Kitchen Counters Arrived

Mr. Maison Decor helps the delivery guy bring in the new countertops we had ordered just 7 days earlier!

I wanted to change the look of my kitchen on a budget and had been doing just that by painting out the maple cabinets with chalk paint to a creamy white color. Inspired by the difference that made I couldn't help but not love the laminated countertops that remained. Since this house is not where we plan to spend our dying days, I decided to try the new 180fx Formica laminate in Calacutta Marble finish. Well aware that these counters would still be formica, but hoping for a big bang for the buck, I placed the order. No less than 5 days later I got a call scheduling the delivery! We hadn't taken any steps to prepare yet, thinking we had three weeks.

So this is how Saturday went over at Maison Decor~8:30 am the counters arrive.

9 AM and the "slabs" are stacked in my dining room. Honestly, my heart sank when I saw that the edge I selected was the tell tale Formica looking edge. When I picked out the edge originally I had selected a preformed edge that was slightly rounded. If I had real marble, I wanted a flat squared off edge~and the sample had a picture showing the kitchen just like that, and you couldn't detect any seams. The kitchen "expert" encouraged me to go with the "custom square edge" instead of the preformed edge...a decision I totally regret. Now, in the grand scheme of things, this is not something to lose sleep over...after all, it is just a counter top. However if you were to use this product, do not do as I did~go with a preformed edge style so you don't have a dark seams screaming "FORMICA" at you when you look at it. Mr. MD suggested just starting the counters by removing the smaller section of counter top right away and see how it looks. I was quite happy to get to the ripping out and thought, perhaps it will look better in place.

I cleared out the cabinets so we could unscrew the tops from the bases.

They came off very easily~my number one helper removed the old top.

Gone~the old speckled counter tops are history now! I still had to paint the base cabinets back to white.

First we were going to plonk the new counter top in position and see how it looked.

9:30 AM: Not that thrilled, honestly~but what I usually do when I get that not so thrilled feeling, is just keep forging ahead, hoping it will look better when all the components are in place~and in this case, that meant white cabinets, and a bead board back splash. The other problem that presented itself was that the new counter was higher than the old one, so we needed to raise the stove, which Mr. MD set out to do while I painted the cabinets back to white.

10:00 AM: But before I would start the cabinet painting I thought I would use the roll of bead board wallpaper I had on hand for the back splash area. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting to go to the lumberyard and making the cuts and applying the wood backing, when I knew I could have it all bead-boarded up before lunchtime. The walls needed to be sized and dried so I did that next and then got to painting the cabinets. I knew that if the wallpaper was not that great, I could always do the real bead board later. I also had to bake cupcakes because I was going to a party at my sisters house that afternoon, and I was bringing the desert!

Yes, I am a multi-tasker. You can see I got the cabinets painted, and I loved how that looked.

10:30 AM: Its feeling messy and chaotic in here~not the look I am envisioning...but forge ahead girl I said to myself. Trust the vision...

12:00 PM: As soon as the beadboard wallpaper went up, I breathed a sigh of relief. I could live with this, and quite happily I might add. The kitchen was being transformed into a light bright space, and the marble formica was looking pretty good! I set up a transferware plate to see how it would feel, and it made me feel very good!

I mean, after comparing it to the old, wouldn't you be happy with this improvement?

So that is where we stand at the moment. The other counter top involves sink removal and cutting out of the opening for the sink in the new Formica. We also have to remove and reconfigure the run of cabinets next to the fridge. If we have a stretch of rainy weather, that means my number one helper will be available to get to work instead of doing his excavation gig. Praying for rain now! I'll be sharing the progress as it comes~

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