Makeover From the 1970's Complete!

Shortly after completing the painting and the cabinets, Greg and I went back to the rental for our own little "Demo Day" like on Fixer Upper. All that really needed demo-ing was the old yellow sink and counter-top.

 As a side note, it was just my hubby and me available to tear down the sink and counter, so naturally, I was the one to help remove the sink outside where Greg could smash it to bits. I will just skip telling about the part where the porcelain sink was so heavy that I kinda tripped and fell down on the cement stairs outside, the graceful gal that I am/ The sink landed on my knee, and I had a nice little limp and a couple of bruises out of the experience.

A few days later, the carpet and counter people came to install, and I came to do some final touches like new doorknobs, and window treatments. I really did giggle when I saw the new carpet and how everything took shape after lots of work. New counter and sink. :) No more yellow!

Okay, time for the reveal: 

Kitchen Before: 

 Kitchen After: 

Living Room and Front Door Before: 

Living Room and Front Door After:

Bedroom 1 Before: 

Bedroom 1 After: 

Bedroom 2 Before: 

Bedroom 2 After: 

 Bathroom Before: Actually, the bathroom was the only room not from the 70's and so we only scrubbed it up and replaced the shower curtain, even though I would have loved to do matching paint and tile in this room as well. Maybe one day. . .

Bathroom After: 

Lastly, the before and after tours.

Before:

                                       

After: 

Ta Da!

Makeover From the 1970's Continued

A couple weeks ago, I packed a sleeping bag and mat and painting supplies and headed to the rental for some updating fun. It took one full day to paint, which was way faster than I thought thanks to the paint edger that I bought at Home Depot for less than $4.00.

The tiler, Kyle's Tile, had just finished the wood-like tile in the kitchen and entryway. He did a FABULOUS job and was so quick. I think I giggled when I saw it in person.

Since the painting went a lot faster than I had anticipated, I decided to work on the kitchen cabinets. They were a brown color on the outside and plywood on the inside, and I just had to do something to make them cuter. Plus, once the tile was in, the color of the cabinets had a noticeable yellow hue to it that kinda clashed with the tile. So. . . I did a little online looking around and discovered DIY chalk paint that sticks to wood that's already been stained, without sanding. 

First, I removed all the drawers and cupboards. 

Then I added a layer of gray chalk paint (different than chalkboard paint). The recipe I used was a combination of water, plaster of Paris, and latex paint. I picked out a paint color that matched the gray in the tile. 

Once the base color was on around the edges, I reattached the cupboards and drawers to continue painting, since I had nowhere else to let them sit while they dried. (This was due to the fact that the fridge and stove were in the living room area, along with paint buckets, blobs of paint on the soon-to-be-gone carpet, and all sorts of lovely things.

 Then, the fun started. 

I went around the edges with a really dark gray, especially down in the grooves of the engraved panel, then touched the higher parts with a light gray. (This was way fun! I felt a little like an artist with a really huge canvas to paint on.) Finally, the next day, when everything had dried, I applied a coat of water-based poly finish so it would be all shiny.

By the third day, my legs were so sore from squatting to paint, I could hardly walk. I finished touch-up paint and painted the front door, packed up and headed home. 

Whew! The finished product will be next, complete with before and after photos. :) Stay tuned. . . 

Makeover from the 1970's!

I was just a little girl in the 1970's, but I still remember the colors, such as brown and orange kitchen colors with mushroom stickers and flame-red carpet. 

We own a rental property that was built in 1978, the exact year when the above picture of me was taken. A couple weeks ago, when I walked into said rental property, I thought I'd gone back in time.

Here is the evidence. (Although some of this has been updated since the 70's, the kitchen sink and the carpet in one of the bedrooms clearly was original.)

 Gold counters and sink!

More pictures:

This carpet is GOLD! (And a little brown from dirt.)

My very favorite show in the world is Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, because I LOVE making something beautiful from old, worn-out things and they do it so beautifully. So when I walked into this place, my creativity took over and I came up with ideas for making improvements. 

The plan:  

New kitchen counters and sink, new tile, new carpet, and fresh paint. And if I don't get Hashimoto's burnout in the process, new stain on the kitchen cupboards.

Although this reno won't be nearly as extensive as the Gaines' projects are, I still love home improvement and picking out colors and patterns.

Here's what I've chosen:

More pictures to come. . .