DIY novice I might me, but nothing was going to stop me trying to revamp our kitchen. North-east facing, dark blue units, pale blue walls and beech worktops and a rather unattractive brown lino floor - say no more. I'm still not sure my practical skills match my creative ideas, but ideas without action are just dreams, so I decided to do something about it. As I come to the end of phase 1 (aka extreme cupboard unit renovation), I thought I'd share my progress and share some tips I've picked up along the way. Who knows, I might even inspire others to give it a go!?
Day 1 - no going back!
Full of enthusiasm and 'knowledge' after researching what I needed to do, off I trotted to B&Q for supplies. My shopping list included a mini roller and tray, a couple of small brushes, sugar soap spray, medium & fine grade sandpaper and crown cupboard makeover primer. I then took all the kitchen unit doors off the hinges (probably should have taken those off too, but decided that would be overkill) and also took off the door handles. I then spent the rest of the day first cleaning the doors etc. with sugar soap which helps get rid of any grease and grime, then sanding the doors - both sides and edges - with medium grade sandpaper. This was a very dull, time consuming and dusty process but I have to say, pretty essential to get a good finish. I recommend doing the sanding bit outside if you can as it literally gets everywhere.
Day 2 - its all about the prep!
Bored of sanding already, there was much more to come. I also sugar soaped and sanded the 3 end shelf units and the fronts of all the units. I could've painted all the cupboard insides, but decided this would be overkill as they are an off-white colour anyway. The sanding helps the primer to stick so its well worth doing. Before I started priming, I wiped down the doors with a sponge and then used a duster to remove any final dust. I think there are specialist products you can buy for this - probably worth it as even when you think they're clean, there is still dust to be found! I then started the priming using the fluffier one of the 2 small rollers I bought. I only used a tiny amount to create a very thin layer, again as this helps the overall finish. I managed to prime most of the unit doors on one side during the day and left them to dry.
Day 3 - more priming!!
After a couple of days actual holiday time (I started on a week off work), I cracked on again. More priming :( I was determined to get all the priming done over this weekend, but I won't lie, it was boring as hell. Luckily the weather was good so it helped with the drying, but I followed the instructions leaving 2 hours before moving them & painting the other sides. After the doors were all primed with 1 coat, I then sanded them lightly with fine grade sandpaper, again to help create a smooth finish. Then the whole process started again with the 2 coats of primer, finishing with another light sanding & wiping down. I followed the same process with the shelf ends and unit fronts. Even after 2 coats, the primer wasn't completely covering the dark blue units, but I decided that there was enough on there and in any case, I was itching to get some colour on them!
Day 4 - finally some colour!!
By day 4, I was actually able to use colour for the first time. I opted for Farrow and Ball eggshell paint in String. I'd read that this colour was good to use on dark rooms as it has warm undertones. Expensive, but great to use and its a lovely colour - eggshell has a bit of a sheen and is durable so I decided it was the best one to go with for the units. I used the spongy roller for this stage and again, very little paint. The units are 'shaker' style, so I used the edge of the roller to go round the indented bit as I found this was the best way of getting a smooth finish right into the corners. I managed to get about half the unit doors and all the shelves/unit fronts done with a first top coat and lightly sanded again ready for the final top coat. I used tape to protect the glass doors from paint (not very successfully, I'd spend more time on this next time as I ended up with paint on the glass).
Day 5 - paint and sniffles
My progress was pretty hampered by having a stinking cold, probably not helped by snorting up loads dust from the sanding, but hey-ho! By the end of day 5 I managed to get half of the unit doors fully painted, re-fixed the door handles and re-attached them to the units. I know I should've probably waited, but I was dying to get them up get a sense of progress. I think the labourious nature of this job makes that quite hard and on reflection, I was rushing a bit and not giving the doors enough time to fully dry in between coats. This has left me with a couple of doors with a patchy finish which I've had to re-sand and touch up and also, 'scratches' where paint came off when I was turning doors etc. meaning more touch-ups so if you can manage it and have the time, try to take your time at this stage!
Next time I'll update on the final stages - can't wait to see the end result! And then it'll be on to phase 2.....
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