Rustoleum Cabinet Kit

The Rustoleum Cabinet Kit has to be one of my favorite transformations we've done so far.  The difference is just astounding.  Here's the before:


There are only a few steps and altogether it only takes a couple of days.  Obviously, you do have to take off the cabinet doors and take out the drawers.  You also need to take off the handles and knobs.
Step One: Use the deglosser to take off the glossy outer coat of the cabinets.  This product also takes off bad stains and if you scrub hard, paint.
Step Two: Paint everything with the base coat.  We chose pure white, but there are tons of colors to choose from.  We decided not to waste the base coat on the inside of the cabinets, so knowing that our end product would be closer to a cream color, we painted the inside of them antique white.
Step Three: Use a 2 in. paint brush to apply the glaze.  Then immediately wipe it off with the clean cloths that come in the kit.  Marcus said using a tiny paint brush (like an artist's) helps get the glaze down into the grooves.  But you have to make sure to wipe the grooves too or they'll be way to dark.  This was my favorite part because you really get to control where the glaze goes, how light it gets, and what your ultimate look will be.
Step Four: Apply the protective coat.  The kit comes with a clear protective coat that is a very important step to protect your hard work from scratches, stains, and fingerprints.  Marcus is a clean-freak so he was considering putting a polyurethane coat on top of that, but I convinced him that it would be enough.
Make sure you follow the directions explicitly as far as drying times are concerned because that makes things so much easier.  We actually had a lot of time to let it dry while we worked on other things so most of the time we just let it dry overnight before going to the next step.


Today we put all the knobs and handles back on, then hung the doors and put in the drawers.    The effect is amazing... with our paint, new counters, and now the cabinets I can really see it coming together.  Go back and look at the before...
Now see the after!  I'm so proud.


Tomorrow, our wood floors are being installed and then on Monday our appliances are being delivered.  After the appliances, we're going back to the old house to pack (hopefully we'll be able to finish in time).  The movers are coming on Wednesday morning, so by this time next week we'll be unpacking in our house!!!


After we finish unpacking, I'm going to take tons of after pictures to compare.  Make sure to come back and take a look!

Rinnai Water Heater

Last week we had our new water heater installed.  Marcus is really excited about it and wanted me to do a post specifically about it.
Our old water heater was original to the house (34 years old).  It was huge!  Almost as tall as I am, it was as big around as the average pine tree.  It was rusted out and definitely didn't work, so we knew we were going to have to replace it.  We called a few local plumbers and got a call back from Brittingham Plumbing.  They came out to do an estimate and talked to us a little about our choices for a new water heater.  Marcus explained that we wanted a tankless, gas water heater and Mr. Brittingham suggested a Rinnai.  Instead of holding hot water in a big tank, it instantly heats the water we need and pumps it where we need it to go.  And it's so small!  Where our giant tank used to stand, we now only have a book-sized digital controller where we can change the temperature the water heats up to.  The actual water heater part is located outside next to the AC unit.
I took some before and after pictures which I'll add below this weekend.

oh my god... I have never been this exhausted in my life

Over the last week, Marcus and I have painted the entire downstairs.  Painting the living room and dining room wasn't that bad.  The walls were already white, and I actually painted them both in one day.  The kitchen and den were another story entirely.  This week, we primed the kitchen, the den, the trim in both, and the old stains on the ceiling.  Then we painted the kitchen and den, the trim in both, and started our Rustoleum kit for the cabinets.  Most days, we've been working on the house from  eight in the morning until nine or ten at night.  Ridiculous I know.  But it was all to be done in time for our wood floors to be installed tomorrow.  And guess what... the installer called and pushed our installation back another week and a half!  I'm disappointed, but it gives us more time to finish a few things.


Other than painting and painting and painting... we also did a few window enhancements to the front of the house.  I may have mentioned before that our windows are original to the house (34 years old to be exact), so they're not energy efficient and so much light gets into the house that it's roasty toasty inside!  We chose to do two things to make our windows a little better: an application of film/tint to block light and heat from getting in and cellular shades to further the process and for privacy.  The film was made by Gila and it was so easy to apply.  All we had to do was spray the windows and film with Windex, then stick the film to the window, and cut it to size with the tool included in the kit.  The cellular shades are Levolor.  At Lowe's, all we had to do was pick out the basic measurement and color, and then they cut it to the exact measurement you need.  They look really cool and are easy to install.  

I picked sand to go with our Irish Cream walls and colorful decor.

I did finally pick up some fun stuff... lol to me, fun stuff is the furniture, curtains, comforters, etc.  As far as window treatments are concerned, I stuck with a neutral for the living room because the couch is patterned.  I chose a formal looking floral print for the dining room because our ideal dining room is simple but elegant.  And for our den, I chose a chocolate brown print to go with our golden yellow couches and autumnal throw pillows.  Can't wait to share pictures!

There was one mishap though... I chose a paint color called "mandarin glow" for the kitchen and den.  The paint swatch (shown above) seems like more of a butter-cream, but on the walls it seems like a pastel shade of melon.  Marcus thinks it will look better once the floors are installed because the lighting will be different... but I'm worried.  I do NOT want to paint again, but if our couches and decor are warm colors and the walls are cool colors it will look horrible.  Time will tell...  

But all this hard work has been taxing.  Marcus and I have been so irritable because of the level of exhaustion.  We've been staying with his sister so it's been tough going back and forth... but at least she's been really sweet about having us.

The Official BEFORE Pictures

So we cleaned out the entire house, got Junk in the Box to pick up all the things we don't want, cleaned EVERYTHING, and finally had a blank canvas.  I've been talking about what the house looks like and offering a few pictures along the way, but here's the official set of before pictures for you!
Let's start with the wallpaper.  Rachel and I worked together to remove the wallpaper one weekend.  All we did was use the Piranha wallpaper scoring device, spray Piranha Wallpaper Remover all over the walls, get a good hold at the top, and pull each strip off from top to bottom.  It was so easy!  Here are some pictures of the wallpaper before...

These are in the kitchen, and yes...  that is 70s brown and orange!

This is the master bath with floral green and yellow wallpaper to match the awesome mint-green tile.

To the left you see the reflection of a nice sized window.  But the reflection is in a very retro, sliding-mirror, medicine cabinet.  Needless to say, it's gone now.


Last but not least is the bathroom I'll be using, aka the guest bathroom.  It had yellow floral wallpaper.  It was kind of pretty... but very dated, so now it's gone.

Removing the wallpaper was so much easier than I expected.  Now our kitchen will be nice an bright... and our bathrooms will be clean and calming. :)


Now let's take a look at the other "before" pictures.  





This is the foyer.  The home inspector said that our front door is the equivalent to today's interior doors.  Take a close look... we didn't even have a deadlock!  But we do now!!!
This is our living room, right off the foyer.  It has a huge window and lots of floor space.  I really love this room.  One day, my piano will be in there!











To the right, you'll see the dining room.  It looks kind of narrow... but is actually big enough for a normal sized dining table and a china cabinet.


Below is the foyer again.  Now you get a better view of the great shag carpet, the rot-iron rail, and the entrance to the kitchen.  The stairs will be a tan colored carpet, and we used Rustoleum's Hammered Spray Paint on the rail.

   

This is the guest bedroom.  

Below, and to the left is the office.  It's kind of small, but it has a window and a closet so one day it could be a really cute nursery! :)

Above and to the right is the master bedroom.  It's a great size!


We're so busy right now... painting, cleaning, and having things installed.  Can't wait to share more!

The Home Inspector came by this week.

What a very busy week this has been!  On Monday we drove to Savannah for my doctor's appointment and halfway back my air-conditioning stopped blowing cool air.  It was awful!  We drove the hour back home, then drove until we found an open car-repair shop.  By the time we dropped the car off it was almost dinner time, we were covered in sweat, and way behind schedule for the house.  We got to Augusta around seven or eight, dropped off a load of teaching stuff at the house, then went to have dinner and pass out at Marcus' sister's house.  On Tuesday the Home Inspector came by and boy did he have a lot to tell us!  He was really thorough, which was helpful, but GEEZ our TO DO LIST just got ten times longer!  Here are the major things we had to add:

   

• new roof
• new air-conditioning unit  (note: Our's is 34 years old... original to the house!!!)
• new water-heater
• clear all debris from roof and around house (there is TONS of pine straw)
• trim hedges that are touching the house
• PLUS all the things we already knew we were going to half to do like...
• paint
• replace flooring
• repair broken cabinets, drawers, doors, etc.
• replace light fixtures
• install new appliances
• replace patio door
• and the list goes on... and on... and on...

But we're excited because the guy from DuPont came by to measure our cabinets for the Corian solid-surface we're getting (see picture of our color choice below)... And we just got the news that our floors, appliances, and patio door are ready to be installed when we're ready... And our carpet will be installed next week!  So things are really moving now...

As a matter of fact... Marcus and I have been painting for the last two days straight.  The neutral chosen for most of the house is "Irish Cream,"  my bathroom will be "Mossy Bench," and our kitchen and den will be "Mandarin Glow."  I just love paint names. :)

They're so pretty... if I do say so myself! :)

Forgot to mention that the OFFICIAL BEFORE PICTURES will be posted very soon!  Are you ready?  

Before paint, before flooring, before installation of new awesome appliances, patio door, etc...

Oh what a day!

 This morning we met the guy from installment who was giving us an estimate for our bamboo floors.  Then, we made a 50% deposit on just the installment.  OMG... I knew that was going to be the bulk of our budget because we're doing over half of our flooring with bamboo... but geez... I was stunned!    It's gorgeous right?  All beaten up and rustic looking.  :)

We chose the floating bamboo floors in "Sufong Palace" from Lumber Liquidators but it is almost $5.00 per sq ft.  Crazy... right?  So I'm looking for something similar but a bit less expensive.

Then we went to Lowe's.  
We made the arrangements for estimates to be made for carpet on the stairs, upstairs hall, and all 3 bedrooms as well as for our patio door.  We also purchased our awesome counter-tops.  We chose the DuPont Corian, solid-surface counter in "Oat".  The awesome associates at Lowe's got us a great deal and in talking with Corian corporate got them to throw in a free sink! :)  I'm so excited to see it in place when our cabinets are completed.  (A sample is on the right.)

Shout out to the Lowe's on Washington Rd. in Evans, GA!!! 

Yarns A Plenty

Let me start off by saying that Rachel (my wonderful sister) and I successfully removed the wallpaper from the bathrooms and kitchen.  Marcus used all of his strength and brains to figure out how to remove the vanities... we still think they must have been glued to the wall, or welded.  And we all worked our tails off for two straight days over Memorial Day weekend.  The awesome thing is that we had AIR CONDITIONING!!! :)


And to preface the real point of this post, Marcus' grandmother used to knit and crochet A LOT.  I mean, over the course of the past six months, we've found so much yarn and crocheted blankets.  We've even found unfinished blankets, squares meant to be quilted together, you name it.  But I really had no idea what was in store for us.  Marcus told me that there was a closet of yarn in the garage.  Not just a small closet... It is a large utility closet with shelves of yarn from floor to ceiling.  Then we happened upon ANOTHER closet in the den.  Guess what was in it.  YARN!  Shelves of yarn organized by color from floor to ceiling.  So... we had to formulate a plan for the yarn.  My dear husband did a little research and found out that many people (not us) still find uses for yarn of all colors, materials, and textures.  Evidently, these people buy their yarn on ebay for up to $5.00 a skein.  I was flabbergasted.  Really?  Five bucks for some yarn?  But just because knitting and crocheting isn't for me doesn't  mean it's not for everyone.


Long story short... we decided to attack the smaller den closet first.  Four hours later... we had categorized 996 skeins of yarn by color and material.  That's over 3 refrigerator sized boxes full of yarn! I still can't believe it.  And we still have another closet full of yarn to go through.  That closet is twice as big!  Needless to say, we've got enough yarn to sell on ebay for at least a few years.  Amazing...


Pictures added 6/22/11.