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. . .