This Old House #1

On this episode of "This Old House" were going to show you some real results in the ongoing kitchen project at Paul's house. I have some before and after (and in-between) shots and I will explain each as I go along. There's still more to do in the kitchen (re-shelf the pantry, paint and install a light) But for now we've seen some amazing results in this 6 month + project and after looking at the original "before" photos its amazing to see just how much two people (and a nutty dog) have accomplished!



These were both taken in late December 2005 when Paul took down the wallpaper. Two lovely layers (pineapples with a chair rail of blue, on top of brown and turquoise sea shells) stuck straight to the drywall with no primer. What a mess!


Here is the stove section with the paper off and the beginnings of a primer coat down in January 2006.


Here's the sink side with the pale yellow and the blue tape still up, late January 2006.


After stripping doors and hardware off the cabinets and purchasing new hardware in February, we finally got around to sanding with the help of a few professional sanders that we borrowed (Thanks Tommy!) and started priming the cabinets in May 2006. See the cord hanging down in the top cabinet above the sink? That's how the original power for the light was furnished. Paul rerouted the electrical through the wall and provided an extra outlet and we bought a new light. Now there's no silly cord to get in the way, or holes in the cabinet shelves.


After careful calculation and some scratching of heads we punched through the top panel of the cabinets (that you can see painted in the last photo) and added another 18 feet worth of open shelving. Why the installers of these cabinets hadn't though to do that in the first place - I don't know? A few uprights and some fancy maneuvering and we had a heck of a lot more storage space, and more to paint in early June 2006.


The new light is installed, the holes patched in the cabinet and ceiling, and several coats of paint have been applied to the new shelving.



And last but not least - the finished project, a beautifully redone kitchen looking like new!