They look good, much better than I expected. Ever since I bought my condo some four years ago, my little galley kitchen has been the room I have most wanted to update. The cabinets were solid, but very dated, dark wood laminate circa the late 1970’s. They are the original cabinets, as is the worn vinyl sheet flooring, dark stained baseboard and pantry door. The only updates to the kitchen since my home was built are the stainless steel faced appliances, possibly the countertops. I have fretted over starting the project of updating for quite a while, with full knowledge that an update will be a larger job than it looks to be, especially for an amateur such as yours truly. So, since I plan on putting my condo up for sale next month, I decided to use the extra time during this past holiday to begin the task of spiffing up my kitchen. The first project was painting the cabinets — which I finished last night after a week and a half of toil.
I didn’t get a before picture. Trust me, the cabinets look quite a bit different.
Tomorrow, I am going to pick up the flooring, likely a dark gray vinyl plank. I used vinyl plank last year when I updated the utility room. Vinyl plank was easy to install and it looks good, plus it is economical and cleans up nicely. For a second floor condo, vinyl is better than wood laminate flooring as it is also a little more quiet. I probably will install the flooring last, so I don’t have to worry about making a mess when I paint the walls. The walls will probably be a bright white, with the hope that it will make the gray cabinets and dark floor stand out a little more. I may add dark gray paint on the portion of the walls above each set of cabinets. When I am finished with the project, I will change the curtains to contrast the grays in the room. The kitchen table and the microwave will be removed.
There really isn’t much else that needs to be done to my place, besides painting trim, baseboards and doors. One wall in the living room will need a fresh coat of paint (Sherwin Williams french gray, very nice looking), since I had to do some patching to correct a surface raceway experiment gone bad. There is also a TV mounted on that wall, so that will need to be removed and the holes patched.
Towards the end of next month, Lord willing, I will be putting my place on the market. The condos here sell very quickly and have been selling at a price that should be about $50,000 more than what I paid four years ago, about $60-70,000 in equity. That money should help pay off debt, give me a fresh start financially, a sorely needed shot in the arm after the devastation the divorce has had on my money situation. My fiance lives in the building next door, in a condo a smidgeon larger than mine, and we will be sharing living expenses — something I have never experienced. 2022 holds a lot of hope for me, a ton of positive!
By the way, I am very happy with the paint I used on the cabinets. Paint was a concern for me, as I have heard and read horror stories about how paint lasts on laminate. The paint I used has passed the scratch test, went on very well. It was true to it’s name — Pittsburg Fast Dry. Even when I was painting the cabinet faces in my garage, in fairly cold temperatures, it dried quickly. Inside, the paint was dry within 15-30 minutes after application. The paint also leveled very well and the finish is very even. The price didn’t knock me out, either. A gallon of semi gloss cost $45 on sale. Surprisingly, the cabinets needed a full gallon, mostly because I had to sand the edges down and repaint the faces due to a mistake I made. The mistake was a head slapper. I laid the faces down on a canvas tarp when I painted the ends, not thinking about the paint sticking to the tarp underneath when it dried. Oops.
The next month should be fun. I am determined to stay motivated, get the job done!
shenrydafrankmann 