Kitchen painted!

Recently, we helped a family member move in and do some painting in the new house. I was pretty jealous by the end of that day. My house has felt so torn apart these 2 years. I didn't want the jealousy to be a negative jealousy because I was truly happy for my family. So I used my feelings to motivate myself positively. After spending a few hours painting at their house, I decided to go home and paint my kitchen!

I spent from 10:00am - 8:00pm yesterday prepping and painting my kitchen. I had a bit of help from Tom with some mud work that needed to be done around our slider door. We had taken down wall paper that was there from the previous owners. We kinda went heavy with the removal and did light damage to the dry wall which was fixed by Tom's mud work. This part sort of slowed me down at first, because I had to wait for it to dry before I could prime that wall space. But I used that time constructively and began priming the window trim. It needed to be repolyed or painted. I wanted to brighten that space a bit, so I decided to paint it. I then sanded the mud, vacuumed the dust, and primed the wall space around the slider. I didn't prime the rest of kitchen.

I know it was a bit risky painting an old kitchen space without priming. But the paint we bought was intended to be used without primer and I've had time working against me. We had always primed first, but I knew with only me painting, I wouldn't be able to do 2 coats of color in addition to priming. So as I made breakfast, I cleaned around the spaces near the oven with a microfiber cloth and hot water.

So I primed the trim around the window, primed the walls space around the slider, painted the window trim, and then began working in small sections around the kitchen. I would cut-in/ trim each section and then roll it out. I really liked that I chose to do this. I cut up the time I was trimming all at once, and since I was rolling while the trim was still wet, the results were very nice. It was hard to work above the cupboards. I was hunched over, twisted, and stretched. By the end of the first coat, it was 6 or 6:30pm. I was TIRED and ready to be done.

I called Tom in and asked for his opinion. I thought it looked pretty good and was tired. I thought, maybe I could leave it this way and do the second coat when Tom does the ceiling. (The ceiling dry wall tape has split in a couple spots and Tom has to redo that before painting. I insisted we paint the kitchen anyway and do touch ups as needed when the ceiling gets done.)

He suggested I keep going in sections and when I am too tired to keep going, I can stop.

I was relieved to hear him say that. Like it was ok and I wouldn't be a failure if I didn't finish in one day.

I got started on the second coat. Just hoping that I could finish but somewhat doubting it. We hadn't figured out dinner yet, and I would need a shower before bed. Next thing I knew, it was 7:15, and I was 2/3 done! I just had the space above the sink and around the slider. I was so happy! I was done painting and cleanup began at 8:00pm. Tom helped with clean up and I showered. He got Chinese take out and we ate.

The paint color I used on the walls was a custom Valspar flat color. We bought too much paint when we did the guest room and office. I gave a gallon to our family for the new house and had a gallon re-tinted to use in my kitchen.

The paint color I used on the trim around the window is Valspar Ancient Stone.

It feels like our updating has been scattered, but at least things are getting done.

I read another DIY blog and she had an ongoing list at the end of each blog. I like that idea. Also, I watched a video tutorial to figure out how to add a slideshow. Hope you like the updates!

Here is my list for the kitchen: 

Paint trim around the window 

Paint walls 

Paint the rest of the trim 

redo drywall tape on ceiling 

fix popped drywall screws 

paint ceiling 

update light fixtures 

add cabinet hardware 

new flooring (in my dreams!)

Veggies & Herbs

Tom really wanted to do a large garden this year. I am hesitant. I know how much time I have already spent in my flower beds improving and maintaining them. It's been a lot of work. I can't imagine adding in a large vegetable garden. In addition, we are very undecided as to where in our yard we would put such a garden.

Our neighbor offered a solution.

She gave us an old 55 gallon barrel.

We cut it in half. Drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. Built a base with 2 by fours. Lined them with cocoa liner (the garden center was sold out of the cheaper black landscaping material). Then layered cow manure, miracle grow garden soil, and top soil.


Here are the results:

top row: bell peppers
bottom row: broccoli and cauliflower

top row: brussel sprouts
bottom row: zucchini and summer squash

round planter is patio cucumbers
left square planter is jalapeno peppers
right square planter is roma tomato

 I also planted my herbs.

oregano, sweet basil, dill, cilantro, thyme

I am excited to see how this turns out! Maybe next year, we will put in a larger garden. Or maybe we will find that this offers enough of the experience to harvest a few veggies ourselves.

Note: the edges are a little sharp on the barrels. Tom has an idea to cut a slit in a hose and slip that over the edges. We haven't done this yet. But, I am anticipating that we will need to especially on the barrel with the squashes. I don't want to get cut and I don't want the edges to damage the plants as they grow and vine out.