The Kitchen Cabinet Overhaul

Last year, when Ryan and I moved into our new house, the first order of business on our make-over-the-move-in-ready-house list was to demo a wall between the kitchen and living room and open up that space a bit. If you missed it, you can read all about that fun here. Ryan had one more project he wanted to do, but we were so weary of all our renovations (all the house projects combined took up four months of our 2016) that we tabled his idea until winter. He said it would be a good winter project.

But apparently a better winter project was having a gallbladder removed and overseeing the goings-on of a hip replacement. So it wasn't until March that we actually tackled this last project: the cabinet overhaul.

The cabinets in our kitchen are actually really nice. Good quality, nice and strong, well-cared-for by the previous owners. We'd thrown new hardware on them when we moved in and that was good enough for a while. But Ryan really wanted them to be darker. Espresso, actually. Allow me to say at the beginning of this post that we know darker cabinets aren't for everyone. Most people want them lighter to make the room feel brighter. But for our coffee-shop-feel kitchen, espresso was the way to go.

Allow me to ALSO say at the beginning of this post that Ryan did 99.9% of the work on this project. It wasn't that I was unwilling, but he had a particular way he wanted it done, and it was just better for everyone if he did that himself. (I get it. I feel the same way about my own projects. I'll do them myself.) So please direct all kudos to Ryan, because he earned every bit of it!

I've had a few people ask how this process works, so here's the outline for you! First of all, the before pictures:

The kit (plus supplies) he used cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $100, which is MUCH cheaper than purchasing new cabinets! It's a Rustoleum kit (same brand we used to overhaul our garage floors last year!) that you can purchase in a variety of colors.

One of the big keys to this project (which you already know if you heard the podcast where Ryan talked about it) is organization. So we started with this "totally-to-scale" drawing of our kitchen. (HA!!!) We numbered each cabinet and drawer so when it came time to put the room back together, we weren't guessing about the locations of drawers and doors!

We took the doors down and the drawer-faces off, and we labeled each one with a masking tape number to correspond with the map Ryan drew. (You know. The map where the fridge is sitting on top of the trash can and said fridge is also 1/4 the size of our lazy Susan cabinet.)

We also put the hardware from each cabinet (handles, hinges, all of it) in baggies labeled in Sharpie with the appropriate number.

The result was an unsightly looking kitchen, but for the most part, it was functional. Not efficient in any way, you understand, but functional.

Ryan started by working on the cabinet frames. This was a pretty tedious part. He had to tape off all the areas (on the walls, on the inside of the cabinets, etc) that did NOT need the product applied, just like if he planned to paint with regular paint.

Then he cleaned the frames with an all-purpose cleaner and used a product called a de-glosser that came in the kit. That product basically stripped off the finish so the color would adhere to the cabinets. He did the de-glossing step twice, just to make sure he got everything.  This was also when he filled any holes he found (from old hardware, etc) and sanded down the excess filler. THEN he could start applying the "bond coat," which was the color coat. It's hard to describe that part, because it doesn't quite act like paint, but it also doesn't act like a stain. It's somewhere in between. He applied it with a brush, though, like he would have applied paint. He had to be careful to make sure it applied evenly and didn't drip or get pooled in corners. He applied two, sometimes three coats to the frames and of course he had to allow for drying time between coats. After that, two (sometimes three, if he felt it necessary) coats of polyurethane went on top to give it some sheen and to  protect it.

Here are some photos of the frames in process.

A couple of things to note: first of all, he found the headlamp to be very helpful in this part, especially since he did a lot of the work at night and so there wasn't any natural light coming in to help him. We did have to unload a lot of the content of the cabinets during this part, because we didn't want to get any chemicals on our food or dishes. That was kind of a nightmare, but that's why he worked so hard to get the frames completely done first. That way at least I could have my kitchen back to cook! Another note: this really was a low-odor kit. I didn't notice overpowering smells from any steps in the process!

He did all the work for the drawers and doors out in the garage. The steps were the same as outlined above, and I did help with the cleaning/de-glossing steps for the doors and drawers. Please make note of his very creative makeshift work space!

Another note: there is also an optional middle step between the bond and the poly called a decorative glaze. We tried it and because our cabinets were so dark, we couldn't even see it. So we skipped that step. He observed in the instructional videos that if you go with a white or very light color cabinet, that middle step does give it some more personality. I think he was relieved he did not have to do it, because this was a long-enough project as it was!

One last note about the kit: many of the online reviews mentioned that the protective topcoat in the kit wasn't that great. Ryan did a test area behind the stove and didn't like how it went on, so we bought a can of Polycrylic Protective Finish by Minwax (clear satin) and were pleased with how it went on and looked once it dried. 

So....wanna see the after??

Yes, they are darker, but with our vaulted ceiling and lots of natural light (after pictures were taken at night so there's not as much natural light flowing in), it doesn't feel dark and confining.

And yes, now he has his sights set on new appliances. LOL!!! (To be fair, everything but the microwave was original to the house being built and we fear we're living on borrowed time with a couple of them. We'd like to replace them when the sales are good, rather than necessity dictating!)

So to just wrap up this overhaul experience, Ryan did say he feels the process was worth it. Obviously the DIY project saved us several thousand dollars compared to buying new cabinets. We wouldn't have even done that. This just lets us put our stamp on the house in an affordable way. But even Ryan, with his unending patience, was tired of this when he was done. LOL! He knew going in that it wouldn't be a weekend project, and he had mentally prepared for that. But it still took a lot longer than he planned. Only being able to work on it at night and on the weekends probably didn't help.

But we love the look, and here are the befores and afters side by side if you want to compare!

(Click on photos to enlarge if you like.)

Thanks, Ryan, for working SO HARD to make our kitchen reflect us even more! You're amazing!