I'm not seeing a current picture witht he sink -- just the one with the paper down on the wood which I understand to be before use. That wall looks like it has a raw end of drywall, not a side that is finished (paper or whatever) or maybe even no drywall. It looks like they tried to smooth joint compound in there, either by itself over your studs and built up or over something less than a full side of finished drywall. Joint compound will turn to mud (that's what they call it when it's wet -- hence the verb to "mud" the walls) and dissolve away if it gets wet. Paint will only seal the surface, and if water gets behind it -- well, I dare say it is probably worse than damp sheetrock, which is worse than damp green board. You say they had to sheer away your window sill. Did that sill come below the window too? I don't think you've got clean drywall there. I think you've got a really poor job of mudding and an even worse job of sealing the joint. That's my guess.

Yeah! Cousin came today and put in my 2 new drawers, and adjusted (reinstalled) the top middle drawer in the island vanity so it doesn't have a gap under it (but just barely "pimpled" the front where he tightened the screw too much and it *almost* came through the front! I didn't say anything b/c in taking the front off, I wasn't watching - talking to him- and let the front drop onto the 3 screws I'd already taken out that I'd stupidly laid in front of the drawer on the counter!). Next - drawer liners - all the Merillat drawers are getting worn already, though I expect the solid maple custom bottoms to wear better than laminated (paper) plywood. Sink base looks OK, but I'm buying a new trash can and thinking of setting it inside a dish pan, or at least putting vinyl tile or remnant or something under it - old dish drain board won't work since it's sloped, but maybe upside down? Have smaller can from laundry room there now. I will call laminate guy, but I think we'll end up living with this for 8-10 years since it looks like HD price for this laminate was $29/sf installed - so about $1000. Not worth it - too much else to do. Cousin said it would be months b4 he could do my crown since he's so busy now with landscaper and a big carpentry project someone finally made up her mind on. But maybe he can come back to fix my broken cabinet and install the oak shoe then if I finish it this week. I hate to have the crown sitting in DR all summer, but if he can just cut it roughly to length and do the mitred returns on a couple of pieces I can finish it and have it ready to go any time he's ready. He says (and I agree) finish the baseboards and casing first so when someone walks in my house it looks finished - no one will say anything about not having crown on tops of cabinets. I was only going to do crown 1st b/c I figured I could stain it in unfinished MBA it was so narrow and longest piece is 8ft, but that has changed since he got too busy to do it this week - we had originally scheduled kitchen work for early April. So I'm going to be spending all summer finishing baseboards and casings (not too many left), moving onto doors and window sashes (jambs and sills are all done).

You can paint it. You clean the bejabbers out if it. Rinse well, Let it dry completely; Paint one coat of white pigmented shellac. And follow up w/ coat of enamel in any color you please. The last time I did this I used BM oil-based Impervo, which I think you can still get in quarts in some places. Two coats did the trick. I had it up for at least five years. Normal care regarding cleaning. I was surprised at how well it stuck to the tile. HTH L..

Wow! Tropical, that is amazing. I wish I had that patience & talent to do something like that! Kathi~ I agree, thanks for letting me know not to use that! Ruc~ Thanks for that idea... I do like that, but I have a sunflower motif in my kitchen & that would kind of clash, but it's a great idea. I have been thinking about using peel & stick floor tile then finding some trim that matched. Does anyone have a reason that this wouldn't work? I would think it would be durable & clean easily. I've linked to the patterns that I like. Also, Windy~ The kitchen actually isn't as small as some SW's. It's approx. 13'x13'... I've seen smaller in stick built homes. But, I wasn't going to do anything really "splashy", that's just not my style. I considered using mirrored plexi-glass that I found on Ebay, but thought that would probably show dirt & fingerprints, etc. extremely well. My walls are now a "Hazelnut Cream" color... I think these colors would look OK. Thanks again for all the suggestions & tips. Keep 'em comin'! :) This is the one I'm leaning towards: http://cgi.ebay.com/Mosaic-Beige-Vinyl-Floor-Tiles-30-Pcs-Self-Adhesive_W0QQitemZ250197192626QQihZ015QQcategoryZ20604QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Here is a link that might be useful: 2nd choice tile