The Kitchen – Walls and Cabinets

We moved into the house of wallpaper.  Literally.  It was everywhere.  And ugly.   So we started ripping down wallpaper with no thought process, no strategy, just serious excitement to get it down.  In no time, our farmhouse looked like a cyclone – worse than it did with the ugly wallpaper.  The kitchen was no different.  Even had an added bonus of wallpaper border.

TIme to get to work.  I wanted to mimic the many tear sheets and inspirational pictures that I had collected, but knew that this kitchen project would need to be accomplished in phases simply because of the budget.  Phase 1 was to remove the wallpaper and paint the walls, as well as give a face lift to the cabinets.  I gathered all supplies needed, and organized them all in one place so I would have them at the ready.

Check out that ox yolk fixture.  We plan to relocate it, so stay tuned for a future post on that process.

To remove the wallpaper, the formula that worked best for me was to use equal parts hot water and fabric softener in a spray bottle.  Spray the walls well, and start pulling and scraping with a putty knife.  Once all of the wallpaper was removed, I lightly sanded and cleaned the walls.  Then I painted, and I chose Valspar Drumskin for the paint color.

Meanwhile, we removed the cabinet doors, and cleaned the cabinets and doors inside and out with TSP.   Then it was time to prime and paint.  We sprayed two coats of primer  throughout, and brushed on the colors.  For the top cabinets, I chose Valspar Lyndhurst Estate Cream.   For the bottom cabinets, I went with Valspar Homestead Resort Pale Olive.

I am really pleased with how this first phase turned out.  There is still much to be done, but for now, we are satisfied.

Please share your kitchen ideas and remodel stories.  I love to hear about other’s thoughts and inspirations.