I have been delaying the lighting installation because I needed to see where the wall cabinets really will end up.. I did NOT want to make a big mess at this stage in the kitchen, everything was covered by drop cloth and protected from the dust. It went very well using a HEPA air purifier running and Shop Vac with HEPA filter to follow the saw during the cutting processs. Everything looked fine when I cleaned it up. It took about 6 hours that includes scouting in the attic. I have been agonzing that the 6" recessed lights might be too big and ruin the kitchen but I think it looks fine now.. I did a lot of research on the distance from the cabinets but even at the last minute I was not sure, I was worried my head might cast a shadow if too far, over wash out the cabinet if too close. I picked a magic number 14" from the doors. I am really getting a kick out of this, this is what I had before (ugly), using 2*34W = 68W, maybe more due to ballast effiecency.. Installed now is 6*12 = 72W of LED recessed lighting. I love the technology! Very bright, great CRI, 100% brightness at startup, only 4 watts more than before? Good fluorescent recessed cans that fit California's strict requirements was only a little cheaper. I think I have made a good choice by jumping to LEDs. I can really see in the kitchen now! View from Living room, island to be added (big clean up is pending) View from Entry Using an engineer's mentality (equal distances) this is the layout I came up with. Wall wash effect, would have moved it a bit forward if there was not a stud blocking it. Shadow test Kitty (aka supervisor) seems to approve it..

The type of grinding down that will require is not pleasant to entertain. The high spots look so extreme I think you would have to float the surface out 3ft in each direction to make it disappear by _adding_ material, which Is why i would try to grind it down first, then make it smooth again. When you take away old partitions you are left with features like this; you can see how the original plasterer built the corners out too thick. At least there is not a 1/2" change in plane; I had one of those to deal with in my kitchen after removing a closet wall. Casey

The contractor said the wall paper will be removed first however there will be damage to the dry wall so he suggested that floating the wall is a possibility for some damaged areas. I honestly didn't know what he meant until I searched it up. This is our first remodel on an older house (30 yrs old). Previous homes were brand new from builders. We wouldn't mind some sweat equity but the entire main floor (1800sq ft) is wall papered and we both work very long hours so I don't know how long that will take us. Grew up with wall paper in the 80's and I don't want to live in one again. Ugh. I'll do a test and see. Hopefully it isn't too bad. Thank you.

Thanks all! My first thought when reading your replies was to just make the doors myself and attach them to the Besta frame. But I'm not ready to give up on the ikea doors. I've watched a ton of videos on some variation of this and thought I would get some personal feedback here. As recommended, I'll go for the Hanviken doors. The masking tape is something that I will do, as I've heard this mentioned in videos as well. I will try to build up the inner side of the door for a more level surface. I appreciate the alternate suggestions for getting creative with the doors, but the whole reason for the project is to get that very specific and authentic cane look. If I can't get that look, then I'll switch gears altogether. I did look at some beautiful grass cloth wallpaper that I thought would look beautiful, but, nope, it wasn't the kind of beautiful I have in mind. 😊