primed and ready to roll

Last weekend, I finished painting our kitchen with the final touches in my little laundry nook.  I was a little worried that going from the cream walls to our grey-blue would make the tiny space seem really dark, but instead it is just the opposite.   I really like how the fresh coat of white on the ceiling ties in with the trim, the remaining cabinets and the washer and dryer. 

The trim still needs some touch up paint and I want to add a few finishing touches, but that will come in time. It feels so airy and much more open than it used to. 

Ah the wonders of paint...it can actually make this nerdy bird enjoy laundry day(s)!

After finishing the laundry nook, I was anxious to see how the kitchen cabinets will look in the space.  Instead of begging the Man to move everything back in the house, I pulled out my trusty Frog Tape and tape measure and went to town.

It helped me a ton to visualize where everything would be going, and actually led to a resolution for a nagging concern of the Man and I.  When we first moved the fridge and oven back into the kitchen, things felt a little cramped-- we have a small space and a HUGE fridge.

 I shifted everything down about a foot, shuffled some of the wall cabinets around and things seemed to work much better. 

Thanks to YoungHouseLove for the suggestion of using painter's tape to plan a space!

On the agenda this weekend was to jump start the work on the cabinets.  Previously, they were crashing in the kitchen, but most recently they have been calling the garage home sweet home.

After a deep cleaning with some heavy duty degreaser, I ran by our local movers to pick up a few boxes.  It only took about $4 and twelve flat boxes to create a clean cardboard surface for the next step of prep. 

I caved and make a run to Home Depot to pick up something to speed up the process:

It cut down on a ton of time, and it's something I've been wanting for a while.  I like the fact that I feel like I can easily control this sander compared to some of the others I've used in the past.   The Man helped me sand everything down and we were ready to prime.

This oil based primer does not play around.  It smelled pretty horrible and I don't recommend painting with it in 90+ degree heat. (We ended up taking another motorcycle ride to get fresh air like we had to after the attack of the toxic adhesive remover.) I understand now why everyone prefers to use latex paint.  This oil based stuff was a pain to work with, but it did cover well and I don't think we'll have to worry about anything getting through it.

I'm glad we had the primer tinted.  I actually really like the color. 

We let everything dry, and next up is another light sanding and then we bring on the black!