BOXMOOR KITCHEN BEFORE AND AFTER

The photos below were taken in the kitchen during one of our many visits before we closed the deal on The Boxmoor in 2004. We moved into this home in this exact condition since we closed on the shack the same day that we bought the mansion.  Yes, that is what this house is referred to in the history books.  Oh my.

Just in case you are not observant, do notice the fluorescent lighting and the lock on the cabinet and the huge window from where you can view the playground.  And in the second shot, the ever-popular paper towel dispensers.  There were a lot of these throughout the house. And in a photo further down, you will see part of our fire alarm system.  More about that in another post.

While I thought the built-in was charming, the color and accessories were all wrong.  *grin*

And the floor and walls were a bit nasty to say the least. How's this for an up-close shot.  YIKES!  Makes me kind of wonder why anyone paid good money to send their children here to school.  Just saying.

Okay, on to the after shots.  The one below is the after-after.  And the model is my granddaughter, Kenzie, at about ten months old.  The actual DIY that I'm posting about for Funky Junk's SNS 12  is this floor.  You will get the cabinet door handles at no extra charge.  You're welcome.

I was determined to cover that floor for under $100--for several reasons.  One was that I knew it would be temporary since someday we would replace the cabinets.  The second reason was because I needed the money for other, more important things--like heating units and working bathrooms and hardwood floor refinishing.  The third reason was because I had been watching a lot of Trading Spaces at the time, and I just wanted to show them that I could do a room on way less than $1000 without gluing hay or flower petals to the walls--or floors in my case.

After ripping up several nasty floors and the disgusting carpeting, I did the following:

1.  Cut 2'x2' squares out of luan and nailed them to the floor.  I alternated the direction of the grain. Actually this is the part my husband did under my direction.

2. Painted the entire floor black--twice.

3. Dry brushed in the direction of the grain with gray paint.

4. Applied two coats of water-based polyurethane.

I came in at budget and loved the results.  It's been almost six years, and the floor has not yet been replaced.  It is now on Kelly's side of the house, so the kitchen redo is now her problem. FYI, Kelly and her family moved here three years ago, after we had lived here three years.  We split the house in half at that time, and she got the original kitchen in the split. 

It's hard to remember why I opted not to save the cabinet door hardware.  I think it was because some  handles were missing; some were damaged; and all were nasty.  What a surprise.  I know that I did try to clean them with no success.  In hindsight, tossing them was  probably not a wise thing to do, and it was probably done out of frustration.  I'm not sure I realized that the handles were not stock size, and metal cabinets can't really be patched.  Knowing what I now know about the miracle product, Kaboom, could make me have renovator's remorse, but what good would it do? 

My creative solution was to cover the damaged part of the cabinets with magnetic pieces that I cut to size after spray painting them black.  Then I added beads to heavy wire and pulled them through the holes, securing them in the back.  These handles have held up pretty well.  The silverware drawer breaks every now and then, and beads go flying, but who cares?  Oh, that would be Kelly!

We opened up the wall from what is now Kelly's dining room to the kitchen, and added exterior beadboard to the walls because it is cheaper and heavier--translated to mean that it covered the uneven walls better.

I chose a fun lime green color.  Just because.  I painted all of the cabinets white, and then painted chalkboard paint on one.  I should say that I spray painted one cabinet with chalkboard paint.  I wouldn't suggest doing that in the house by the way.  I did cover a lot with plastic before I did it, but sheesh, that stuff just flew everywhere.

We were a homeschooling family when we moved to The Boxmoor.  My husband thought it fitting that we buy a *school* since I was the support group leader and oftentimes planned educational events. Shortly after I moved, I hosted a co-op which met weekly.  It was a blast.

Ryan dissecting a frog.

Tessa celebrating her eighth birthday.

It was a sad day for me when I came home from school one afternoon after Kelly  had moved in, and the walls had been painted a beachy blue color.  I tried not to cry.