A Bit of Disruption
Our kitchen has nothing fancy in it like granite countertops or open shelving. No pendant lights, no pantry, no vent hood. It's a square layout with simple materials and unfussy frameless cabinets. There's no place to socialize in it -- no bar stools or gathering island. It's a cook's kitchen.
With orange walls, rustic wood beamed ceiling, painted Talavera tile accents and a terra cotta tile floor, this kitchen didn't want sophisticated trendy upgrades. It most definitely didn't want to be white.
I liked it the minute I saw it and did not want to change it. But although the cabinets were sound structurally, the fronts were pine. Pine wood is soft and the doors were badly scratched. There was a dog here before we moved in, and we know where the dog food was kept by the scratches down the front of the kibble cabinet.
Everywhere the finish had worn off and the wood had pitted in places. Pine yellows over time. I liked the warm look, but had to admit it was more icky yellow than rich golden. After twenty years it was time to refinish the original scratched cabinets.
But no one refinishes pine cabinets. The only viable alternative was complete refacing with new wood, and that's what we did.
It's taking a full week and we had to empty the cabinets and drawers of everything. It's the trauma of moving day all over again with boxes in the dining room and cookware in the living room and The Beast food processor with its buckets of implements and blades taking ownership of the guest room.
