Black and White Bathroom

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This is by far one of my favorite bathrooms we’ve designed and completed. This was a complete gut down to studs then we updated the old bathtub to a walk-in shower with custom niches, a larger more functional vanity that fit the space better, and fresh new floors.

IMG_9177The shower is a solid surface pan and wall system in a gray and white pattern. These systems are so heavy and beautiful!! To ensure they install properly it takes some creative supports. Luckily, this guy does an outstanding job at making sure everything installs perfectly.

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The shower door is very sturdy and has inset grills so it makes it easy to clean with a very sleek look.

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We didn’t want the bathroom to feel stark, so we used a warm toned floor. This is a stick down vinyl plank floor.

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The vanity is Kraftmaid cabinetry in ebony and is absolutely gorgeous. It has a white marble countertop with integrated sink with stainless pulls. This cabinet brand allowed us to add the decorative elements that made it custom at a reasonable cost.

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For all the fixtures in the bathroom we used the Delta Trinsic in stainless faucet, accessories and shower head and a Kohler toilet.

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The mirror is an inset medicine cabinet which allows for a lot of storage in this bathroom, a 4 light vanity light and we trimmed out the windows and doors with a craftsman style dimensional white casing. The walls are painted light gray.

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Throughout this project we had a lot of help from our little friends. So much fun completing this project and so grateful to all of our clients who welcome us into their homes and allow us to make their homes beautiful. We are so blessed by you all.

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Gray and White Bathroom

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Can you remember when canary yellow was all the rage?!! Well, if you were into that style this next transformation may break your heart a little. Just check out these before pictures of the next bathroom that we had the pleasure of upgrading.

In this bathroom we upgraded all the fixtures, replaced the flooring, doors, trim and paint. The homeowner did a great job selecting all the colors and materials they wanted in this bathroom and it was so much fun working with them from start to finish.

The white soaking tub and complementary surround is a white tile with inset design trimmed with metal pencil liner.

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We added an accent tile wall behind the toilet and trimmed with the metal pencil liner.

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We also updated the vanity to a beautiful white with light gray quartz countertop. The walls were painted a light gray and the trim a bright white.

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The floors were upgraded to a charcoal large scale tile.

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We also updated the doors, trim and baseboards throughout the bathroom and in the hallway.

The before and after of this bathroom is so drastically different.  We are so glad to have worked on this project and are excited for the homeowners to enjoy their new retreat.

New floors and paint

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It has been a busy last half of the year. We’ve worked on so many projects and also had some well-deserved quality time off.

The first I’m going to share is from a project that we previously updated the bathroom and kitchen floors earlier this year. Well, now we have replaced the front and back doors, painted the walls and ceiling in the living room, installed new casing and baseboards, and updated the floors to match what we did in the kitchen. You can see the rest of the updates here.

Updated bathroom and kitchen

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We absolutely love being in Hamburg, we run into people all the time that I’ve known growing up and it’s so much fun. What’s always interesting is catching up on 20 years takes so short a time and it feels like just a blink of time has passed. It’s crazy how that works.

So when this homeowner reached out, and all the memories of kick the can and capture the flag in the neighborhood came flooding back, of course we wanted to be involved in their remodel project on the street I grew up in. The neighborhood before it became over run with new homes was the quintessential neighborhood to grow up in, no through-streets, tall fields with wild strawberry and raspberry picking, treehouses we would play in, running from house to house to go swimming. So many fun memories of growing up on our street.

Well, this house just needed an update, 30 years will do that to a well-loved house!

Here are a few before pictures:

For this project, we updated the kitchen floors from the original linoleum to the Pergo XP in Haley Oak.

Then we painted the green walls with Benjamin Moore’s Seapearl (OC-19), which I have come to love in kitchens with wood cabinets, and then we gave the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint.

We updated the vinyl baseboards to a 4.25″ white wood baseboard and transformed the kitchen into a beautiful new space.

The next upgrade was a little larger, they wanted to update the bathroom. We started by selecting the colors and materials.

The bathroom had some water damage so we knew going in that we would need to do some repairs to the framing of the bathroom.

Once the water damage was corrected by replacing 2x4s, adding drywall and replacing the subfloor we were able to get started on the fun stuff!

Next to be completed was the shower, we were switching this house to a standup shower with tile walls. So we put up cement board, a two section niche, and put in the shower pan. The next part is the most important, waterproofing!!

This product creates a membrane over the cement board that protects from water damage. Technically this shower could be used as it is…but it sure is ugly!!!

Now it’s time to turn this into a beautiful shower.

The rest of the bathroom also received an update. The vanity backsplash with a new 2×2 tile to compliment the new shower tile.

We painted the walls Benjamin Moore’s Horizon (OC-53) to make it light and bright.

Once all the drywall touch ups were done, final painting was completed we were ready to put in the floors and do all the finishing touches the make the project come together.

We updated the door casing to painted pine and replaced the vinyl baseboards with 4.25″ painted pine base. The flooring is a luxury plank vinyl in Ocala Oak.

The toilet was replaced with a comfort height elongated Kohler Cimarron.

The shower door is a full glass sliding door with brushed nickel hardware. It is the Mirage-X by Dreamline.

This project was so much fun and we even had a little buddy to keep us company – thanks little SoCo!!

We are so excited to do the next update at this house in the next few months!! It truly is amazing to watch a house go from dated to brand new.

Newly remodeled studio apartment

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A client who we’ve recently finished a whole house remodel asked us to also add a studio apartment over their garage. The existing space had TEAL walls and PURPLE trim!!! No really…it looked like an Easter egg which is fitting because when we first looked at the space it had some adorable bunnies in there.

The first thing we needed to do was design the space to incorporate a bath/laundry room and a full kitchen.

Space planning is so important, it can make or break a remodel. You can put in the prettiest fixtures but if the space is difficult to move around or it’s uncomfortable to use it’s a waste.

When you work with 1 Great Space Construction we spend a great deal of time talking about location of appliances, countertop space and walkways. We use blue tape on the floors and walls to provide space orientation and we work together to finalize the perfect layout.

This remodel also included a little treasure hunting!! We hadn’t found the right cabinets for the project yet and we happened to have another client that were getting rid of their older cabinets. So, after discussing it with both homeowners I set up for the older cabinets to be used in this apartment and they worked out perfectly.

Here are the before pictures of the cabinets at their old home.

Now that we had cabinets to fit the space we were able to start building out the framework for the apartment. (See that pink casing around the windows!!!)

The first thing we needed to do was add the bathroom/laundry room and a closet for the bedroom area. In order to be the most comfortable studio apartment, we wanted to ensure that guests had all the amenities they would need.

Drywall always makes everything look better!! Next we painted the walls using Sherwin Williams Pearl Gray and Benjamin Moore Chantily Lace for the trim and doors. It is now so bright and airy in the apartment, such a difference from what it used to look like.

We worked in the color of natural wood for the laminate floor. We also were able to get an amazing deal from a local wholesaler, so the floors were a no brainer. One side note to mention, we used these laminate floors in the bathroom, which we don’t recommend, but the deal we got on them made it worth it and the homeowner went into this with eyes wide open on all the risks involved.

The reused cabinets were finally placed in their final spots and just needed to be updated with a little paint.

The cabinets were originally stained and were then painted and then glazed. So we had our work cut out for us on repainting them, we first went over them with a liquid sandpaper a few times to remove any residue that had built up on them over the years. Then, we filled any damaged spots with a wood filler and sanded them as necessary. The final process in prepping these cabinets for paint is the most horrible step, I have to apply the bonding primer. I personally prefer to use the Cover Stain by Zinsser, but really you can use any bonding primer. Be aware, it smells terrible, will cause a headache within minutes and it will stink up any house for hours. Make sure you open a bunch of windows, turn on fans and wear a proper mask, the little white masks do not work!! Also, it is a pain to clean the brush because it’s oil based so plan on ditching your brush after your done using it.

Once you have the primer painted on, it needs to cure out for at least 24 hours before starting to paint over it. Then you can use a good cabinet grade paint and paint 2-3 coats over the cabinets. I prefer to use Sherwin Williams Pro Classic. Just be sure to lightly sand between paint coats. Some people skip this step, but it really helps the paint adhere to itself and remove any brush imperfections.

What a difference a little paint makes with old cabinets…they look totally different in this space now. And now they look like they have always been here.

For the island we used a natural butcher block to create a place to prep and eat. We got a pre made Baltic butcher block from Lowe’s, cut it down, routered the sides and sanded it. A simple mineral oil is all that will be used to finish out this countertop.

And for the countertops in the rest of the kitchen we used a VT Dimensions postformed laminate countertop that we got from Lowe’s!! We chose the Ouro Romano color and edge profile. It’s funny actually because I spent many years working on the marketing for VT Industries and was part of launching the VT Dimensions product so to finally be able to use it on a project was very exciting.

Since we used refurbished cabinets we didn’t have the ability to get the exact sizes we needed to integrate upper cabinets, so instead we utilized three of the Kennard 3 tier wall shelf from Wayfair as upper shelves. The finished kitchen is absolutely adorable.

The bathroom incorporates a freestanding tub and filler with overhead rail and includes a washer and dryer with a privacy toilet area. The tub is from Amazon and is the Woodbridge 67″ tub, the tub filler is from Wayfair and the overhead rail is from Signature Hardware.

The bedroom has enough space to include two queen sized beds and has a large closet with extra storage space for guests.

The living room is a cozy place to relax and enjoy the end of your day. The furniture is from Ashley Furniture and is so unbelievably comfortable.

We are so happy to have helped our client create a space that can be used for many years to come. It is so comfortable with all the special touches that make it the perfect place to stay when you visit Hamburg, NY. You can see more details and even rent it out at this website: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37452133?s=51

Childhood home (part 2)

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You may remember a post from earlier this year where we started remodeling my parents home. Well, it’s finally completed and it looks beautiful. You can see the before pictures here.

We updated their kitchen floors to a new laminate and used the Pergo Gold underlayment.

We also took time to freshen up the trim to a Dark Walnut minwax stain.

We updated the linoleum in the entry and hallway to a new 13×13 tile.

We updated the bathroom tile to a new 2×2 square mesh and replaced the vinyl baseboard with a dark walnut stained moulding to match the rest of the house.

The dining room light was updated to a more traditional fixture. And we replaced the interior doors to a 6-panel dark walnut stained door.

Cabinet doors and drawers were updated to the American Woodmark Portola with new pulls. Countertops are Corian Venus and has a light sparkle and shimmer in them.

We added a door to the back of the peninsula to create a way to access the space in the blind cabinet.

All the walls were painted to match the kitchen design.

We replaced the window with a new silver line casement window and added new trim and a window ledge.

The backsplash is a glass mosaic and natural stone design.

The dishwasher was updated to a newer model and the kitchen was finished off with beautiful decorative panels and mouldings.

It’s nice to see the house I grew up in updated and looking brand new again.

Restoration fixer upper

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Finishing a renovation is a lot like planning a wedding!! You plan for the day, you organize every little detail and put the perfect design together and then the day happens and it’s a blur, you can’t remember if you ate, danced or said hello to everyone!! 😂😂 Then at the end of the evening you are still on that high of having to get everything pulled together. That is what it’s like completing a home renovation, and that is how I feel tonight. In a home renovation the big day is completion day…and today was just that!! It was all hands on deck, do what you need to get done…

Just 4 months ago we went to a job site that had pipes freeze and burst and the aftermath looked like this…

I often say that water is the death of houses, and it really is!! Sometimes you do an estimate and it’s pretty straight forward…but this house was a combination of two houses joined together from different eras with nooks and crannies everywhere.

In order to turn this house back into a home we had to do some major planning. So I tackled the kitchen design first.

Home remodeling design plans

Designing a kitchen isn’t easy, you have to ensure there is plenty of space for walk-throughs, lighting locations that are functional and aligned and appliance locations easily accessible when being used and most of all…it all needs to be gorgeous!!!

Kitchen design and remodeling

My favorite part of this, and really any project, is product and material selection. Below are a few items we used in this project. I will note those in detail later.

Kitchen decor ideas for Frank Lloyd Wright style kitchen

Once you have a design plan and materials selected…it’s time to get to work!!

We had to build out an extension wall to create wall space for the appliances and incorporate additional storage. Chris tackled that addition by closing in the oversized walkway to the living room…this is going to be the new home to a pizza oven!!! 🍕

Kitchen remodeling

When we first saw this kitchen we nicknamed it the Starship Enterprise!!! It had A LOT of can lights!!! 😳

Can light removal and switch to LED

We removed them!!! 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Why were there so many lights in this kitchen???? 😂

With framing, rough electrical, and rough plumbing well underway, it was time to start putting this house back together…on to the glitter of home improvement!!! Drywall…

There were so many different ceiling elevations in the kitchen so we consolidated them and created more of a unified style.

Projects always start to look a little better after the primer goes on. Just seems cleaner and more like a home when you don’t see pipes, insulation and wiring!

Next up is installing the cabinets…the cabinets are Kraftmaid Hayward Cherry Chocolate. Kraftmaid makes it so easy to install by providing an installation kit with all the screws and clips you would need to install everything. Sadly…this time there were so many boxes (86) we didn’t find the installation kit until all the cabinets were set!!! Haha. At least we have some for next time!!

And now…this is what we have been working on around the clock for the last month.

The wall color is SW Morris Room Gray and the trim is BM Chantily Lace. The floors are Pergo Engineered Wood in Griffin Oak. As you will see we built up the staircase to be finished in wood by creating risers, treads and stairnosing. On the stairs these are not used as a floating floor, just as a nailed down wood product for stability.

The carpet is Lifeproof in Rodeo and is so soft and comfortable. When they were putting in the carpet pad it looked like a blue ocean in the middle of the living room.

We painted the existing gold fireplace matte black and added river rock to surround the fireplace. Chris tirelessly held these rocks in place as he set them and I had a little help adding the filler.

We switched out all the can lights to LEDs and changed the core room lights to 6″ Halo dimmable lights.

The ceiling fan is absolutely beautiful. It is the 52″ Loken Craftsman Stained Glass fan and it matches the Frank Lloyd Wright decor that the homeowner loves.

And then there is this GE Monogram Hearth Oven!! The homeowner decided to splurge on this really cool kitchen feature and it does not disappoint. We were lucky enough for her to prepare us a fresh made pizza on the last day and it was amazing.

The GE Monogram appliance suite is pretty cool. The hood has integrated food warming lights and the stove has a griddle for making pancakes!! The cabinets include deep drawers, side spice drawers and bottle storage. And the South Beach wall mounted pot filler makes this area complete.

The microwave and oven combination work perfectly in this space with a pull out cabinet, oversized drawers and large countertop to create a spacious cooking area. (Don’t mind the missing handles…we are waiting for those to arrive any day!! Needed a few more. 😉)

Food storage definitely won’t be an issue in this kitchen with a 39″ floor to ceiling pantry with giant pull-out shelves and countertop cabinets for storage.

The GE Monogram 48″ flush inset mounted refrigerator, this looks really pretty but it’s not without a whole lot of trouble. In order to have this flush inset mounted Chris had to build a special cove out of filler strips to allow the doors to swing. This is the only way to make the doors work and not outlined well in the specifications.

Lucky for this fridge Chris isn’t a handyman…he is a craftsman!!! This is unbelievable work thanks to my wonderful guy. This area also includes a bar sink for a coffee station.

The countertops are Quartz Nimbus and are a subtle gray color with flecks of white and darker gray. We incorporated a trash pullout into this island and used a Blanco composite black undermount sink with a Concord spray faucet.

We added legs to the island to create a larger seating area and to support the 22″ bar top this will serve as the main eating area in the kitchen.

Pendant lights over the island add a beautiful accent and match the Frank Lloyd Wright style of the decor.

This project was so much fun to work on. Everyone who worked tirelessly on this project did an amazing job. True team effort to pull it together…thank you Tom, Brad, Jocelyn, Kyle, Nick, Sam, Josh, Brad, Brian, Jeff, Don and Chris for knocking this one out of the park.

I also want to thank the homeowner for allowing us to work on this project. For allowing some crazy late hours, fun chats and adventures in bunnies and Homer!!! I will miss chasing those sneaky bunnies around and throwing the ball to Homer. There are also two little people who will miss playing with ‘Air Bud’!!!

Custom Cabinets and Interior Design

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After working in marketing for nearly 18 years, I still can’t believe it’s been four months since I left my full time office job. If you’re wondering, I don’t miss it at all! 😉

Some of you may already know this story, but when I was in high school I took CAD and architectural drafting…and LOVED it! They were my favorite classes. I looked forward to going and enjoyed putting in the work for the class. I wanted to go into architecture so I toured a local college and fell even more in love with the program. Well…my guidance counselor in school, that is supposed to help and guide you, let me down. They convinced me that architecture was a dying career riddled with red tape and difficulty, that I wouldn’t succeed and that I should go into computer science instead. Without any other guiding influence in my life in this regard, I listened to them and went down a path of computer science.

Well, I failed…and not just figuratively…but literally!!! 😂😂 My first year at college I took fortran, turbo pascal and discrete mathematics and it was horrible. D’s, wow, was that definitely not my calling. So at 18, with D’s on my permanent transcripts for college, in classes I shouldn’t have been in to begin with, where does one go from there? Well, I got involved with the business department and happened into marketing. This happy accident led to a long and very successful career in marketing. Within my marketing life, I met this guy who was interviewing at the company I worked for on a day when I was eating the best grapes I had ever had. Well, I offered that guy some grapes and he said ‘no thank you’!!

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That same guy, a few years later took me to dinner…married me…opened a construction company and now, I am partner to a construction and design company doing exactly what I should be doing!!! Designing houses…❤️ The roads we take…right??!! Haha!!!

Now, I am finally doing my dream job and I am grateful for my rabbit trail because if I had not been where I was…I wouldn’t have met my best friend in the whole world. 🥰

This next project was so much fun to work on! It took a little longer than we expected or wanted, but a lot like how our lives came together, the finished product makes it all worth the journey. We designed and built the fireplace surround, bookshelves, desk with waterfall desktop and upper cabinets. I also selected all the furniture and decor, put together shelves using their real life belongings and completed the interior design of this beautiful craftsman style home.

Every project starts with a little inspiration, and this project was no different. Below is the idea board I designed which we utilized throughout the project to complete product selections.

The cabinets are shaker style and the color is Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, though we always use Sherwin Williams Pro Classic for our cabinets. We love our Sherwin Williams store in Hamburg!!

I really wanted to tie-in the existing wood trim color with the built-ins, so I incorporated a 3″ stained waterfall desktop. Shelf decor were mostly items the homeowner already had, but I incorporated a few new items like the terra cotta tall vase from Anthropologie (unfortunately this can’t be purchased anymore), and the mini plants and frames from Hobby Lobby. The Gray Casanova Arm Chair is from Joss&Main and the 5″ Center Bar Pull in Oil Rubbed Bronze handles for the cabinets are from Wayfair.

The walls in the main living areas are Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl, but we used Sherwin Williams ProMar 400 flat for the walls and flat white for the ceilings. The desktop stain is chestnut.

For the fireplace surround, we carried the same shaker style white cabinetry with 3″ wood mantle accent. We also built a decorative wall above the mantle to hold the television.

The ledger stone around the fireplace is Alaska Gray from Home Depot and installs very easily. No grout needed!!! It’s made out of marble and so it has little flecks of shimmer and crystal. It brightens up the living room.

This Byholma wicker chair is from IKEA and is the perfect reading chair for the area. The Thornaby Flocked Together Birds pillow is from Joss & Main and the Herringbone Soft Touch Throw in Dark Horseradish monogramed blanket is from West Elm.

The couch and ottoman are from Sans Furniture in the village of Hamburg. The couch is by King Hickory and the fabric is a light gray diagonal pattern. We love getting things from local small businesses. They are always so welcoming and helpful and the team at Sans are top-notch.

The Durham Bunching Tables are from Ballard Designs and are perfect together or apart. Curtain rods and tie-backs are from Pottery Barn, the light gray curtains are from Anthropologie (and sadly no longer available) and the Copper Solid Basketweave Throw is from West Elm. The West Bridgewater Pleated Lumbar pillow in Egret is from Joss & Main and the bright patterned pillows were purchased online from a fabric store.

The Lime Rickey Apothecary Table Lamp was found at Lamps Plus and the Ceramic Bloom Vase in Anemone was from Anthropologie. The Mount Salem Hand-woven Wool Light Gray Area Rug is from Joss & Main.

I can’t even believe the transformation before and afters of this project.  Absolutely beautiful.  And…there is one more section of the project (dining room) that I didn’t share here…that one is coming soon once I can grab some pictures of it.

We had so much fun working with this family on their home remodel project. They opened their home to our family and were so gracious to let our kids come play on non-school days!! From craft projects to playing in the backyard to Just Dance competitions, we truly have the sweetest clients ever!!!

See more of our completed projects by following our story on Facebook or on our blog at 1greatspace.com.

Bathroom minor update

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We have officially been in this area for over a year and it’s crazy to think about all the projects we’ve been able to work on already. We are blessed by the wonderful people of Hamburg and the drive by the lake everyday…is like a dream.

This latest project we finished early this year was a total partnership with the homeowner. She wanted to do portions of the project herself and have us help where she wasn’t comfortable. In case you’re wondering, yes, of course we work with people this way!!! This doesn’t happen often, but when people want to get hands-on during their project we make sure they are set up for success, it is after all their home!

During this project we completed some wall shifts and drywall, installed a new window, shower, vanity, and new toilet. Here are some in process images, sadly I didn’t get any true before pictures.

Below are some images showing the new window, shower and toilet. These are not quite the finished images…but our picture taking on this project was a little lacking. I promise we will do better on the next one!

Childhood home (part 1)

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I have looked at this house for 40 years!! It was the home I lived in growing up and that my parents still live in. It has seen its fair share of food fights, Sunday spaghetti dinners, bacon that caught fire in the frying pan and explosive candy thermometers!!

It had a very unique green color palette and even as a child I wanted to update it. Well…that time is now and I am sooooo excited. Last fall we started planning this project with my parents…plotting what we would do, colors, types of materials, and this week we have kicked off the project.

Here are some of the before pictures of the dark cabinets with green tile backsplash and white laminate countertop.

And… I know you won’t miss the green linoleum flooring.

For this project we are updating the cabinets, putting in new tile backsplash, fresh wall paint, new laminate floors, white electrical outlets and countertops. We are also updating the entry, hallway and half bath with tile flooring. (Just wait till you see the existing bathroom floor tile!!)

I will share the actual product selections, design and color choices in a later post.

Planning out a kitchen where you are only replacing the cabinet doors and refinishing the boxes is much more difficult than just replacing the complete cabinet boxes. Every measurement, down to the 1/16th of an inch needs to be perfect. Once you place the order you can’t send it back…so it is very nerve racking. Luckily, I have an amazing cabinet designer I work with at Home Depot, Jocelyn, who takes time to go through everything with me line by line in full detail.

For this kitchen we are going with American Woodmark Portola style doors in Truffle. The new cabinet doors are maple instead of red oak and they are lighter than the existing so we are doing a little different technique than usual to match the new doors. We are painting them! This is highly unusual, however for this application it is the best option.

The first thing that we did for demo was focus on getting the cabinet doors off so we can start prepping the cabinet boxes. This includes sanding, hole filling, and touching up rough areas. Then we used a deglosser over all the cabinets to help with adhesion of the paint.

Next step was a bit more demo and prep work! We pulled out the backsplash and replaced the drywall areas to prepare for the new backsplash.

Then we primed the cabinet boxes to prep for paint! This was hilarious because I was able to play a little prank on the homeowners (aka my parents!!!) and told them we painted their cabinets white instead of dark clove!!! LOL…if only I had caught that on video!!

Follow our remodel progress over the next few weeks to see this project once it’s done.