sweat equity

There's been talk of renovating the kitchen for ages but this weekend, the right time was finally upon us.   There was no looming wedding, no trips to the Cape.  Just 48 hours and a sea of beige linoleum.  

before 

An order of tasks was established and the cabinets came up as the first logical step.  In an effort to keep perfectly good materials out of a landfill, we decided to refinish them instead of replace them.  Let me tell you though.  Things quickly spiral out of control when it comes to home renovation.  

during

No sooner had the cabinet doors been removed than we began eyeing the hideous laminate backsplash, Beau's least favorite kitchen feature.  A few chisels, two hammers and an hour of elbow grease while belting out Bon Jovi later and the backsplash was relegated to the garbage can.  Meanwhile, the cabinet doors sat around in a pile, patiently waiting their turn.  We were too busy congratulating ourselves and admiring the lack of backsplash to bother with them at the moment.  The new look of aging adhesive clinging to the naked dry wall feels like an improvement.  We're calling it the "distressed" look, like those sandblasted jeans with holes that cost $100.   

Attention was eventually returned to the heap of cabinet doors, quietly teetering on the stove.  I couldn't help but notice the ancient, wall-mounted microwave right above it - my least favorite kitchen feature.  Not once in over two years of habitation has it been used, namely because it looked capable of irradiating a small village.  It was just an evil, greasy waste of space.  

  

Drinks celebrating the lack of nuclear microwave

Several minutes later, the offending appliance was detached from the wall and sitting atop the precarious stack of cabinet doors.  This is when we found out that microwaves from the early 80s weigh as much as a sectional couch.  Determination won out though and it was relocated to the garage where I assume it is now terrorizing the cabinet doors, which after much perseverance have now been stripped, sanded and painted.