Lab Administrator’s Kitchen Project Wins a Duke Time Off Photo Prize

Adam Davidson enjoyed a staycation with his wife

Adam Davidson and his wife, Erin, took advantage of repainting their kitchen cabinets during his Duke Time Off. Photo courtesy of Adam Davidson.
Adam Davidson and his wife, Erin, took advantage of repainting their kitchen cabinets during his Duke Time Off. Photo courtesy of Adam Davidson.

Since moving into a 1968 ranch-style house in Raleigh, Adam Davidson and his wife, Erin, have proven themselves as worthy DIY-ers, renovating their bathroom, installing new hardwood floors and installing a side door.

A decade later, one area remained: the kitchen.

“We love remodeling our house and have wanted to repaint the cabinets for over a decade,” wrote Davidson in his Duke Time Off photo submission. “We finally did it! It made my wife VERY happy. So, for me, best staycation ever! Thanks for encouraging us to take time off Duke!!”

Davidson, a Senior Laboratory Administrator in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering, took three days off from work for the kitchen cabinet project.

Adam Davidson and his wife, Erin, took advantage of repainting their kitchen cabinets during his Duke Time Off. Photo courtesy of Adam Davidson.
Adam Davidson snaps a photo of his wife, Erin, and their kitchen midway through a project to spruce up the kitchen cabinets. Photo courtesy of Adam Davidson.

He and his wife worked together on the first day to remove the cabinets and cabinet hardware. The next day, they cleaned sanded, resurfaced and taped off the walls, counters and floors and painted until 2 a.m. with a fresh coat of “Sea Salt” color paint – a shade of gray. On the last day, they put everything back in their kitchen and enjoyed a pizza from Domino’s Pizza.

He shared a photo of his wife inspecting his first coat of the new paint on the second night of the project.

The image was selected as the second winner of the 2023 summer-long contest, earning him a Duke-branded gym bag courtesy of Duke University Stores.

“I love having the time to do things like this,” said Davidson, who joined the Pratt School of Engineering in January 2022. “I appreciate it a lot, because I don’t have to worry about, ‘when am I going to get this done?’”

Now, Davidson said their home feels complete with their pets, a dog, Odin, and cats, Leela and Solo.

With the project done, Adam Davidson stands in the completed kitchen at his home in Raleigh. Photo courtesy of Adam Davidson.

They look forward to many moments ahead in the kitchen, where Erin bakes lemon blueberry zucchini cake and other sweet treats.

How to share your 2023 summer pictures:

  • Post and tag a photo on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with #DukeTimeOff. Tell us what you’re doing with your time away from work. Remember to include #DukeTimeOff in your post, so we can find your snapshots on social media.
  • If you’re not on social media or prefer to share your picture another way, go to hr.duke.edu/DukeTimeOff2023 to upload your picture.

To be eligible for prizes, photographs must be taken between May 24, 2023 through Aug. 6, 2023, and shared by current University and Health System staff and faculty during the same time period. The deadline for submissions is 12 p.m. Aug. 7.

We welcome and encourage frequent submissions (there’s a prize for a shutterbug), but only the first picture in a series will be entered whenever one submission contains multiple images. Collage photographs and videos are not eligible for prizes.

During the campaign, the Working@Duke editorial team will award Duke-themed merchandise from the Duke eStore, courtesy of Duke University Stores. All eligible pictures shared throughout the course of the campaign – May 24, 2023, through Aug. 6, 2023 – will be in the running for these grand prizes:

  • A “Classic Package for Two” at the Washington Duke Inn, which includes a king or double/double room for one night and full breakfast for two in the Vista Room or room service, courtesy of the Washington Duke Inn. Sunday brunch is not eligible.
  • A Walking with Lemurs tour for four with Lemur Center Executive Director Greg Dye, courtesy of the Duke Lemur Center.

Grand prize winners will be announced on Working@Duke in late August.

Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographs through our story idea form or write working@duke.edu.

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