Pantry Door - remix

Well, it took some doin, but we got-er-done.

Here is how things started.

So I don't need to repeat myself and bore you check out THIS post

if you want to know how this came to be.

I decided that I needed to do something drastic.

Sometimes when you mess up, fixing that mistake

turns out better then you thought it would.

Tada!

It was a big project, it took a few days to complete.

Heres how we did it.

Cut through the silicone caulk sealing the old trim against the wall.

It will need to be cut on all sides.

Be super careful if you do this, always cut away from yourself and don't go too fast.

I don't want anyone having to make a trip to the ER to get a million stitches.

With a screwdriver, hammer, crowbar, what ever suits your fancy pry off the old trim.

I only used a flat-head screwdriver and a lot of muscles.

Yes, I do have decent muscles when needed.

Pull any remaning nails if you can.

They were really hard to pull out, I just ended up twisting them off.

I had a few strapping young lads help me here, it kept them busy for a little while.  ;-)

Hammer in any little broken off nails that are poking out.

Sand smooth any rough spots.

The new trim we used is just strips of pre-primed mdf that comes in a variety of sizes and lengths.

We found ours at Lowe's.

 HERE is a reference for you.

This wood-product is easy to work with and inexpensive.

We also picked up a piece of crown molding for the top.

The new trim was a bit wider then the old trim, which was good because

it covered up some dents I made.

But we had to cut the floor trim back. I taped off where I wanted it cut and

the hubs scored it a bunch with a utility knife and it popped right off.

Time to cut and hang the trim!

My favorite part.

The side pieces were about 3" wide.

Then we put a little 1 1/2" wide piece on the top turned on its back to

cap it off and make a little ledge.

Another 3"wide piece on top of that to make it extra fancy.

I'm going to pause for a minute and praise my man, who was a good sport through all of this.

Look at those forearms! *swoon*

I love it when he gets out his tools.

 A tool belt and a faded pair of jeans are magic...

Ummm, where was I?

Crown molding, right.

Very, very boring crown molding....

Actually I love crown molding, but I also love a man with an air-compressor.

*sigh*

Heres a tip ladies.

If you want your man to be happy about helping with these crazy DIY projects you

 come up with, you have to encourage him by acting like everything he does is sexy.

It's easy to do because your man with his tools out IS sexy.

Just give his arms a squeeze, slap his butt a few times

and your new door trim will be hung in no time.

Sorry got sidetracked again.

Crown molding.

Crown molding, crown molding, crown molding.

Here is Mr. thinking really hard about how to hang the crown molding.

Crown molding is complicated and I am not going to even begin to try and explain it

so for tips and directions click HERE.

Once the trim is all up its time for the finish work.

First: caulk.

I love this part because it is so great to cover up all of the gaps and mistakes.

Caulk all sides.

*Be sure to buy paintable silicone caulk. Paintable. That is very important.*

Spackle and sand all of the nail holes.

Once the caulk is dry touch up paint around the trim.

I wanted the same paint color that we used on our cabinets to show

through when I distressed the top layer of paint.

So I painted the edges of the trim and the door.

Now you can see just how ghastly the aqua door and the cabinet paint looked together.

It really did not look good. 

One problem: I wanted a cool old gate handle on the door instead of a door knob.

But, the door-knob hole needed to be covered.

So I had a thin sheet of aluminum cut to size for me to cover it up.

You can get this done at a home improvement store,

or you could have a friend hook you up, which is what I did.

I spray-painted the sheet-metal as well as the hinges and hooks

that I was going to re-use and put back on the door black.

I painted the door with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite.

This is not chalkboard paint. It's just really great paint.

There is a lot of controversy in blogland if ASCP is worth it.

My opinion:

Yes, it is worth it.

• You can apply it to any surface with out priming or sanding.

   I will go to great lengths to avoid prep-sanding.

• It covers really well.

• And really it is just so pretty.

• The paint kind of has a soft glow about it, especially once you apply the finishing wax.

Pictures can't really capture just how great the texture and finish is.

The paint is kind of pricey.

But I really do like how nice it turned out.

So to paint:

Paint, sand to distress, apply wax to give it great tone and texture.

Here's a shot of the beautiful trim.

I made the little wreath out of a 10" grapevine wreath-form,

some green leafy things, a yard of burlap ribbon and a hot glue gun.

Here's a close up of the handle.

It really turned out great.

Thanks for staying with me through all of that. Whew!

Thanks!