Grocery Lane: The Inheritance Project

I have many mantras that go through my head every time we pull up to the house. This is the one that gets me ready to work. Read on to see what we have been up to and how much progress we have made.

Since the first Inheritance Project update we have made some pretty solid progress. Here is what we have been up to:

Two weekends ago we began the priming process. EVERYTHING in the kitchen needed to be primed. The walls, trim and cabinets. I will say, painting is not a hard job at all, but the prep work and clean up stinks. Taping everything and putting down floor protection is so necessary, but really sucks up time, which is the one thing we don't have a lot of...well, that and money, lol.

Anywho, we went from this (left) to this (right) and were finally beginning to see some transformation emerging. Thank goodness. With so much "behind the scenes" going on, it's so fun to actually see progress.

Since we finished the bathroom tile, we could finally install the pedestal sink - which was more of a project that we originally thought.

We have definitely learned that with plumbing, among other things, in older houses is different than newer houses. Our pipes were much lower than what the pedestal sink would allow...so after a few not so nice words and some modifying with the tile saw, we have a beautiful sink...that works! Yay!

Painting the cabinets was next up. This was my first run in with oil based paint and although really stinky and hard to clean - you have to use mineral spirits - the results were beautiful. Our cabinets have such a smooth finish and look like new.

Cabinet Paint: Brook Green by Behr

Before the painting though, like always, the prep. I had sanded the drawers and cabinet faces a few weeks ago, but then remembered that we needed to add wood putty to the holes left by the hardware. Mike did the final sanding to get the wood putty remnants off and then we were ready. More priming, then painting.

We primed in the kitchen (with plastic underneath the sheet) and then moved into the living room for the final coat. We have lots of windows in that room and could open it up to air out the stink. There was rain in the forecast, so inside was our best bet. Oil based paint it also very sticky, so if we did choose to do it outside we would probably still be picking leaves off of our cabinets. No bueno.

Raising the cabinet doors off the floor is a must also. We just used old bricks we found in the backyard and put a paper towel on top. But any spare wood or even books would work. This helps ensure a smooth finish around the edges and makes the drying process more effiecient.

While we were busy working inside we had a visit from a tree surgeon outside. There is a huge oak tree in the front yard and the branches were flirting with the roof. We had those branches and some other low hanging branches in the backyard removed. It looks so much better.

Spanish moss anyone?

We also had a visit from Franco, who was measuring for our new Silestone counter tops! I am so excited. I mean, the appliances and the counter tops are way nicer that what I have at home. I am living vicariously through our fixer upper.

I chose the Mont Blanc color and can't wait to see it installed. It is a bit pricey, but since we only have about 102 inches of counter top it was doable. We also cut costs by tearing out and disposing of the old counter tops, disassembling the plumbing and plan on reassembling the plumbing ourselves. This saved us almost $400.

Below is a sample of the counter top color and that same counter top installed a bathroom. I'm in love!

We have also re-caulked the bathroom and painted it the same color as the kitchen. We are actually pretty much finished in there, just some cleaning and decorating. Hallelujah.

We also tackled the baseboards in the kitchen. Thank goodness my Uncle Jerry had an awesome new air compressor (I almost wrote pressure cooker, lol) and nail gun. They were literally life savers and made the job a breeze. Mike was loving it and I can already tell he has put it on his mental Christmas list.

Next up was cabinetry. With the base cabinets and faces all painted and dried it was time to figure out our hinge problem. I never knew there were so many different hinges to chose from and that it depends on your cabinet as to which hinges will even work with what you have. Since we were using our existing cabinets from the 50s, we didn't have much of a choice. In fact, we really didn't think we had any choice. We went back and forth on what to do...keep the existing and just spray paint them, or find new ones.

Of course, I wanted new ones, but after buying a few different types and trying them out, nothing was working. I even bought spray paint and painted the old ones to match the door hardware, but still wasn't loving the thought of having the outdated hinges that would show on the base and front of the cabinet. The design part of my head kept giving me a really nasty vibe.

Old hinges.

The problem was, we still had a problem. I found new "old" hinges at Home Depot, and even bought them, but they were still a little bit off and we were going to have to make them fit. Not awesome.

Well, after about the 10th trip to Home Depot and the 100th time looking at the hinge pictures (thank goodness, because Lowe's doesn't have pictures and I am a very visual person), I found some that I thought would work....AND THEY DID!!! And they look amazing! So much more modern than the existing. Whew. Happy girl right here.

The kitchen went from looking like this:

To this (below) in no time! Mike is a champ and even did the lowers by himself while I went back to put the kiddos to bed. You can see his reflection in the window eating dinner...this was about 9:30 pm. No stopping this guy, he is the definition of hard work.

After the cabinet faces were in, it was on to the hardware! I picked handles for the drawers and large cabinets to the left of the stove and pulls for the smaller cabinets. Oil rubbed bronze was the winner, which matches the light fixtures and new faucet. However, to add to my "hinge drama", they don't make oil rubbed bronze hinges. Ugh. Luckily, the pulls/knobs are very dark and we just left the hinges black. You literally can't tell the difference.

We also finished priming, painting, trimming out and caulking the new pantry. I looks like a million bucks. Next up is the shelving.

Our resident painter extraordinaire, my Aunt Janie, came over to help us start painting the bedrooms. Again, lots of priming, but the result is awesome. This is just one coat of the *free* paint that Grandpa Rick brought down with him from Wisconsin and it gives this bedroom a fresh and clean look.

We are also priming and painting all of the dark wood trim in the house. It is a pain, but makes all the difference in the world. I am so excited about how updated this room feels. Thanks Aunt Janie!

I can also tell you that caulk is our new best friend. After Mike nailed in the baseboards he went back and caulked. The result is gorgeous. Paired with our new floors, we are pretty stoked about the final result.

The tile floors also got sealed (twice). Just when you think you're finished...you're not!

The last task that we completed was to install the appliances. This was very exciting. The dishwasher fits (yay!), which means my measurements were correct. Whew.

The fridge looks great, although I am toying around with the idea of moving it to a different location. We shall see. The stove is a beauty, too.

We still have the counter top and sink install, trim painting/touch ups and the subway tile back splash project in the kitchen, but other than that we are getting close to being finished in there as well.

Our vision is starting to take shape and we couldn't be more proud (or tired).

Kitchen transformation: