Re-Staining Cabinets

I had no idea what kind of project I was undertaking when I began this. I worked at nighttime and during nap times. It took a LONG time, but I'm so, so glad I did it.

I found this post by Monica and I knew I had to try it! I didn't have much to lose. If they didn't turn out, I was just going to paint them. Mr. Un-Handy wasn't to keen on painting them. He really likes wood cabinets, plus I read that latex paint doesn't cover oak well because of the grain pattern. That made me think twice.

Here is what we were dealing with: (this is from the day of inspection with the contractors things)

The day we closed, I started scrubbing the layers and layers of gunk off of them. It was pretty gross. Previous residents never cleaned them, apparently. Or just had dirty, dirty hands? I'm not really sure. I scrubbed them for two days. First with soap and water, then Simple Green, and I finally went to a commercial grease cutter. Finally that did the trick. I ended up with clean cabinets that still had some gunk in the grain of the wood.

This was after two days of scrubbing in 100 degree heat with no air conditioning yet. It was awful!

This is the supplies you'll need:

General Finishes gel stain (it MUST be GF). I used the color Brown Mahogany, but Monica states it has to be Java. I think Java probably requires less coats, but any dark color should work. It's been my experience that the gold/red tones of the golden oak come through, so I would stay away from anything red.

Fine grit sand paper (optional)

Gloves

Bag of rags- I used the cotton t-shirt rags from Lowes

Chip brushes

Drop cloth

Screw driver

Tape

Wax, Polyurethane, or other sealer

My first step was prep work. I taped off anywhere that I didn't want stain. I taped where the cabinets met the walls, where they met the counter top, where they met the stove hood, and wherever I felt like tape should be. I took off all of the dirty, old hardware.

After that was done, I sanded very, very lightly. I realized that the cabinets that I sanded more looked more streaky. The stain on the sanded areas is lighter than in non-sanded areas. It's only semi-noticeable in pictures, and not at all to the eye. If I did it all over again, I wouldn't sand them. That's why I say it's optional.

I did not remove my cabinet doors (I know, I know bad!) because I didn't have anywhere to put them. If I had a garage to lay them in, I would have. I could have gotten them all done in one shot.

Monica says to use a sock, but I used a chip brush to apply the stain instead. It was just easier for me. I worked on a few techniques first. I tried rubbing it on with the rag, I tried a foam brush, and finally settled on the chip brush. Try a few different approaches. A stain pad would work well too.

I applied very thin coats. I had almost a dry brush. I found that I could control the color much easier that way, and after I perfected my technique, I put it on a bit thicker. After applying my thin coat, I used the rag to move the stain around a bit. Since it sits on top of the wood instead of soaking in, you just lightly move the stain with the rag in the direction of the grain.

Start with the back of the doors first. Learn from my mistakes. See below.

This was about the time I started to panic. It looked terrible! I got scared. Very, very scared. Mr. Un-Handy said it had a 'rustic, farmhouse look.' I think that was a nice way of him saying 'What did you do?!'

I couldn't tell him I was panicked, so I pushed through. I also tried to sand it some to make it more even. I think that made it worse.

Here I put some more thin coats on. Thankfully it was starting to look better.

I put several coats on. I let them dry a few hours in between, some overnight, and I tackled it again the next day, and the day after that. It took three weeks of work, but the payoff was amazing. 

I finished them with two coats of SC Johnson wax that I had. They look and feel lovely!

As you can see, they're dressed in fancy new hardware and there is a new laminate floor that the seller put in for us. I didn't take to much care to cover my counter tops because they're getting replaced in the spring. They have some tiny splatters on them. If you are keeping them, cover them well. It was not  a mess-free project.

It looks like an entirely new kitchen, though. Sometimes I forget that it's my new kitchen! The walls are painted a light green. We have to figure out a back-splash, but we can't do that until we get the counter tops. We're also going to add more cabinets and a pantry. Eventually I'd love stainless appliances, but it's really not a necessity right now. We're going to change out the sink for a granite composite, and get a new faucet.

Total cost of supplies: $52.19 + tax

Stain: $19.99 for qt (I used 2/3 of the qt)

Brushes: $1.09 each x 10 (I like to be prepared)

Hardware: $.99 each at surplus store x 16

Sanding block: $3.48

Rags: $1.98

Paint, Paint, and more Paint

Wow. If I have to touch paint one more piece of trim I'm going to go insane. 

Why does painting always seem like a good idea? You're all, "Ooooh look at this color. That would look beautiful in EVERY room of the house. What's that? The can says it is a paint and primer in one? It overs in one coat?!" 

Listen HERE. 

That can is lying to you.

Look at it, sitting on the shelf with a flashy, metallic label making you believe it will be one coat and done. Yeeeah. Maybe for the people who prep right. Let me tell you, buddy. That's not me. Prep. Psshhh.

Naturally, our lack of preparation led to paint that did not stick to our walls, a lengthy conversation with the people at Lowe's, who, despite my best efforts at taking pictures, were not impressed. Certainly not impressed was the employee that assured me it would stick, when I called him out on it. They love me there. Riiiight. 

It's almost as bad as when I told the management at Babies R Us that they were running a monopoly because they wouldn't return something from my registry that we didn't use because our baby was 9 weeks early and to small to use it. Mr. Un-Handy just loves when I get into that. 

I digress. 

But anyway, because Lowe's is one of my most favorite places, they exchanged it for different paint.

I like Olympic paint. I like Valspar too, but Olympic fits our needs well both in price and quality. The new paint is Olympic ONE. It's nice, but it's still not just one coat (don't you dare insinuate that it could be the lack of prep work or the person actually painting). We're very pleased with the way it's turning out. 

It's just, it always sounds soooo easy to do in my head. It always sounds like a good idea. It rarely is. We could have lived with the contractor grade Navajo white that wipes off on you when you brush up against it for quite some time. 

Ok, now for some pictures. For the living room, dining room, stairs, and hallway we chose Almond Paste. It's a slightly yellow-tan, and a bit lighter than I had hoped. It probably won't be our forever color, but it's good for right now. Here you can see where the paint refused to stick. 

Here is the window, or part of the room finished. I'll take some better shots after we're completely finished and cleaned up. All of the trim is done in Olympic Crumb Cookie, and all paint is satin. 

Ok, that's a really bad shot. I'll work on that next time. I got the curtain and rod from K-Mart of all places. It's hard to tell in this pic, but it's like a cottage blue with champagne colored embroidery. That's our new air conditioner too. Two days before moving day our old one bit the dust.

The kitchen is Weeping Willow, another Olympic Paint. We aren't quite done there, but I'll be sure to post some pictures of it. I'm currently undertaking a big project of re-staining the kitchen cabinets. What. A. Job. I've determined my new goal in life is to rid the world of golden oak one hunter green, rose pink, circa 1989 kitchen at a time. You're welcome. 

Covering Rush Seats

In my previous post, you saw me refinishing my old table and chairs from Craigslist. I had a vision in my mind for the chairs, and they turned out exactly how I had hoped. I've re-upholstered chairs in the past (longer ago than I care to admit), but Mr. Un-Handy has not. It was also his first time using a hot glue gun. He learned the hard way that its hot. He has a nice welt on his arm in the shape of the point of the gun. 

Tip: Do what I didn't, invest in a nice hot glue gun. It'll save you lots of aggravation. I promise. Really. 

Anyway, here we go!

Supplies:

Fabric of your choice (I used two yards to cover 4 chairs. I did not need that much.)

Foam

Hot glue gun or staple gun

Screwdriver

Scissors (Invest in good scissors too. You'll thank me someday.)

Serrated knife to cut foam

1. Flip your chair over and unscrew the seat from the frame.

2. Since my seat was rush (I know, I think I committed the ultimate crime by covering them, but they weren't in great shape), it had no cushion. It also had no wood on the underside. If I were re-covering a typical chair, I would have stapled the fabric into the wood on the back of the seat. Since I didn't have that, I decided to use extra strength hot glue. 

3. Lay your seat on the foam. Cut around it with either a serrated knife or scissors. Mr. Un-Handy thought scissors would do the job, but I was really happy with my knife. Use whatever you're happy with! 

(I'm using the scissors here, but still the knife was easier for me.)

4. Lay the fabric with the wrong side up. If you're using a pattern, be sure that its straight. Put the foam on top of the fabric, and the chair seat on top of that so that the bottom of the seat is facing you. 

5. Start on the straight side and glue (or staple) your fabric. On the opposite side, pull the fabric as tight as you can, and glue that down. 

6. Our seats had some tricky corners that I didn't take into consideration. By the 3rd chair we finally got it down! We ended up folding the fabric like wrapping paper and making some relief cuts.

7. Trim the excess fabric from the back of the seat. 

8. Now it's time to re-assemble your chairs. Line up everything and screw your seats back on. Make sure the seat is as tight to the frame as it should be. If some of your fabric gets bunched up, use your knife to get it straight again. 

Now you're all done! I hope they look great! Here's my finished chair. I love them!

My New (old) Table

I scoured Craigslist for weeks looking for the right table and chairs for the look I was going for. I had envisioned it in my head for a while, and I couldn't find anything new that was my style.

Then I found this beaut. I couldn't decide if it was just old and ugly or if it could be vintage and cool.

I took a chance. For $75 I figured I didn't have much to loose if it turned out awful. I got the table, 4 chairs, a leaf, and the pad.

For two weeks or so I went back and forth between milk paint and chalk paint. I read blog after blog, and found some beautiful examples of both. I was inspired by Miss Mustard Seed. Could my weird, old table look good?!

I happened upon some milk paint when I went to our local Woodcraft store to get some stain for my kitchen cabinets. I couldn't walk away from it. It was made by Old Fashioned Milk Paint. I chose buttermilk.

 

I had NO IDEA what to expect. I had watched tutorials online, but until I opened that package, I didn't know a thing about milk paint! It comes in powder form that you mix equal parts with warm water. It's strange. It's different. But the finish it produces is ah-mazing! It was EXACTLY what I was going for.

To start, you'll need:

1 package of milk paint in your color of choice

A cup to mix it in (I started with a red solo cup and eventually upgraded to something from Lowe's)

Stick to stir it with

Chip brush or other brush with natural bristles

Warm water

Sanding block

Degreaser

Putty knife *optional

1. The first step is to make sure your wood is clean and free of any oils and dirt. At the very least you should clean it with soap and water. At the most, a good degreaser.

2. Sand lightly. My pieces had the finish worn almost completely off. I had very little sanding to do. If you are intending to get a more even look, you should use a bonding agent and add it to your paint. That was not the look I was going for. I wanted the crackly, chippy finish. I didn't use a bonding agent, just simply painted it on over my old finish.

3. Do a light wash over your wood with water on your brush. It will help the paint adhere a little easier and it will raise the grain of the wood.

4. Start your first coat. It will look awful. Don't be scared. It's supposed to look this way. The first coat soaks into the wood. That's part of the beauty of milk paint. It soaks in almost like a stain would, but as a result it looks blotchy. Don't overwork the paint. Brush it on, and let it go. It's almost better to use a dryer brush than to much paint. Your brush should not be saturated. If there are lumps after mixing, don't fret. As you brush on the milk paint, they work themselves out too.

                                    

At this point, if you haven't used a bonding agent, you'll notice that your paint will start to crackle as it dries. If you want it more chippy, feel free to use a putty knife to chip away some of those cracks. I didn't want mine to be overly chippy, so I sanded it lightly in between coats.

5. Let that dry for an hour or so.

6. Now you're ready for your second coat. This is the coat that will start to cover. I was still going for the blotchy, streaky look, so I only put two coats on. It gave my pieces a very authentic aged look. If you want it to be more opaque, go ahead and put on a third coat. As the second oat dried, my finish became crackled and started o chip further. As it dried longer, it crackled more. I, apparently, have a strange fascination with watching my paint crackle.

7. When you're all finished with your paint, sand lightly. For my chairs, I finished them with three coats of spray Polycrylic. It's water based and less likely to yellow over my light paint. You can also use Polyurethane if you'd like, but that will yellow over time. Some people like the rub on stuff or the brush on stuff, but for me, a busy mom with two kids that is refinishing her furniture during nap time, the spray stuff was it! The table base was finished with SC Johnson Paste Wax. I looked around and around and finally settled on this because it was easily available and cheap. If you use wax, rub on in a circular motion and then buff off. You can put a few coats on, but it takes a few weeks to cure fully. It dries to the touch in a few hours. The water should bead up on it. Caution: this smells strong, so be sure to use in a well ventilated area.

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

The SC Johnsons's Paste Wax really gives it an amazing finishing touch. The key is definitely to put it on in very thin coats. Less is more. If the coat is on to thick, it will streak, and you'll have a really hard time getting them out. If you're new to furniture refinishing, I can't rave about paste wax enough. There are several types on the market, but this was my first try so I chose this brand. The way it changes the look and feel of the furniture is amazing. I'm not sure I'll ever use anything else again!

So there you go. Milk paint. Don't be afraid to try it. I'm so glad I did! 

We're Home!

We did it. Finally.

We've been in our new house just a week today, and it still feels pretty surreal. Like we're on vacation. Except we've got more than just clothes to unpack! And I still have to cook. And clean. And change diapers. Why haven't I hired someone to do any of that yet? That's a good question.  
 Note to self: start taking applications.

 It's been pretty hectic, to say the least.

We heard horror stories. HORROR. Financing falling through, houses not appraising, something crazy showing up in the inspection. People, PLEASE don't do what we did and wait until the last minute to pack because you're afraid the rug is going to be pulled out from under you. If you have already made it through the pre-approval process (pre-approval, NOT pre-qualification) then you're in good shape. Things are going the right way. Just be sure that you have all of your ducks in a row before you begin, and it will be smooth. We waited with baited breath for our conditional approval, and the conditions were easy peasy. Believe that it is happening, because it will.

Anyway, closing went smoothly. It didn't take very long, and then all of a sudden....IT'S OURS! I'm pretty sure that I'm the ONLY person on Earth that is excited about her first mortgage payment. That's right baby, MY OWN MORTGAGE! See? The hubby thinks I'm nuts. He says it doesn't matter who's mortgage it is, it's still a payment. Meh. He also says that instead of seeing paint colors he only see's dollar signs anymore. That's partially my fault. I have a strange obsession with paint chips.

Here are some before pictures of the downstairs. Sorry for the confusion, I should have taken them before anything was moved in.

This is the dining room. AKA the 'Nowhere to put it? We'll put it HERE.' room

Kitchen, before I scrubbed the hell out of the cabinets.

Looking out into the back yard.

End of the cabinets. The previous owner left all of his junk there for us :\

Miss Little practicing going up and down the stairs. From the living room into the dining room.

So, that's it. Well the downstairs anyway. The upstairs is a whole other day. Suffice to say that if we don't get blinds up soon our neighbors are going to start complaining.

*Knock on wood*

Everything is going smoothly for now. No major hiccups. At Lowe's today I learned how to caulk the roof line and install flashing. I'll be posting some tutorials soon as we get a little further in. I've got cabinets to stain, walls and trim to paint, furniture to refinish, a bathroom remodel, and cabinets to hang. Stay tuned! 

Welcome!

Hi and welcome!

I'm glad you found us!

Mr. Un-Handy and I are in the process of buying our first 'real' home. I say first real home because we were homeowners once before. It was back in 2004. We bit off much more than we could chew, were victims of predatory lending at the time, but were fortunately smart enough to get out quick! We sold that home shortly after we were married in 2005 and have been nervous about the subject ever since.

We decided to set a goal to buy something when I turned the big 3-0. It flew up on me, and before we knew it, we were two kids in and 30 was staring me in the face. This past June we decided we'd go for it. Because, you know, we're adults...or something. We needed a permanent home for our kids, the oldest of which has autism and pretty severe anxiety and OCD.

We took the plunge. We had a lot of work to do.

We started with a credit score that was on the low side of average. Low enough that we wouldn't qualify without some work. It went up 80 points in about 10 months. It was a lot of hard work, but now I'm really happy that we did it.

The first step we took was to call a mortgage broker and see where we stood. They told us our score, what the minimum we needed was, and how far we had to go. Their first suggestion was to open some credit cards. Mr. Un-Handy and I had no credit cards. We had one car that was paid off, a few random things that were in collections, and some student loans. We had no good, revolving credit to establish a history. (If we could go back to our younger 18 year old selves, we'd tear those credit offers into pieces!)

The broker was nice enough to provide us with a copy of our credit report, suggested we pay someone to help us clean up our credit, and didn't really take us seriously.

We found a new broker.

Then we went through our credit reports line by line. I read a lot at Credit Info Center and My Fico and we decided to dispute the negative items first. Some had incorrect dates, some had incorrect amounts. We disputed everything. More than half were either corrected for the right amounts, right dates, or in some cases, deleted altogether if they couldn't provide any documentation. It left us with about 5 items, that were now correct, and we started paying. Asking for a 'pay for delete' meaning that you will pay it in full if it gets deleted from your credit report, or sending letters to make payment arrangements. What we could pay, we did. We had nothing over $600, no credit card debt, but no savings.

We opened two credit cards and kept the revolving balance at about 30%, being sure to make our payments on time every month. By increasing the amount of good credit and decreasing the bad, our score started to climb! Before we knew it, spring was here and it was time to start looking. We had been able to save a bit of money, and we were ready to go.

Find a realtor that you feel comfortable with. Make sure they are working or you. We met a few. One didn't take us seriously, another tried to get us to pay him, and the one that we went with, we love. He answers my frantic phone calls and emails. He's patient with my kind of crazy. The mortgage broker has been patient with me too. It's not a stress free process, that's for sure. With our pre-approval in hand, we looked at 5 houses. One we loved, but it was at the high end of our budget. Our realtor told us to wait it out a bit, and as soon as he said that, a home was listed that was exactly what we were looking for. It was priced low, but it had nearly every one of our needs and most of our wants. We put an offer in the day after it was listed, it was accepted, and the contract was completed a few days later.

Currently, we're hurrying up to wait. The application is filled out and being sent out tomorrow. Inspection is scheduled for next week, and before we know it we'll be homeowners. I alternate between being crazy excited and feeling like I'm going to puke at any moment.

From what I understand, that's when the actual fun begins.

So please, follow us. The two, most un-handy people that typically work half-assed, and at 3 AM just because, as we do minor renovations to make this home exactly what we wanted when we started dreaming this up 5 years ago.

If you have any specific questions as we go along, please feel free to ask. I'll be happy to answer what I can.