Pantry Restoration & Renovation – ORC Week 4

Aye yi yi. The creator of this Challenge, Linda, says that week 4 is a hard week. I believe that 100%. After a planned weekend away, I got a very unplanned illness. I have been resting a lot and trying not to cough myself inside out. I think that means that this pantry project is officially behind schedule. Today is the first day that I am feeling better. It will take a marathon weekend of painting and repairing, but this project will get back on track.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

My fellow One Room Challenge Guest Participants are rocking this challenge and making it look easy. Please take some time to look at their projects. I think you will be inspired and impressed.

The past week was not all for naught. I was able to get some prep done.


In the damaged corner, I scraped off all of the loose paint. I followed up with an oil-based primer. The next step is to skim coat a thin layer of patch over the primer in order to make the surface smooth for painting. Even though oil-based primer is harder to work with, it is preferable for projects like this one because of its durability.


There has been some good news too. I thought there was a significant crack in the upper corner, but after closer inspection, I discovered that it was just peeling paint. Even with that project marked off the list, there are still a couple of repairs to complete.

When I pulled of the toe kick, the finish nails pulled right through.

Probably the biggest challenge aside from feeling like death warmed over has been the fact that every new bit of work makes a new mess. Working on an old house is very dirty work. It takes a pretty steady effort of scrubbing, wiping and vacuuming to keep the workplace neat enough so the rest of the project does not get affected by the grit and grime.

So, that is all for this week. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but my determination is here in equal parts. Let the marathon begin.