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This week we slapped primer and paint on the walls and ceiling. And we got our cabinets!

Crown moulding not yet installed. The upper corner diagonal cabinets will eventually have frosted glass doors. That mondo pipe is for the vent hood, right above the future cooktop.

The odd thing with paint primer is that while working, its odor doesn’t bother me. But once I step away for an hour or so, the fumes hit my nose and eyes like a truck. Gack. Fortunately, the primer seems to both dry and volatilize quickly.

I also learned that low or zero-VOC paints (e.g., Sherwin-Williams Harmony) really do make a difference if one is sensitive to fumes. They really are low in odors, and what smells there are dissipate rapidly — in a day or less, which is rapid in my book for wall-to-wall chemical application. Compare this with the non-low VOC paints (e.g., Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint), which still stank the following day, and gave me a massive headache. The main disadvantage (so far) with the low-VOC paints is that they’re more viscous, so a bit more difficult to spread on a surface.

White primer in the kitchen in the background, beige unprimed drywall in the foreground.

The kitchen cabinetry comprise the first truly attractive things we’ve had installed during the renovation. Mmmhm, natural beech wood and brushed nickel hardware. From time to time I find myself petting the drawers and doors, even though they haven’t been completely installed and adjusted. 😉

Plus an island! Crown moulding is partially installed, along with some cabinetry hardware.

It’s mid-winter, yet the HVAC can’t be finished until the exterior stucco is done. The heat pump sits outside like a condenser, near the house wall, so any stucco work would mess it up. Thus we won’t have central heating until the new year. Brrr.

You may see more photographs at the gallery. There are two pages of albums for this project, so here’s a link to week 13.