AMERICAN PAINTING AND PRESSURE CLEANING,  INC. "Where Quality Is Not An Option" Home Giving Your Kitchen A Complete Makeover...And Doing It On A Low Budget At That...Cabinet Installation  Phase Five Now that the kitchen ceiling and walls have been taped and finished--to near perfection (perhaps?) and you took my advice and sprayed a nice even and uniform texture (orange peel preferably) on both walls and ceiling; you are now ready to proceed forward. But before you do just take a moment to look around at your kitchen and observe your handy work. I tell you the truth, in my opinion there are few sights more beautiful than drywall panels handsomely finished and textured. To be totally honest with you I even love the smell of fresh drywall and joint compound; it's the smell of renovation to me and I just love it. Before we proceed to phase five of our kitchen makeover (cabinet installation) segment let's take a moment to do something I've found to be very important. You see, the texture that you sprayed on the walls and ceiling is nothing more than joint compound diluted with water--that's all, and it is so easy to accidentally scrape it off the wall/ceiling. You can rub up against the walls and create a smooth spot that may very well stand out--and on and on. My point is this: before I proceed to implement the next phase of work I take the time to prime my ceiling and walls at this point to try and avoid any damage to the texture. Unless you have a really large kitchen you should be able to brush and roll the ceiling and walls fairly quickly, as opposed to spraying the ceiling and walls with an airless paint sprayer. As a matter of fact, I insist on putting not one but two coats of an acrylic latex primer to protect and seal the texture, as well as the drywall finishing job. Once the primer has dried thoroughly then and only then am I ready to proceed with the next task. Priming Walls and Ceiling At this stage of the game your ceiling and walls should really be looking good and standing out. With the walls and ceiling completely primed (preferably double coated) and sealed your new kitchen should begin to take shape, that is, take on its new facade--even at this stage. Your walls and ceiling should look clean and statesque. Although there is nothing in the kitchen at this point but walls and a ceiling (at least that you can see), you still should be able to see walls that are straight; ceiling that is attractive and smooth, as well as sharp lines and straight corners...and you should be pleased at the way things are going thus far. Take the time to give yourself a well deserved pat on the back because a lot of hard, hard work has gone in to achieving this look. Beautiful ceiling and walls don't come easy; it's not a given, its only through accurate measuring and an eye for detail and fine workmanship that this can be accomplished. So really, give yourself credit for all you have done and let's get ready to begin phase five. Okay? Okay. Kitchen Cabinets If you haven't already selected the type of cabinets you are going to install then by all means you really need to put a rush on it. Whether you have a million dollars budgeted for cabinets or less than a thousand; now is the time to get organized and committed to making a decision on the cabinets you will be purchasing and installing. This should be an exciting time for you because kitchen cabinets can give the kitchen such an elegant and heartwarming feeling. It's always good when you have almost an unlimited time to shop for cabinets, and it's even better when you have an unlimited amount of time and money to spend on them. But usually that's just not the case...at least with all of my clients. They are everyday working people who have a very limited budget and even less time to spend shopping, but when we put our heads together and brainstorm we generally get the most bang for our buck. Now, I'm not saying you can get something for nothing, but what I mean is this: shop diligently and try to get the most for the money you have to spend, for example, if you can't afford expensive stained and varnished magohany cabinets, why not look at buying quality oak cabinets and having them stained/varnished or even painted. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg just to get beautiful cabinets. So be open minded and willing to compromise and you could possibly end up with  beautiful cabinets that you didn't have to sacrifice your first born to get. Installing Kitchen Cabinets Installing kitchen cabinets can be accomplished by most serious minded week-end-warriors, however, cabinets can be heavy and bulky...and depending on how many you will be installing, it can really prove to be exasperating. At this point I just want to say this: If in any way you feel challenged concerning the installation of your kitchen cabinets then now is the time to call in a reputable carpenter to assist you. Installing cabinets is not an extremely difficult task to do but it can be an extremely taxing task that can leave you completely worn out. Lifting heavy cabinets (boxes) can create other problems for some people, so just be warned that some cabinets(boxes) can weigh over fifty pounds. But if this isn't a problem for you than by all means proceed with the installation. Like most subject matter, there is a wealth of information on line on how to install kitchen cabinets. I recommend that you research and subscribe to as much of this material as you need. After all, you want you cabinets to look great and even more importantly you want them to be installed safely and securely. Conclusion With your cabinets successfully installed you are now ready to begin treating them. If you choose to stain and varnish your kitchen cabinets make sure that your cabinets are ready to receive stain, in other words, make sure your cabinets have been properly prepared before you begin. In the article "How To Stain and Varnish Red Oak Cabinets" I gave an in depth tutorial from start to finish on how to prepare and stain/varnish cabinets, please feel free to click on the above link for more details. It is a full length feature article that has an abundance of information that will help you should you decide to stain your cabinets. And if you decide to paint your kitchen cabinets please take the time to read the article "How To Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets" and follow the instructions given to help you achieve beautiful looking painted cabinets. Whatever you choose to do; paint your kitchen cabinets, or stain/varnish them you can achieve  elegant and beautiful looking cabinets without sacrificing an arm and a leg. Good Luck. Disclaimer: The author of this article assumes no responsibility for any injuries or worst resulting from the content of this article or any other article written by him. This article and all other articles written by him are written for the sole purpose of informing and entertaining. Please contact a reputable contractor(s) in your area. Thank you If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you kindly. American Painting and Pressure Cleaning, Inc. all rights reserved private policy