So the cabinets are all complete. They were installed previously but we waiting on a couple of doors to be finished. The area for the appliance bar was put in rather rushed and temporary for the granite install.
The granite install didn’t happen at all the week it was scheduled. There was a delay of one day due to mis-communication. Then they had five guys (not the burger joint!) out sick and their schedule got really messed up for everyone expecting installations. Luckily I’m pretty laid back and easy. It’s not a big deal.
This of course changed the schedule for a lot of other areas.
The biggest problem came from the most unexpected and smallest job one might say. The paint. I have all white walls in my entire home except for the two bedrooms that I have somewhat recently painted something NOT white. I’m so sick of looking at white!
There were a lot of colors suggested by my designer but I wasn’t a fan. I kept saying that with so much neutral colors of cabinets, flooring, granite, and backsplash I felt like we needed something bold to offset. She showed me the paint color I immediately loved. I will add that there isn’t much paint to show in the kitchen. There is an attic door and a back door and most of the walls are covered by cabinets and backsplash. One of the two areas to be painted is beside the back door. That’s where dogs come and go and if one brushes against the wall or shakes from going out in the rain to pee made the white wall almost impossible to keep clean about dog height and below. This new color will not show the dirt.
This brought about a gut-wrenching situation I never expected. I’m pretty good at making up my mind. I have all stained wood in my home except the bathroom where the previous owner remolded and painted white. It doesn’t bother me at all. In my mind and the way my brain works is that I must keep everything natural to the period and perfect. This reminded me of something I heard about “I’m not the curator of this museum”. I questioned myself but stayed firm that we would keep the stained wood. That includes what had been around the back door, the doorway to the dining room, the attic door and frame, the window frame and sill, and all baseboards.
It was mentioned that I wanted white plantation shutters and asked if I was sure I wanted to keep the stained window frames? I allowed the frame around the back door to be white because the trim was being replaced and the door is white so why not? Then that baseboard between the new pantry and the back door looked out of place. OK then it can be white.
I questioned the window situation far too much. I posted it on Facebook asking for opinions just to see if I might be too close to the situation. That didn’t help because it was divided just like my mind! I finally decided the window trim could be painted when I looked at a picture of the stained trim next to the new cabinet. But that was it. No more white trim! Final answer, Alex.
It pained me to see primer go over my pretty wood window. I was almost sick as if I was putting a loving pet out of it’s misery. I must be crazy.
The painter cut in the paint all around the edges of the walls and left for a little while. I walked in the kitchen. I stood and stared. I was shocked. I just couldn’t believe it. It was so apparent that my decision made my nice, new kitchen look instantly dated. I thought of all the homes I’d visited and comments I’d made about the dated features. I knew I was going to have to go against all my beliefs about painting beautiful wood in order to make my kitchen stand out and look like a final product.
I called my designer and was still in a state of shock. I sent her a photo. I told her I was sorry to be so wishy washy. I was going to have to change yet again and I knew it wasn’t going to happen today but on a future trip at some point. I told the painter not to continue staining the baseboards. Between the designer and I we decided to paint the surround to the door frames only in the kitchen only. We would leave the attic door stained. I could decide later if it bugged me. Better to leave stain than have to remove.
The paint is great. You can’t tell yet from the photos and the color doesn’t look right in these photos. Here you’ll see what I saw that stood out as out of place. I might be wrong and I’ve gone all over the place on this. This was the hardest and most difficult part of the entire remodel process. I doubt you not.
Painter will come back late next week and put some more coats on what’s primed and touch up as needed.
On Beth's Mind 