The Kitchen Gets A Makeover

OK - so I am finally getting around to posting some of my recent projects, there are quite a few of them. Every time I get on the computer it is more fun to look at other people's projects than to post my own. But one of my best friends has been urging me to do this for awhile..........

When we were looking to buy our first house, I walked in the front door, and just knew it was "the one". I was in love. I knew she would need some cosmetic work here and there, but she had great bones. The kitchen certainly left something to be desired. Her wallpaper looked like it came straight off the set of Little House on the Prairie. Her cabinets, although plentiful, were orange. I am sure that they stained them with Sunkist.

Here is the appraisal guy and Josh in the first few. Previous owners furnishings:

Hannah as a baby, and Josh in his bachelor chair (that has miraculously disappeared :))

A closeup of the before color:

The next two were right before I sanded and primed:

I had bought a bed for Hannah that I planned to make into her big-girl bed. Craigslist - $35

But, I have the best Dad in the world, and he built her one. So, I have had a random bed in my garage for months.....

I lust after the custom kitchens, islands flanked by giant posts, detailed molding everywhere.

So I decided to cut all four posts off the bed and then cut each down the center length wise, to flank my island and cabinets. Also, to use the feet to put under my toe-kick to imitate furniture feet. I have plans for the remaining pieces as well. But for $35 I got a nice custom look.

And the corbels I bought on clearance at Loews for $2 each (originally $26)
Here is the pic the guy posted on Craigslist:

Here is the bed in pieces:

I used liquid nails to adhere them to the cabinets.

I used wood putty to back fill any gaps, and caulked the edges.

Here is the base coat in both colors.

On a side note, it is a very bad idea to have a toddler and not have any doors on the cabinets...

On the tan ones, I used acrylic craft paint in shades of greys and browns to mimic long term wear. I then rubbed a little oil glaze in raw umber, and applied tons of polyurethane. On the island I distressed with an antique gold , created a template for a stencil in Adobe, cut, and painted.

Without further ado,

The afters:

The corbels....in hindsight I wish I would have spent more and gotten much bigger ones....

I painted the boring, ugly white florescent light box and added wood moulding.

One day I would love to replace the counter tops, lighting, and hardware. But for now, I love it!

The toddler table was from Target, via Craigslist, http://let--it--shine.blogspot.com/2009/08/perfect-toddler-table.html

And this makeover, was practically free - I used our leftover khaki wall color for the base of the main cabinets, leftover black for the island, the oil glaze from Hannah's bed, and some polyurethane from the cabinets in my studio (post coming soon). The only things I bought were the plaster corbels, and about $5 worth of craft paint, when I ran out. The bed cost $35, but it was just sitting in our garage. Even if I had bought all the supplies, it would certainly cost less than $100. You don't need big bucks to have big results.