My Kitchen.. Need Cheap Ideas!

[Emily Sulliban]

My kitchen is ugly, dark, and outdated. So is the rest of my house sort of.. with the exception of the dark part. The kitchen is the worst though... wood paneling, ugly colored door and window frame paint, some 70s-style laminate sheet type of floor that's peeling at the edges, etc. This is why I'm looking for inexpensive ideas. It's not worth using high-end products in my kitchen while the rest of my house is lame. Plus, I'm a cashier;)
My mom is taking a 4-day vacation at a local beach with some friends, something she hasn't done in.. I don't remember her ever doing that actually. She works hard to pay the bills, and I want to surprise her when she gets home.

Here are my questions and areas in which I hope for some sort of advice or suggestions:
Wood Paneling-
I want to paint the wood paneling a fairly light color. Do I need a primer first? Does it need to be water-proof for around the sink? What type of finish do you suggest? What type of product should I use to clean the paneling before I paint them?
Windows- The paint on them is old and chipping in some places. How do I get rid of the old paint so I can repaint them? Just chip it off? Sand it?
Canibets-
My cabinets are just plain pieces of wood with some protective clear coat over them. How would I paint these? Can I just wash them and paint right over them? What product should I use to wash them? Could I add some skinny moulding pieces in rectangular shapes near the edges of each wood slab to add some texture?
Stove-
I have a gas stove. Do I need to call some gas guy to disconnect my stove/oven in order to paint the wall behind it? Will it be expensive?
Flooring-
I feel as though I could peel the whole sheet of whatever it is in my kitchen floor off of my kitchen floor fairly easily. I'm thinking of going with some type of durable, flexible tile- vinyl?- that doesn't require any mortar or anything.. the adhesive type. Any suggestions? What condition should the floor under the current "floor sheet" be in in order to apply adhesive-type "tiles"?(the floor project is for another date in the near-future)
Other-
Any other suggestions or quick, cheap, affective asthetic-improving ideas are wayyy welcome.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this and help me out:)

[Brian Levredge]

Anytime you are going to do some painting in the kitchen, it's best to go over all the surfaces with some type of degreaser. Lighter colors that compliment each other work best. You'll want to go with a semi gloss because it's easier to clean and maintain. You may even be able to do gloss (oil base) but that may be illegal as it is some counties in CA. You will definitely want to prime all surfaces before painting.

On that note, prep work is the most important part of any paint job. Cutting corners will leave you with a paint job that looks bad. You can use a putty knife to scrape off old paint and then you'll want to sand those spots to smooth them out. You'll want to use a rougher texture sand paper at first to do the heavier work (120) and then use a lighter grit (150) to do your finish sanding. Cabinets can be especially difficult as the different grains in the wood and the frames themselves can make the brush marks stand out.

I would strongly caution you against doing this whole project yourself. I'm not sure that you realize how much you're biting off. At the very least, I would pay someone else to install the vinyl, especially if you are going to install vinyl tiles. If you don't know how to square a room, you are going to end up with a floor that is going to look very bad.