Meet the Parents - Part 1

When my parents come to town, I cannot say it is all fun and games for them. My "handiness" is learned from them, so when they come to town, I can't resist putting them to work. Luckily, my mom loves projects and my dad is a very good sport!

The challenge I gave to my dad this visit was this wall in the kitchen:

The goal: to make this blank wall with a hole from an outlet relocation host to a new microwave and cabinets.

Dad and I Skyped to figure out what size cabinets we needed, and I was able to pick them up at the Home Depot during a 20% sale before they arrived, saving money and planning time once they got here. After another trip to the store to pick up a few more things, we started in on the cabinets.

The cat supervised the whole process. I did what I could to help. Mostly things like removing hinges and holding the cabinets in place.

 After the first day, the raw cabinets were in place.

The next day Dad adhered the veneer to the sides of the cabinets. And then came the installation of the dreaded microwave.

 

Our helper

 I have no images of the microwave installation because Mom and I were under it holding it in place while Dad bolted it in place. The microwave did not want to cooperate. The installation instructions were followed to the letter, but the directions were wrong, or our house was weird, or the microwave was weird. Whatever the reason, we were saying 5th time's the charm when we finally got it into place.

Unfortunately, for my Dad, though the microwave instructions said the microwave came with the vents in the position for a recirculating fan (vs. a vent that goes to the outside), our microwave was sent for an exterior vent when we hung it. Meaning as we installed it on Day 2 it was venting directly into the small space between the appliance and the cabinet above. Bad news bears. On Day 3, we removed the microwave again (6th time's the charm?), but my brilliant mother pointed out it would be easier to sand and paint with the microwave not in place. We started the priming and painting process to match the new cabinets to the originals.

After time for all of the coats to dry, we added the hardware to the cabinets, re-installed the microwave, and re-hung the doors. Here is the final product:

One door at the top of the cabinet is not closed all of the way because we have a heavy duty extension cord in place until the electrician can come and add the in cabinet outlet needed for the microwave.

Now the moment you have been waiting for, Kitchen before and afters! Did you notice the dark hardware on the new cabinets? All of the cabinets got upgraded to matching oil rubbed bronze handles!

Sorry this is a bit dark, I was trying to match the angle and the fridge gave me a reflection of the flash.

 That was another picture heavy post, but I hope you enjoyed it. We LOVE our kitchen. It seems so big and fresh and clean! This wasn't the only project my parents worked on, so there is more to come! Good night!