make the finish smooth as buttah. After letting each coat of this dry overnight, I mixed one part paint in a Benjamin Moore Devonwood Taupe into 8 parts clear latex glaze. I brushed this on and wiped it away with lint-free rags. It doesn’t appear too impressive here on the face frames, but will show nicely on the finished cabinet doors where it will collect in the grooves of the panels and give definition. Once this dried overnight, I applied two coats of clear polyurethane, allowing each to dry overnight. This is because the antiquing glaze is not as hard as trim paint and will wear off if not sealed in between the layers.
Once ready, we started Demo Day for the lower half of the kitchen. In order to have some functionality, we opted to complete this phase and tackle the upper portion once we can actually cook and have water again.
Chaos reigned. Smuffy ripped and tore. I shoved, shifted and fetched. Phoebe June, caught in the cross-fire, opted to enjoy the exploration opportunity of a lifetime. When cabinets, bags and boxes filled with the kitchen cabinet contents began filling every room on the main floor, she considered all rules null and void and flung herself into the spirit of the thing with wild abandon, jumping into bags of canned goods and strolling through utensil drawers. After a while, I just shrugged and made myself a mental note that it could all be washed and wiped down later. To say she was wide-eyed with excitement would be an understatement.
By the end of Day 1, we had uglified the kitchen to the point where we were committed to completion whether we liked it or not and as I looked around the house for a bright spot, I found myself thankful that our little grandson has yet to reach the walking stage. I have a feeling he’d make Phoebe June’s escapades seem like nothing at all!
With the lower cabinets in place, we’ll now attached the face frames and anchor everything in place so that Smuffy can begin the process of installing his beautiful walnut countertops and the oak furniture piece that will serve as our sink base. Oh, to have water again!
I’m going to leave you hanging there and end this special episode of my Life With Smuffy. Coming up soon, I’ll give you a peek at my “not a kitchen kitchen” that will have to serve until the counters, sink and gas cooktop are installed. I’m hoping that is very soon!
(After writing this post and struggling to get the photos inserted, we hit some snags. I’ve had to give up my design for the oak furniture piece and I may be having to part with my walnut countertops. I must confess to having two or three mid-remodel meltdowns already. I’d love to think this is the last of them, but… old houses are full of surprises and unless you open up a wall and find a chest full of gold and jewels, they are never really good surprises.)
If you’re not all caught up on the latest Smuffy episodes, check out, “A Studebaker in the Hands…” and “Why Stop When You’re on a Roll?” His river adventures here and here will having you longing for summer days on the water – or maybe not.
I’d love to have your input on a kitchen remodel? What one mistake have you made that you’d like to un-do? What feature of your new kitchen do you love the most? Please comment! I need all the encouragement I can get.