Thursday 5 June 2014

Yeah baby!

As promised, one quarter of the kitchen is completed. It took most of a day to sand the sides of two doors, re-ESP and paint them so that they work freely without hitting one another. I had those doors on and off so much that day. I really hate kitchen cabinet hinges. I had to watch a youtube tutorial to make any sense of them.

A tomato and a J cloth. Too impatient to style it properly. 

As you can see, the wall is still not sorted and I can't get the splasback up until that's done.

I wanted something temporary yet striking. We'll replace the worktops and sink at a later date.
Having loved what Emma (Ooh Betty blog) did on the BBC Great Interior Design Challenge with brick wallpaper, I thought that I'd try that out. At only £20 a roll we can rip it off in a few years with no damage to the walls. I won't need much.

You can see one piece held in place in the corner. Now that it's come, I'm not entirely sure it's right. It's meant to be white but it's very grey. With the grey units it might just all be too much and one could spiral into a deep depression on entering the kitchen.

I didn't order a sample which was stupid. I now have a few samples of other brick wallpapers on order and I can't wait to see how they work.

So far my expenditure has been:

ESP £25 inc postage
Titebond melamine glue £30.90 inc postage (But I could have used a smaller bottle. I have a HUGE one.)
Farrow and Ball paint £60 should do it. Perhaps £40. (I could have saved money with bigger tins.)
Wood (Cheshire Mouldings) £56.37 (You could save by cutting your own MDF.)
Wallpaper £25.95 inc postage (So far. Might choose another one...)
Handles £100 (Not the cheapest you can get but I love them.)

=£298.22

This is the cost for the whole kitchen, not just a quarter. Obviously it will cost more to finish the job as I need a window sill where there is none and some cheap tiles around the back of the sink. And flooring! I hate that floor.
I've not included polyfilla, caulk and white paint as I have these already in my stash.

I'll remind you of the before...


And now...


So far, so good but there's a long way to go.


64 comments:

  1. It's coming along nicely. Well done you!

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    1. Thanks Anne. Should be done by Christmas... x

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    2. I see in the article that the ESP chemically bonds to the paint. When do you apply the paint after the ESP application? I was considering doing this with our kitchen but want to ensure when to correctly apply the paint so that it bonds. I am sure you are inindated with these requests. Many Thanks in advance.

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    3. You have to wait 2 hours and you have up to a week to paint. If you don't get round to it just ESP again. Happy to help David.

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    4. Thank you so much for your help.

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  2. It's looking good! You have so much patience, I couldn't be arsed with all that. Painting is one thing but all that doors off, doors on, uh uh. I'd have to get a man in (my dad) to do hinges, while I made tea and maybe a cake. Btw have you seen French Collection C4 1.40pm? It's right up your rue. xx

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    1. Thanks Fiona. Baking is beyond me! Give me awkward hinges any day over cake making.
      Yes, I'm recording that show every day but the upcycling aspect is dreadful! It upsets me how people ruin things. They've clearly not searched the blog world for people who know what they're doing like the team for the Great Interior Design Challenge did. Pah! xx

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  3. looks really good. I HATE cabinet hinges. Mine are always going awry. I thought of you today as I bought a little blue chippy enamel kettle. You have more patience and calm than I could ever have. Instead of wall paper you could paint on bricks - yours would probably look better than the ones on the paper. Your hand painting is super.

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    1. Thanks Teri, I did think about painting on bricks but I thought wallpaper was quicker. You can even paint on faux tiles! xx

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  4. Fantastic work- well done you :) And for a bargainous price too - that's got to be cheaper than just getting even one or two new cabinets from Ikea. Not that I would ever expect you to- you're the least "Ikea" person I know (in the best way) xxx

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    1. Thanks Katie, I'm amazed at the difference with such a small amount spent. And I could've halved that budget id I'd cut my own wood, used cheaper paint, cheaper handles etc. xxx

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  5. Looking good! You really are doing a marvellous job, much, much better already. xxx

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    1. Thanks Vix! It couldn't get worse really could it? xxx

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  6. Looks great, I can't wait until I can get a new kitchen!!

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  7. How about I make the cakes and you came and do my kitchen??? It's really starting to take shape - the doors look very clean and fresh and I think you have very similar handles to mine (although mine are a smaller size). I went for a Belfast sink when I redid my kitchen last time and I love it :-) x

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  8. It's looking good, Emma Kate, and as always, I am in awe of your skills, knowledge and perseverance! xxx

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  9. You are doing a fantastic job - it looks fab!
    Just given mine a mini revamp - it's a bit of a tangerine dream now, but I love it!

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  10. what an amazing transformation.

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  11. so glad i found you great job been looking at so many different kitchen cuboard paints just couldn't make up my mind till now.what did you use the melamine glue for

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    1. Thanks Annah, I used the melamine glue to attach the wooden trim to turn the door from a flush door to a shaker style door. Good luck with your kitchen!

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  12. Love love love this!! What wood did you use for the trim? :)

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    1. Thanks Helen, it was a hardwood moulding I found in the moulding section of my DIY store.

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  13. Hi! I'm aiming to paint some previously varnished pine panelling. Would you recommend ESP or Blackfriar problem solving primer? Also, what do you use for initial de-greasing? Thanks.

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    1. Hi, for degreasing you can use Cif, Fairy liquid, or Cillit Bang. Then maybe sugar soap when it's thoroughly clean.
      I might be tempted to use Blackfriars Problem Solving Primer as you then have belt and braces protection from knots in the pine seeping through your paint.
      Happy painting!

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    2. Hi Emma Kate, you have done an amazing job, well done. I have green melomime sharp wardrobe doors that I'm dying to paint white. Do you suggest the ESP and a white wood paint? Love to hear your suggestions. Thanks Suzanne

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    3. Hi Suzanne, yes, degrease, ESP and your top coat. Mine was waterbased eggshell. It's really tough. For large flat areas it'll look a lot better with a roller. Good luck!

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  14. Your kitchen looks great ! Do you know if they sell esp in canada ? I would love to get some for my kitchen .

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    1. Thanks Judy, I don't know but I got mine on ebay.co.uk. Perhaps they would ship it to Canada? I used the Owatrol brand.

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    2. This link has a stockist mentioned in Florida. If they can't ship to you, perhaps speak to Owatrol...
      http://www.owatrol.com/index.php?langue=en&page=contact

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  15. Hi, looks really good, I use to use ESP all the time it was fab stuff good to know they still make it, what colour grey did you use?

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    1. Thank you! I used F&B Cornforth white on top of the ESP. Estate eggshell.

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  16. Hi it looks really great, did you use any form of top coat on the paint?

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  17. Thanks, no you don't need to because F&B eggshell is really tough and has a sheen so it won't absorb grease or wax.

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  18. Hi I am about to start painting my kitchen cupboards which are melamine using esp and farrow and ball. Did you use Farrow and Ball undercoat primer as I have read online the eggshell does go on properly without it? Or did you just do esp and then the eggshell? I don't want to mess it up but would like to avoid spending 40 on undercoat if I can avoid it Thanks

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    1. Hi Rachel. You don't need an undercoat primer at all. Perhaps if you were painting wood but not on a non porous surface with ESP. Save your pennies!

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    2. And actually, even if I was painting wood, I'd not be using F&B primer if it's £40 a tin!!! Primer is primer. Undercoat is undercoat. No matter who makes it. I love Wilkos personally. :)

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  19. Thank you so so much for this great inspiration. It looks amazing. Next on my-list-of-life is trying to turn our bleurgh boring brown cabinets into something more F&B fabulous. I even have some ESP as I'd used it on an evil orange pine bed but hadn't thought to use it on the kitchen. Be lovely to hear how it's holding up. Thanks again!

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    1. Thank you Helen. I do need to do an update but rest assured, I have no chips or peeling paint! I'm still thrilled with it. Good luck with your kitchen cabinets.

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  20. Hi, can I ask what kind of roller you used.
    Jan X

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    1. Hi Jan, I used a mini roller with a smooth foam head for gloss. x

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  21. I am going to do my kitchen I have got esp, chalk paint is that correct? and also what do I need to use as a top coat please x procedure esp?, 2 coats of colour

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    1. NO NO NO! Step away from the Chalk paint this instant! Unless you want a lumpy bumpy surface which will absorb grease, need sealing or repeated waxing and will not be resistant to scrubbing.
      I'm not a CP fan.
      Step 1; Degrease. Thoroughly.
      Step 2; Degrease. Again. The slightest grease residue can prevent paint adhesion. Let your doors dry.
      Step 3; ESP on. Wait 10 mins. ESP wiped lightly. Wait 2 hours.
      Step 4; Paint. Use any oil based or waterbased eggshell. (Not Fired Earth though. It's crap.) Use a mini roller, GLOSS head on the flat bits. Keep spreading the paint til all the bubbles disappear.
      Step 5; Let it dry the FULL drying time. Repeat painting. I did 4 or 5 coats. I used F&B estate eggshell. It is TOUGH. It doesn't require any sealing. You can scrub it. It won't absorb grease at all. Unlike Chalk Paint.
      You will end up with a paint job that looks like a factory spray job.
      Enjoy.

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    2. What does f & b stand for?

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    3. Thank you for your help. I'm looking at mo at Craig and rose eggshell paint would that be ok?

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    4. I've never used theirs. So long as it has a sheen and is tough it should do. The thing I hated about the Fired Earth eggshell was that it was more like a chalky matt paint and it marked really easily and showed greasy finger prints. An eggshell shouldn't do that.

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  22. Hello - having got all excited at what you've done with your kitchen, I thought I'd try updating my 28 year old kitchen doors. But now I've looked, the middle of the door and drawers is melamine or some such, but the door surrounds (like picture frames) are actually wood. So could i use the ESP on the surrounds? Also, the handles are actually cut out of the wood frame, so wondering if constant use of putting fingers in the holes to open the doors would wear the paint off quickly. TIA :-)

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    1. I added a wood frame to my doors and as it was raw wood I just used primer and ESP on the melamine front and the edges. But, if your wood is treated or painted (which I'm sure it will be as it's a finished door!) then you can use ESP on it. Basically ESP is for any non porous surface.
      So long as you THOROUGHLY degrease your finger holes before you paint, and use a good tough eggshell paint like I did after the ESP, your paint will not wear off the finger holes. :)

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  23. Thank you, Emma. I can hardly wait to start! :-)

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  24. Great information. I just was looking for ESP on Ebay in Canada and it is available. Just wondering how many containers of Owaterol ESP you needed to do your kitchen?

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    1. One bottle will be plenty. You could do ten kitchens with one bottle. Good luck finding it.

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  25. Thanks, Emma, this sounds great! Do you think ESP works well on high gloss cabinets too? I would love to change my gloss grey kitchen to bright yellow, not necessarily gloss paint though. Thanks for your help!

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    1. Absolutely! You can use it on any non porous surface, even ceramic tile or glass so your doors won't be a problem!

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  26. Great article! Thank you so much for all your tips! I'm preparing myself to re-do our kitchen on a low budget. My problem is cabinets doors. We can't work it out what is it. Looks like a plastic! (Kitchen is made by German company, wellmann). Firstly I thought to use sign vinyl, but I'm worry it will look cheap. But after reading your post, I've started to believe our kitchen can be painted and look GOOD!

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    1. Hell yeah! Once painted, you'd never know it's not wood! Go for it!

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  27. This is amazing i have bought ESP and i cant wait to start. Just wondering was there a reason you went for water based over oil? Im demented trying to work which to go for as people seem to love one and hate the other. Was F&B easy enough to work with and was the coverage good? I cant decide betweem F&B and oil based Little Greene but i keep swaying back to F&B.

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    1. You no longer need Oil based as the waterbased paints are just as tough. F&B eggshell gets my vote every time. If you go with oil based, in the 16-24 hours it takes for the paint to dry, it will attract every bit of floating dust and airborne cat hair you never even knew you had in your home. Like a magnet. Don't do it.

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  28. Hi Emma Kate, How is your kitchen holding up? I would love to give my melamine kitchen another colour, just so worried that it may chip over time? Did you use a small roller, or did you use a brush? Thank you!

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