Whew! Week one of the One Room Challenge FLEW! We got some things checked off our list, and even stumbled upon a happy surprise that ended up having a HUGE impact on our kitchen! If you need to catch up, you can check out Week 1 here!
Also, here’s a reminder of where it all began:
Now, let’s dive into the good stuff.
A happy surprise:
On night one, my husband casually mentioned that we should turn our kitchen island 90 degrees. This is something he have been wanting to do since we moved in 2 years ago, because the flow of the kitchen was just awful as it was laid out.
I was skeptical. “What if it’s anchored down?” “What about the flooring underneath?” But, we were both willing to try. We literally pushed on it with lots of “oomph” and I T T U R N E D!! To our (very) happy surprise, the flooring underneath was perfect! The flow in the kitchen instantly improved, and we knew that we were going to keep it this way!
Out with the old:
Next, we began planning for where we wanted to put our open shelving. I had debated a few different options, but we ultimately decided to remove our corner cabinet (which, honestly, was close to useless). We also finally took down our broken microwave (a range hood and pretty diy cover is in the works to replace it!).
The biggie: Painting the cabinets:
And then, the following day – the biggest change was underway! It was time to paint the cabinets! We are so honored to have the opportunity to partner with Benjamin Moore on this project! I will be sharing a separate, much more detailed blog post with all of my tips (and mistakes you can learn from) when it comes to painting cabinets, but here are the basic steps that we took:
•de-gloss with this product
•fill hardware holes
•prime with Benjamin Moore Advance Primer
•sand with a 600 grit paper
•paint with Benjamin Moore Advance in White Dove (satin finish)
•sand again with 600 grit paper
•paint one last coat of White Dove
We removed the cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and decided that spraying those would be best way, and give us the nicest finish. The bases we rolled , because the thought of tarping off the entire kitchen just didn’t sit well with me with two kiddos at home (they eat way too often for this- ha!).
We started on the bases with all of the above steps (using this roller), finishing up with paint that Benjamin Moore gifted us. Their Advance line is just absolutely amazing! I am so impressed with the coverage and the leveling!
Here’s where I share a side note: I painted the island a deep green (Benjamin Moore Rainy Afternoon -the same deep green from, our pantry), but I ended up deciding quite quickly to go with all white for the cabinets instead. I just had to follow my gut on this one! It’s an absolutely gorgeous color – it just wasn’t quite how I had envisioned it, and that’s ok -all part of the process, right?
Once most of the bases were complete, we moved outside to work on the doors/drawer faces. We followed the same steps, but instead of rolling, we sprayed! I learned a LOT about painting with a sprayer (here is the one we used), and will include that in my upcoming post that will be all about cabinet painting.
Now that all of our painting is complete, the wait begins! We decided to give the doors a full week to begin curing before we re-hang them. It’s hard to be patient, but I know it’ll be worth it!
Our to-do list, revised:
BONUS: turn island 90 degreespaint kitchen cabinets- replace cabinet/drawer hardware
remove non-functional corner cabinet (trust me – its awful when it comes to storage/being able to reach things)remove broken microwave+ replace with a range hood (and pretty DIY hood cover!)- find long-term, functional counter stools
- extend the backsplash to the ceiling
- dress up the island with a treatment (shiplap or board and batten)
- add open shelving to the corner (in place of the cabinet) to hold cookware, plants, canisters, etc
- add pendant lighting
Here’s how the kitchen looks, one week in to our first One Room Challenge! I am pretty thrilled with the progress, and am looking forward to next week, which will be all about DETAILS (cabinet hardware, lighting, barstools, etc). Be sure to stay tuned, and don’t forget to follow daily progress on my Instagram!
I am SO excited to partake in the One Room Challenge as a guest participant, and am truly looking forward to the inspiration I know I will find from everyone else who is participating! Be sure to check out the ORC site here for tons of inspiration!
Be sure to also follow my day-by-day progress on my Instagram, here!