Kitchen Remodel Progress

06 August
I thought I would check in with you with the progress of my kitchen makeover. I have been working on painting the cabinets... a BIG job because my kitchen has a LOT of cabinets... but I've been doing just one section at a time in order to not overwhelm myself.

So far I have worked on this set of uppers and the base cabinets below them.

kitchen remodel, painting cupboards


The cabinets to the right of the one above the stove will be open cabinets, I'm not planning to put the doors back on them... unless it looks stupid when I'm all done 😋

The doors will be put back on the one over the stove though... you know... since there is a big metal vent pipe there!


The upper cabinets will be white and the base cabinets will be gray so I decided to paint the backs of the open cupboards with the same gray as the base cabinets.

Man! Painting inside cupboards is a bitch!!


The base cabinets had two doors and four drawers.


A couple of the drawers had to be reglued. These are the original cabinets from the 1960's so I guess a little repair work can be expected.


My new drawer pulls didn't come with a template and since I have to drill new holes for these I made myself a template with a scrap of cardboard.

First I colored over the screw holes with a pencil... enough so the lead would hopefully cover the ends.


And then I turned it over and pressed it down hard onto the cardboard.


It worked!


Now I just darkened them up and marked the center so I could match it up with the center of each drawer.

I drilled the new holes in the drawers right through the cardboard template.


That worked like a charm but then I realized that the screws that came with the pulls were too long! Drat! The chances of finding shorter screws with the same thread pattern would be pretty slim so I did some McGuyvering!

Adding a little piece of wood and counter sinking the screws a little made for a perfect fit!

Don't judge the messy counter sunk screw holes... it's inside the drawers... no one will be the wiser unless they are inspecting the drawers...

... and if they have enough time to inspect my kitchen they can make themselves useful and cook up a meal while they are in there!


I also had problems with the new hinges I ordered... they are too big and after making about a billion holes in the cupboard trying to get the doors back on I gave up for awhile.

I have since decided to reuse the old hinges and spray paint them to match the new pulls and knobs. I'll use the screws that came with the new hinges to avoid having to mess with painting screws too!


I'm hoping to make some more progress in the next few weeks. I'll check in again soon!


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  1. Whew, all those little details are maddening, are they not? It will all be worth it one day.

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  2. Shirlee CarterAugust 07, 2017

    I took the doors off the upper cabinets in our last house and loved it. I'm not surprised you ran into problems with fitting new hardware because the cabs are original and you mentioned they were built in place. However it looks like you found a great solution.
    Big job ahead, but so worth it in the end.

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  3. anne in the kitchenAugust 07, 2017

    Your kitchen is going to be great looking when you finish. You are smart to use the same hinges rather than try to replace them. I found the same issue when we redid a 1960's kitchen at our former house.

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  4. You're doing great, and I love your drawer solution for the pulls. When I repainted the cupboards when we first moved in 20 years ago I kept all the painted hinges, but I stripped them all down to the bare silver metal. It was just too hard to find ones to fit. It's always the little things that drive me crazy during room makeovers. Keep up the good work!

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  5. Hi Tuula! These old pulls and hinges were copper... very strange :o)

    Tania

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  6. Thanks Anne! I fought with them long enough... time to wave the white flag! :o)

    Tania

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  7. Hi Shirlee! I hope it all works out! :o)

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  8. Yes... very maddening Florence!

    Tania

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  9. Can't wait to see the finished product. I HATE painting inside cabinets. Ugh.

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  10. Me too! I thought for a brief moment of just ripping them completely off the wall instead of painting! ha ha!

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  11. whattarushAugust 09, 2017

    FYI You could use a hack saw to trim the length on the bolts, and they would fit great. Make sure to trim off only as much as you need to...best to be too long at first and whittle down. They may be difficult to thread on at first, but they should go on. If you've mangled the threads, you can use the hack saw to fashion them correctly again. Love your choice of drawer pulls, by the way!

    I love, love, love your 60s cabinets...all wood, and care was taken to make them. We had those in two of our houses, and they were nice.

    Your kitchen is going to look great! Hang in there! Fonda

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  12. Thanks so much Fonda! There is something great about having the original, built in place cabinets!! Thanks for the tip too, I actually did think of that but was too scared I'd screw them up and then not be able to find anymore with the correct thread pattern :o)

    Tania

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  13. whattarushAugust 09, 2017

    I thought of you today while I was at the Restore on Ocean Isle Beach, NC (I live 8 minutes away, lucky me!). On a shelf were two of those brightly-colored, straw trivets. If you need them, let me know, and I'll pick them up and send them! They are about 6" across. $1 - very affordable! Maybe. Let me know if you're in need.

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  14. You are so sweet Fonda! Yes! I would love to have them, I'll pay you for them :o) Send me an email at Pelletier4003@charter.net and I'll give you my address that way instead of on here.

    Speaking of those trivets, I think I may have enough soon to do the project I've been saving them up for!

    Tania

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