Project Weekend

Whew!  We are back from Star Hill.  We had a VERY productive weekend.  Over the next few days I will show you the projects we got accomplished in spite of the rain and a sick hubby. Everything at Star Hill is green and beautiful right now.  We spent almost every minute outside under the porches.  There weren't even any mosquitoes!  We only got an inch of rain all weekend but the skies were cloudy an it kept the temperature down.  It is hard to imagine that it is mid July with weather in the 80's.

Our first project to begin and the last to finish was a cabinet that the love birds needed in their kitchen.  There is not any counter space beside the stove- just 36 inches of open space.  In a kitchen that is short on counter space we knew that a cabinet needed to be built to use all the available space for appliance storage and provide a place for the trashcan. We decided to challenge ourselves by only using materials we had on hand.  Our goal was to make this cabinet from scratch out of supplies left over from our kitchen remodel last summer and other projects.  I really thought it was going to be a two by four basic box but Hubby got busy going through the garage and found some colonial legs that were left by the previous owner and he pulled out the tile left from the kitchen floor. 

When Hubby and I start a project I have learned that he is a visual person.  If I can show him what I want it to look like he can probably build it. He measured the space and we went from there.

My rough drawing of the cabinet.

We started bright and early Friday morning and things moved along pretty quickly.

The top was cut to measure

The legs were cut to measure.  They were a little too long to start with.

The cement board was cut and attached to the top plywood.

Assembly of the legs, compartment, and top rails went well. 

We wrapped up about 4:00 pm and I thought that all was fine.  The next morning while making the bed I heard sawing and nailing in the garage.  I was so proud.  I just knew that Hubby was out in the garage finishing the cabinet so that we could get on with our other projects.

I could not have been more wrong!  When I got out to the garage, the entire cabinet was pretty much disassembled.  Hubby sheepishly told me that he did not like the original plan.  He wanted the cabinet to be better looking.  He had already cut more plywood from our left overs and had redesigned the cabinet. 

Here is the second draft of the cabinet.  2:00 pm Saturday.

 The dark brown is paint.  The wood he used was once used to cover a hole left in the house when we removed a door.

 I started working on the ceramic tile top.  Hubby and I both knew that we did not want to get out the tile saw so we designed the top to use six full one foot tiles.  I found the center tile on the bottom row and drew around the tile.  I applied adhesive to the cement backer board then laid out the tiles on the top. 

I wanted the smallest grout lines possible so I used pennies as spacers and unsanded grout that we used in tiling our backsplash.

 Hubby mixed the grout for me because I was nervous.  I got out wet sponges and a float.

  It only took a few minutes to get the grout into the spaces between the tiles.  I am used to the whole room all day ordeal so this was a treat.  The trick was the small spaces between the tiles.  I really had to push to get the grout all the way into the spaces and Hubby had to provide guidance.

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After the grout was done, I painted the entire cabinet while Hubby drove into the city to help Baby Boy get more stuff moved in to the apartment.  The paint was the door and trim paint from when the Garagemahal was built.  Saturday 6:30 pm


The picture above was taken this morning.  The trim (reclaimed cedar from the house) was applied to the top edges.


Hubby woke up this morning running a fever and feeling awful, but like a trooper he got the cabinet all finished up then went back to bed.  I applied the second coat of paint, touched up the rough spots and waited for it to dry.  It was delivered this evening on our way home from Star Hill.

This is not a very glamorous picture but it looks great!  It fits perfectly and is going to really help the lovebirds use their kitchen more efficiently.  Total cost- 0