In The Beginning
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The kitchen is the second room I decided to work on. I had the hideous ski slop range hood replaced with a matching cabinet and an above the range microwave and
replaced the range but
the cabinets were very dark. The counter tops were brown and the floor was just
plain ugly. Something had to be done.
I purchased a string of ceramic red chili peppers at Cost Plus and that's how I got started with the chili peppers. I really liked the linoleum I had put in the downstairs bathroom and decided to use the same kind. Luckily, I was able to find some. There was only one layer of original linoleum and so this time, I used a floor leveler to fill in any old pattern and laid the new linoleum over the top. I started to visualize the black and white floor with the red chili peppers and searched for a wallpaper border to go above the cabinets that would tie it together. Of course, I wasn't able to find it. So, I purchased one border that had the black and white checked edge I wanted and I purchased another border that had chili peppers on it and overlaid one over the other to create the effect I wanted. That done, I started on the counter tops. I hired someone to remove my old counters and replace them with a layer of plywood and Wonderboard. (Tip: I measured and slightly adjusted the size of the counter so I would end up with full tiles wherever possible.) I had taken a ceramic tile class at Home Depot and the salespeople there helped me with getting all the supplies I needed. I rented a tile saw from a local rental company and I was ready to go. (Tip: Some rental companies are closed on Sunday. If you rent the tile saw for Saturday and they are closed Sunday, you might not have to return it until Monday morning and so you get two days rental for the price of one.) I tiled the counter edge first. This needed to set overnight before continuing so I did most of this during the week before I rented the tile saw and temporarily skipped the edge that needed cutting. When laying the top of the counter, you want to start at corners and work your way toward the ends.
Let the tiles sit overnight before
grouting. I wanted black grout between the counter edge tiles and white
grout between the top counter tiles so to do this I just ran a strip of tape
down the edge to keep it separate. I think I then waited about 3 days,
being careful to keep the counter fairly clean, before I applied sealant to the
grout.
I then started on the dark cabinets. To keep the cost down, I first used Zinsser Bullseye water-based 1-2-3 primer and then painted the cabinets with Miller Paint Acrinamel Semigloss latex paint, bought new white hinges and they turned out great.
(Tip: I had purchased a new white range and refrigerator but could not justify the expense of a new dishwasher since mine worked just fine. I discovered that my dishwasher had panels of different colors that you get to by unscrewing the door edge and I was able to easily change it from almond to black.)
