Tag: kitchen reno

Kitchen cabinet Paint & Reno

Pomi called me more than a year ago to ask about doing something for her kitchen… finally we were able to sit down and go over some options. She decided to paint her existing cabinets rather than go new, because she likes the old style that are generally roomier and more efficient for space than modern cabinets. Here are some pictures that chronicle the journey over a year in the making:

The old cabinets were in decent shape but a few hinges were bent, and the finish had worn over many years. I fixed the missing cabinet over the fridge and ‘added’ to the one beside the sink. Then I took off the upper cabinet doors and painted inside the upper cabinets.

Then I sanded the doors and started painting them. I sprayed them with cabinet paint. I also made some sliding drawers for the lower cabinets.

The doors got installed. Pomi spray painted her original hinges and handles and they went back on. (I prefer to use the original hinges because the new ones these days seem to be a lot flimsier.)

Before we started on the lower cabinets, Pomi had to choose a countertop, and a sink. She wanted to move the sink to center on the window, which meant getting out the cabinet stretcher and adding a few inches to the left of the cabinet.

A little bit more painting…

And done! (the countertop is Quartz and was done by Black Pearl)

There is still a new dishwasher to get, backsplash to tile, painting to do, but I think others will do that. There is also another small folding bar cabinet to make, but that will take some design work…

Small Kitchen Reno – move wall, retrofit cabinets, install countertops and tile

Hilary hired me to re-do part of her kitchen. To save space she wanted to remove a skinny, tall pantry and replace it with cabinets and countertop space. To do so, a wall had to move a little bit. New countertops and tile backsplash would finish it off.

Here are some ‘before’ pictures:

The old countertops were tile, which was overlaid over the original tops, which were “flatlay” (laminate), screwed to the cabinets from above.

First I moved the wall (kitchen entrance) – it was not a supporting wall so that made things easier. There was some floor patching and baseboard changes as well.

Next I cut the existing pantry in half and removed the bottom half for later.

Once I knew where the new wall was, I templated the countertops so that they could be ordered for cutting, and arranged for a plumber. I extended the old pantry cabinets and shortened them to kitchen cabinet height.

Once I had cabinets installed, I picked up the countertop and installed that as well. The customer was without a kitchen sink overnight.

Once the countertop was in, the plumber came and hooked up the new sink and tap. Then it was time to start tiling.

I always ask the customer to choose and purchase the tile and the grout. It usually takes me about 2 days to install and grout a kitchen backsplash. These were ceramic subway tiles with a raised wavy surface.

Here are some “after” pictures. The customer is going to do all the painting (yay!). – a bit on the wall, and she is also planning to paint the cabinets.

Overall, everything went pretty well and my customer is happy. It took me about 7 days (not all full days). The kitchen has a lot more useable space now and looks very nice.