All's Well That Ends Well

One of my plans with this project--with many projects upon which I embark--was to take before shots as well as after shots. That I did not remember to do this was the first of my myriad frustrations with myself and the project, and yet, I had to ruefully accept that this is who I am. This failure of photography was only the first of my grade school ducks to waddle out of line.

I assumed that I would be able to dig up some pictures of the cabinets from earlier in our ownership of this house, and I did find one which includes an example of the bland ugliness of the doors, but it was only one, and only from long, long ago. I'm not sure I made this clear, but I have never liked those cabinets, and the lack of photographic proof of them certainly corroborates me. Here is the one photo I found:

This photo is actually quite good, because in addition to a glimpse of the ugly cabinets, it shows the original (all "originals" are only original to me) faux marble vinyl floor tiles, the original cheap-o fridge, the original stove, none of Ian's customizations (this photo was taken exactly five months pre-Ian), a BPA-full original Nalgene, and a wall color from three paints ago. Also documented here is the light switch for the porch light, in the wood frame right next to the door--the light switch which had been installed on the knob-and-tube wiring without a metal box around it, and behind which the knob-and-tube had been slowly smoldering away over the years (we discovered this in the nick of time in 2012 when we had electricians update the house wiring). I also see a flash of lime green on the counter on the right which is my tape measure (thanks, Mom!), and it's still mine, and I still have it, because Ian and I went through the whose-tools-are-whose conversation years ago, before my tape measure got lost in the chaos of his shed. But I digress. 

Above is the current view. Note the hood over the stove, the almost invisible, narrow fridge (which we're taking with us when we go), the black and white floor, the now-aged maple island/cutting board, and various other changes and improvements, not least of which are the newly painted cabinets. Nice, eh?

In addition to some of the problems I previously related, I discovered (mildly ironically, in the event), that most of my best painting supplies were on Orcas. At the very end of the project, on Friday afternoon (only one week longer than I thought I'd go) I found that the quart of enamel paint that I was going to use on the trim closest to the sink and the dishwasher was also on Orcas. The (mild) irony here is two-fold: I have been doing this work here in preparation of moving there; and we had never intended to own two homes at once. This frustrating duality of storage locations confirms for us that we are on the right track.

Following are some photos of the project in process, and various things I did INSTEAD of working in the kitchen.

OMG. Utter chaos. I have to go somewhere else. 

These pants I've been meaning to hem for Ian? Now is the perfect time! Why are there dog toys looking over/resting on the sewing table? I have no idea. 

Wow, those beds under the cherry trees are weedy! Better go tidy those up!

KenKen! My current avoidance obsession. These sheets are all printed (and filled out) on both sides. I found that the detail-orientation needed to successfully complete the KenKens was the same as the detail-orientation needed to successfully complete the painting projects. Which meant, yes, that I only had the brain power to successfully do one or the other on any given day. I did not always choose wisely. 

SIGH. Back to work. I would like to point out the shelf that I hit my head on numerous times, right there at the top of this photo, hanging just a little bit too low over the work table.*

In progress. Note the complete lack of plastic sheeting (although I did take the time to mask). 

 

HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF. This ended up looking A.W.E.S.O.M.E. 

Really, the whole kitchen looks different. The whole upstairs looks different!

Even Spackle looks different! 

It's amazing to me how quickly I've adjusted to the new look, in fact. When I walk into the kitchen now, there's no underlying sigh about the ugliness anymore. 

Everything looks just like it should!

*Ian just suggested to me that, in hindsight, couldn't I have moved the work table out from under the shelf? I replied that hindsight was not at all useful at this point. He laughed.