Kitchen final push... for now
More on me and my life.... because in my imaginary world, this is a platform and I have an audience that is interested....
My life is busy because I am trying to fit 2.5 careers and 3 lifestyles into one. I am a librarian/professor primarily, and an actor and a merman (it's a thing) on the side... and I drive for uber to make up for bills. If i'm honest, i have a little bit of a debt issue I'm catching up on.... it's a slog. I'm also a crossfitter and a I-refuse-to-be-40-the-way-every-one-else-is-er. I exhaust me. So that's my multilayered excuse for not updating this blog, which isn't really a blog because I'm still catching you up on stuff I did months or YEARS ago. So next layer on the kitchen!
Fast forward (backward) to August of 2019. The intended date of this project came right after the ancient AC died and I had to have a complete HVAC replacement. (more on that later, if i have the strength)... so I was tired and really short on funds, but the materials had been purchased and I will be paying my parents back for a little of it when the aftershocks of HVAC gate wear off.
Also, it's Texas and You do not want to be without AC in Texas in July.
Anyway. I hated the countertops that I had. The counters were butcher block printed formica over particle board... and so was the backsplash. The corners were dark, and there were only 2 outlets in the room. the backsplash was 3/4" thick, with formica over particle board. Ripping that out was fun.
Meanwhile, across the state, my dad built new countertops for me using 1x4 oak boards.. backed with plywood. Dowl joints between the boards for strength. I gave him rough measurements and we cut them in place to fit the space. He edged them really nicely with slightly thicker oak. Because I am prone to unnecessary complications, I asked him to double up the oak in the center piece to allow for an undermount sink.... because i was set on that. (spoiler alert... it didn't work out that way)
Mom and dad arrived with the new counters, essentially, they drove 6 hours to deliver them. I demoed the old countertops that morning. Fortunately my roommate had a dog sitting engagement for the same weekend. the timing worked out beautifully. So here's a cheeky shot of dad as we prepare to cut the hole for the sink... dig the socks ;)
Turns out this is some SOLID wood and despite our best efforts, we could not cut a hole pretty enough for an undermount sink. But in the end I liked it as top mount... and this sink is 2" deeper than the one it replaced, so I didn't really need another 1.5" of counter above that. Don't you like the sink? It came from Craigslist for $40... and lived in the garage for over a year waiting for its chance to shine. of course going from undermount to top mount meant I had to go with a 4 hole faucet set up instead of a sleek one hole pull out version. A quick trip to Lowes with Mom as consultant resulted in this nice oil-rubbed bronze offering.. the other one I had got returned and never photgraphed. Speaking of photos, here's another dump. new sink, hole for range (if you look closely you can see where we had to cut an access hole to get into the corner and screw the counters together) and jumping ahead a bit, one that shows the faucet off.
Finishing the countertops! I used Waterlox, which is a tung oil based finish and really seals the wood without majorly affecting the color. It's foodsafe, yada yada... and just a little more durable than mineral oil finishes according to my research. It looks good and has kept the counters looking awesome for 4 months and counting. I don't have any real pics of the finish at this stage, but here's one that shows the countertop compared with a scrap of the old formica. I guess we'll have to wait for finished pics to see how it looks because I'm bad at remembering photos. this is 2 or 3 coats in and I ended up using 5 coats. It took a while. You have to give it 24 hours between coats and 3 days after the last coat for full curing.
jump forward another week. Mom and Dad have gone home and I begin tiling.. my first time ever doing ceramic tile. I learned a lot. like how old houses are never square or level and screw it because only you will notice where things slope a bit. Also, cutting oddly shaped tiles is a pain. The close up here is what i now call my "favorite" tile.. i had to cut that thing 4 times before i managed to not break it... but look how lovely it is in place:
I used grey grout (not my mother's vote but it's not her house) because I like contrast and i hate cleaning grout. I finished off the edges by the stove with scraps of oak. at the other end, I used screen door molding with just a touch of stain to make the color match.. It wasn't really needed because there's actually a layer of masonite over the drywall, so the tile was inset naturally... but it finishes it nicely. I was able to pull some power from the switch box and install one more outlet which is functionally huge for this kitchen. Far enough away from the water sources it didn't need to be an GFCI.
Here's a nice after shot:
one last detail: painted the window frame matte black. It's the little touches.
This is the kitchen pretty much done for now... (because budget). Ultimately, I want to replace this door with a double french door out to the patio, and I am in LOVE with this wallpaper sample, which is from Spoonflower and is amazing but not cheap. (sample is installed sideways, but this was where I could see it with the other colors in the room. It's going to look great with the cabinets and counters. ... probably I will get to that in the summer.
Meanwhile, across the state, my dad built new countertops for me using 1x4 oak boards.. backed with plywood. Dowl joints between the boards for strength. I gave him rough measurements and we cut them in place to fit the space. He edged them really nicely with slightly thicker oak. Because I am prone to unnecessary complications, I asked him to double up the oak in the center piece to allow for an undermount sink.... because i was set on that. (spoiler alert... it didn't work out that way)
Mom and dad arrived with the new counters, essentially, they drove 6 hours to deliver them. I demoed the old countertops that morning. Fortunately my roommate had a dog sitting engagement for the same weekend. the timing worked out beautifully. So here's a cheeky shot of dad as we prepare to cut the hole for the sink... dig the socks ;)
Turns out this is some SOLID wood and despite our best efforts, we could not cut a hole pretty enough for an undermount sink. But in the end I liked it as top mount... and this sink is 2" deeper than the one it replaced, so I didn't really need another 1.5" of counter above that. Don't you like the sink? It came from Craigslist for $40... and lived in the garage for over a year waiting for its chance to shine. of course going from undermount to top mount meant I had to go with a 4 hole faucet set up instead of a sleek one hole pull out version. A quick trip to Lowes with Mom as consultant resulted in this nice oil-rubbed bronze offering.. the other one I had got returned and never photgraphed. Speaking of photos, here's another dump. new sink, hole for range (if you look closely you can see where we had to cut an access hole to get into the corner and screw the counters together) and jumping ahead a bit, one that shows the faucet off.
Finishing the countertops! I used Waterlox, which is a tung oil based finish and really seals the wood without majorly affecting the color. It's foodsafe, yada yada... and just a little more durable than mineral oil finishes according to my research. It looks good and has kept the counters looking awesome for 4 months and counting. I don't have any real pics of the finish at this stage, but here's one that shows the countertop compared with a scrap of the old formica. I guess we'll have to wait for finished pics to see how it looks because I'm bad at remembering photos. this is 2 or 3 coats in and I ended up using 5 coats. It took a while. You have to give it 24 hours between coats and 3 days after the last coat for full curing.
jump forward another week. Mom and Dad have gone home and I begin tiling.. my first time ever doing ceramic tile. I learned a lot. like how old houses are never square or level and screw it because only you will notice where things slope a bit. Also, cutting oddly shaped tiles is a pain. The close up here is what i now call my "favorite" tile.. i had to cut that thing 4 times before i managed to not break it... but look how lovely it is in place:
I used grey grout (not my mother's vote but it's not her house) because I like contrast and i hate cleaning grout. I finished off the edges by the stove with scraps of oak. at the other end, I used screen door molding with just a touch of stain to make the color match.. It wasn't really needed because there's actually a layer of masonite over the drywall, so the tile was inset naturally... but it finishes it nicely. I was able to pull some power from the switch box and install one more outlet which is functionally huge for this kitchen. Far enough away from the water sources it didn't need to be an GFCI.
Here's a nice after shot:
one last detail: painted the window frame matte black. It's the little touches.
This is the kitchen pretty much done for now... (because budget). Ultimately, I want to replace this door with a double french door out to the patio, and I am in LOVE with this wallpaper sample, which is from Spoonflower and is amazing but not cheap. (sample is installed sideways, but this was where I could see it with the other colors in the room. It's going to look great with the cabinets and counters. ... probably I will get to that in the summer.
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