Partly Paper

Don & I spent yesterday working on the house. While he assisted cleaning up some of the clutter from the kitchen that spilled over into our living room, I diligently worked on the kitchen. I managed to get another coat of paint on all the trim before having to wait for it to dry and began working on various other odds and ends in and around the kitchen.

First, I cleaned the oak hardwood floor to removing any and all paint specks from the roller and/or paintbrush; that I somehow missed with a wet rag while painting. Thankfully, they removed easily with just a simple scrap of my thumbnail! Then, moved on to damp mopping on my hands and knees! After the floor was swept completely, mopped, and dried, I moved on to cleaning all our appliances that would be going back into place. Don assisted me by washing off the exterior of the freezer and some of the smaller appliances.

Next, we set out to remove all the painter's tape. We used a utility knife along the corners of the tape and the wall to prevent pulling off any paint that wasn't fully cured yet and overall did an excellent job. Then, we set out to remove all the plastic dropcloths used to protect the oak cabinetry. I cannot even begin to describe how much of a joy it was to see the warmth of the oak against the red paint!

In my elation, I set out thoroughly cleaning the cabinets with a damp rag, although they really didn't need it since we recently spring cleaned the entire room, but what the heck, I had the time to kill while waiting for the paint to dry. Once completed, I cleaned the countertops and began setting back in the small appliances. Although I still have some painting to do in this side of the room, I went ahead and put back in the decorative accents and accessories as we kept all the previously cut dropcloths to be used again as I do the touch up work.

I've one area over my sink that hasn't been painted. I spoke with my brother on the telephone last night asking his advice since there is no way to tape off this section since I'd remove the polyurathane protecting the cabinets if I'd have used painter's tape directly to it. He told me I was on the right track thinking a thin layer of vasoline would protect the wood and told me how to apply it. I'll be working on that today as I begin trimming in the back section of the kitchen to finish painting the entire room.

One thing that I didn't even think about until yesterday is what in the world I am going to do with the interior kitchen door leading to the rear deck and backyard? It has been previously painted inside using the old paint color previously in the room, so now I'm thinking I may just paint it red too. I considered painting it hunter green to match the front door, however, I'm a bit hesitant as I believe it would make the entire north wall feel a little boxed in. So, red it will be. I figure I can always repaint it if I don't like it.

I also consider that maybe I could paint the inside of the door red so when it is closed it doesn't interfere with the north wall and interior's appearance; and paint the exterior of the door hunter green as it would only be seen when the door is actually opened. The screen door features a huge sheet of glass running the entire length of the door except for the actual framing so this may actually work better and provide a co-ordinating yet contrasting appearance to the space breaking up a bit of the monotony.

Later in the day we made a trip out to Lowe's. Hey, sometimes you gotta share the wealth. I absolutely love Home Depot but the trip for purchasing 3 new fixtures for the ceiling fan and two chain pulls and a couple lightbulbs just didn't justify the $$$ or time we'd spend making the 45 minute drive. I chose some white marbled votives and a gold/brass with a white ceramic bead in the chain pulls. We also picked up a ceiling cover for the recessed light above the sink and a new daylight floodlight bulb.

Upon returning home, we replaced the amber votives in the ceiling fan, replaced the previous chain pulls, and added in the new recessed light ring and bulb. What a difference those made!

Last night, I must have walked out in the kitchen a hundred times. Okay, that is exaggerating just a bit but I couldn't help admire the beauty of my kitchen. I don't know why now that it is almost completed that I was so hesitant to tackle this project, I absolutely love it!