Second Weekend

This weekend involved more work on the cabinets - the first coat of paint (over primer) on the doors and drawer faces, and sanding and priming the cabinet frames.



We also did the great hardwood floor reveal - we tore up the carpet and padding in the living room and dining room. We knew there had to be some reason why the previous owners put carpeting down in those rooms, we just didn't know for sure what we'd find.

The floor we found underneath the carpet is a beautiful cherry-hued wood. We did find the "surprises" though - we discovered that the house once had a different layout. Walls were moved around at some point. And instead of filling in the old wall areas with hardwood to match the existing floor, whoever did the work decided to fill it in with cement (that's right!) and put carpeting over the whole floor.





So we are now looking at a patch-up job in addition to refinishing. Gotta love an old house!

Start of Kitchen Refurbishment

The current kitchen is pretty much a study in 1960s decor. The cabinets are covered in dark brown "wood" veneer, with dark bronze-looking chunky handles and knobs on the doors and drawers. The countertop is a lovely yellow plastic veneer, the floor is cream/brown linoleum, and the appliances are brown and "retro" (i.e. they've been around for quite a while). Once again, the previous owners kept everything in spotless condition and the appliances, while aged, seem to be in good working order.

While we initially dreamed of tearing out the entire kitchen and replacing everything all at once (in at least a year or so after saving up some cash), we are now contemplating a staged refurbishment of the kitchen instead of a complete rehab.

The first project is to paint the kitchen cabinets. We began the prep work on Saturday, April 16. While removing the cabinet doors, we noticed that the veneer was peeling off of the cabinet frames in places. We took a peak underneath, and discovered beautiful wood cabinet frames - at which point we proceeded to rip all of the veneer off of the cabinet frames.





We weren't so lucky with the doors and drawer faces, which are particle board covered with veneer. Those are being sanded and primed (with Behr primer designed for use on glossy surfaces) before painting. The cabinet frames will also be sanded and painted. If we can find appropriately sized hardware, we'll replace that as well.

Future projects for the room include building a breakfast nook in this area:



as well as repairing the wall underneath the sink area, replacing the sink, replacing the appliances, retiling the floor, and changing the lighting.

First Weekend

Welcome to the blog we've set up to detail our progress on refurbishing our new (and first) home. The house is ours as of Friday, April 15, 2005. It is a bungalow in the Mills subdivision in Elmwood Park, IL. The house was designed by John Mills and built in 1928.

The previous owners were in the house since the early 1960s. While they took immaculate care of the house and gave it many personal touches, the house is in need of some updating. We are looking forward to tackling various projects, small and large.


- Alicia and James Smith