Chalk it Up

Chalkboard paint is all the rage cuz' it's fun, practical, and gives you a chance to write on things without committing.  Here is a simple project that you can finish in a day (actually a lot sooner than that, you just have to factor in drying time).

 Because I love lists and post-it notes but hate clutter, I decided to paint the inside of of my spice cabinet so it conceals all the lists and notes I want! 

Cabinet Before

I applied two coats of paint to the inside of my cabinet...

let dry...
rubbed chalk on it to condition it...

And chalked it up!

Did you know that to convert fresh herbs to dry in recipes, you just have to switch from Tablespoons to teaspoons?

 Now you do :)




Linking up to

Labor of Love

Before the subway tile backsplash was born and before the counters were adopted, I fostered these cabinets... 
(If you missed it, you might want to catch up on my previous post here)

Ok, they weren't THAT bad (I'm trying so hard not to complain too much!) The previous owners had painted them and replaced the hardware to improve the look of the dark, 70's cabinets, but as you took a closer look, they weren't so improved.

This project was a true labor of love. 

Three months of a dust filled kitchen, three months of paint covered hands (and clothes, hair, face), three months of brushing snow off my truck everyday because it had to be parked in the driveway, and three months of freezing my butt off in the garage while our horrible ND winters raged right outside the door.

I literally dreamed this sequence:

Sand (low grit)

Sand (high grit)

Prime (2-3x)

Paint (2-3x)

 Sooo...remember BEFORE??

We removed the soffit and cabints over the snack bar, painted, redid the cabinets, installed the backsplash, and replaced the counters to get... the AFTER.

Removing the cabinets above the snack counter was the best idea ever. If you are thinking about it but are holding back because you are worried that you will lose precious storage space- get rid of crap!   Not only does it open the space up, but it makes it look bigger and allows for much better entertaining. And where on earth would you put a TV if we wouldn't have taken the cabinets out?!

It's so wonderful that my cabinets are now crisp, clean, and paint gobs are no longer visible.

We still have a bit to go... install moulding to the top of the cabinets, replace the windows, install backsplash on the remaining wall, pick out a light, etc.

Thank goodness the majority of the work is over. For people who are interested in redoing their cabinets as well, (which is totally worth it!) I will post a step by step tutorial with tips that I found helpful to finish this labor of love :)

Cabinet Woes

 These were the cabinets when we bought the house... not that bad, right?

 

WRONG.

The people who owned the house before us (bless their heart) tried to paint the dated, 70's cabinets a white/cream color. Unfortunatly, no prep was put into it and (to put it lightly) they looked horrible. There were gobs of paint, streak marks, and chips...everywhere.

There were also large gaps between the cabinets that needed to be filled in. And although the handles had been upgraded, the hinges were still an old, bronzy color.



Gross. That's all I have to say.

After about a year of putting the project off, I went out and bought what every girl has always wanted, a random orbital sander. And lots of primer, paint, high quality brushes/rollers, and the other 100 various materials you need to start this project.

I will admit it, I was niave to think this wouldn't take that long. And here I am, 3 months after I originally started...still working on them.  I will (hopefully) be done this week and will post photos of my labor of love.