Some of my best work at the remodel

After the flood some of the doors on the kitchen cabinets were split from the water.  I used a wood wax product as well as a dark wood polish to fill the cracks.  I think they worked pretty well.


Before

And after

It is amazing what a little elbow grease and the right products can accomplish.

  I also took on my first tile back splash.  Prior to this I have only helped on floor tile but I had heard that a back splash was easier than a floor to do.  Since I was the one who wanted the back splash my dad felt I needed to figure it out, especially since we were down to the wire on time.  It really is pretty easy to do.  I am not particularly good at math so I tried to lay out the tile by hand so that it would end where I wanted it but when it came down to it things didn't work out how I thought they would. It still looks good and that is all that really matters. 


This is just the in process of installing the back splash pictures.

I put a plastic edge like you might have along shower tile because it seemed like it would be nice for cleaning purposes next to a breakfast bar (you can see it in the top picture but it blends in pretty well).  This tile is almost an exact color match to the floor tile.  I did keep it simple so it would not be a distraction to the beautiful oak cabinets, faux granite counter tops, and I didn't spend a lot of time messing with tile layout or spend extra money on tile renters might damage with the wrong cleaning products.  Through the entire remodel it was sometimes a struggle for me to remember there would be renters, I was having fun picking things I liked, but you never know how an apartment will be treated, even if they are paying a high rent.

The finished tile back splash!

I was so proud of myself.  This was one of my projects that I had doubts about actually completing on my own even though I knew the "How to's" of the actual project.  Sometimes you do just have to jump in and you can surprise yourself, I had a hard time leaving on time to drive home each day while doing this project because it was so much fun.