Weekend # 12 marked the beginning of the kitchen renovation. This was a big step in the process because it was the last room still in the original condition. It is the room we left pretty much alone until this point. This was a two-fold decision - for starters, the kitchen holds the snacks and drinks. Secondly, the kitchen has the sink and we've cleaned a lot of stuff in that sink!
We drove to JC Saturday morning, but we started the kitchen planning started in Knoxville about a week prior. We took a trip to Lowe's to get paint and check out cabinets so we could determine the sizes we need to fit the kitchen. You read that right - the kitchen is getting new cabinets!
Since we are putting new cabinets in, that means the kitchen needed to be cleared out. On Saturday, Scott was tasked with finding, filling and sanding all the little flaws in our skim coat walls. Nan, Pap and I started on the kitchen clear out and demo.
A little bit of kitchen history from Mom and Robin: These cabinets were put in place summer of 1973 by my Papaw. After Mamaw and Papaw bought the house, Papaw started remodeling the kitchen and the pantry. He worked during the day and did the kitchen remodel in the evening and weekends. (This sound very similar to our work plan!) After the remodel was complete, the family had a housewarming for Mamaw and Papaw. Family and friends came to see the new kitchen and some brought gifts. I can only imagine how proud they must have been. Scott and I have experienced similar pride as our own remodel has taken shape at this house.
Mom shared a funny family story about the kitchen remodel: "The only story we can remember is that Daddy has been working in the kitchen, we think putting up cabinets when C came in. Daddy told C to give him a chair, but he pronounced it like cheer. C responded with "Rah, rah, rah!" Daddy responded with a few choice words, he was not a happy camper!" I've heard C tell this same story. It makes me smil every time. 😊
The sink cabinet was attached to the wall between the bathroom and the back door. This sink is why the back door never opened fully. Above the sink, there was a copper backsplash Mom and Robin installed between the sink and the cabinets. We removed the upper cabinets first. The sink is moving in the kitchen and something else is going in this space. We took the backsplash down and discovered the paneling behind the sink was a bit water damaged. The sink and the sink cabinet were also removed.
The water damaged paneling resulted in another full team discussion. The decision was made to remove the paneling behind the sink. I am so glad we did, because it revealed the wall and some insight into the earlier versions of the kitchen.
You can see in the outline on the left in the picture above. The sink was much smaller and nestled against the doorframe leading to the bathroom. I imagine this allowed the backdoor to open all the way. Removing the paneling also revealed a few layers of wallpaper. Mom and Robin both remember the kitchen being painted gray. It clearly had some other stuff going on before the gray paint. I always remember the kitchen with the dark paneling on the walls.
We removed the paneling and put a new piece of paneling back up. The plan was to paint the paneling, but we wanted the same texture on the walls. Adding a new piece of paneling allowed us to keep the texture.
Mom and I did the primer painting on the paneling. Everything I read about painting paneling walls said you must primer paint it first. We used Kilz paint, which has a very strong odor. We propped the door open and had the fan running, but it was still pretty strong. Mom and I painted the walls, the upper trim and the ceiling with the Kilz paint.
Just putting the primer on changed the dark kitchen into something much brighter and it already appeared bigger. We had already taken the baseboard off for the new cabinets, so it made painting somewhat easier.
After we got the primer paint on, we started in with finish painting. I chose a soft blue-gray color for the kitchen. I wanted something to accent the floor and to compliment the white trim and doors in the kitchen. Mom and I were the paint masters for the weekend. 😉
Meanwhile, Pap started working on the closet in the backroom. We decided not to skim coat the walls in the closets. We opted for a bead board finish in those closets. Pap has been in charge of that project.
Scott and I have had much discussion about the trim paint in the kitchen. It appears to be hundreds of layers thick. It isn't hundreds, but it is a lot of very thick high gloss paint. We've tried CitriStrip and Kwik Strip paint remover products, but neither one worked. If I'm being honest, they just made a sticky mess. We tried a little orbital sanding, but that created a ton of dust and didn't really work that great. We are trying to be mindful because there is a pretty good chance the many layers of paint include some lead-based paint. Today's trial was the heat gun, which is probably questionable, but it worked better than anything else and didn't create any dust.
The heat gun isn't going to restore the wood to it's original condition, but it will at least get us to a smooth surface that can be repainted. It is a very HOT job, for sure.
There was so much work going on! We've had a little issue with the roof leaking. The roof was replaced two years ago, so it shouldn't be leaking. The roofer had already been out once to attempt to fix the roof. It's a long story. Fast forward, JC had a pretty big storm with some heavy rain and wind. Mom and Dad went by the house to take the trash to the road and discovered BIG leak with water spots in lots of places and water on the floor. We called the roofer again and they were back out on Saturday to fix the roof again. This time, they built a slope over the flat spot. There has been rain at the house again and the roof hasn't leaked, so we are keeping our fingers crossed it is fixed!
You can see the little peak they built at the top of the picture above. I think it turned out nicely.
While Pap and Scott worked on their respective projects, Mom and I got the finish paint completed in both the kitchen and the bathroom.
You can't really see the floor in these pictures because we had everything covered, but trust me when I say, it is gorgeous. I love how the kitchen is turning out.
It was a very productive weekend. I am closing today with the picture of the work crew from the weekend. I am probably starting to sound like a broken record, but I have to say again how thankful I am for this crew. Mom and Dad have been such a huge help in this adventure. I am not only grateful for the help at the house, but I am so thankful for the time we are getting to spend together. 💜
Stay tuned, this is only the beginning of the kitchen transformation. Much more to come!
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