how I fixed my scratched up kitchen cabinets.

We have this particular cabinet door in the kitchen that is just below and to the right of the sink. Ummm, I guess it gets splashed. A lot. Because seriously...look at the picture below. Yikes.

I'm super embarrassed to show you this before picture:

[ack!]

Wow, up close the damage was hideous. Not only was the wood scratched, it was buckled at the bottom of the inset panel.

I knew I could sand the whole thing down, then try to find/remember what finish was on the wood and hope against hope that after all that work it would sorta kinda maybe match it's neighbors.

Then one happy day I found this on Pinterest [thanks Tara!], which showed how to rejuvenate scratched wood with Watco Rejuvenating Oil.  So I thought, why not? If it doesn't work I'm no worse off than I was before. At only $6 it was sure worth a try.

First, I removed the door from the cabinet [ooh look at the nicks on the drawer above! those will get fixed as well]:

[removing cabinet door]. 

I took the door down to the garage and gave it a light sanding with some superfine grit sanding paper. Watco's instructions don't say to sand, but I wanted to smooth down the buckling a bit if I could.

[a wee bit of sanding].

[the magic potion].

I followed Watco's instructions, which are basically:
1. rub the product into the damaged area with a clean cloth
2. wait 10 minutes
3. wipe with a clean cloth

Simple! Even I could do that!

And check the result:

[after watco application].

While not perfect, I think it's 1,000 times better.  You can still see the damage at the bottom of the inset panel but once it's hung, that area is down by your feet so it won't even be noticeable.
And I didn't expect it to be perfect. As you saw, that door was pretty destroyed. In truth it probably needs to be replaced. But at least I can put it off for a while longer!

Friends, can you handle two more before and after pictures?

Take a look at the scratches on this kitchen drawer:

[what are we, animals? geez].

And now after a swipe of Watco magic:

[after the magic].

Now that's incredible!  :-)

If you plan to do this, of course please test it on an inconspicuous area first.

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DIY feature wall - picture frame molding in the master bedroom.

[feature wall: picture frame molding in the master bedroom].

Our master bedroom has this feature wall, under a peaked ceiling, that you see right when you walk into the room.
The Mr. hates that wall. And the ceiling, come to think of it.

I was ok with the wall, but wanted to make it stand out more. Nothing drastic or dramatic, just a little added texture and depth with some picture frame molding painted the same color as the wall.
Simple and elegant.

So out came...you guessed it! My favorite purchase of all time, my Ryobi cordless nail gun.

I tell you, there's no rest for this poor thing.
First, came The Great Board & Batten Wall:

[The Great Board and Batten Wall].

Not too long after that was the shiplap wall/plank wall in the dining room:

[shiplap wall/plank wall].

Right on it's heels came the lattice wall in the stairwell:

[lattice wall].

And now here we are again, battery charged and ready to create a feature wall in the master bedroom.
Here's the wall before, inexplicably with a stationary bike in front of it:

[a bike? really?]

Not quite the feature I was looking for. Obviously that bike was the first to go.

Then off to Home Depot to look at molding options. So many options!

[home depot, molding options].

We went for this one, since it looked the most like picture frame molding:

[winner winner].

I sort of arbitrarily decided on the size I wanted for each frame, which ended up being 32"x66".
Total molding cost only $30.38  [49 ft x $0.62 per foot].  Wow, what a deal!

We cut the pieces on a 45 degree angle, painted them the same color as the wall [Artist Studio, by Ralph Lauren], and nailed them up using our trusty Ryobi nailgun.  A little spackle on the nail holes and some touch up paint, and it was done!

Looking better already:

[molding up!].

Better still, the simple art went back up...pictures I've taken while exploring the Pacific Northwest:

[pictures hung].

And here's a closeup of the frames:

[closeup].

There you have it friends! As always, please let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to answer them if I can.

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