Little Touches

My kitchen reno is coming along nicely! All of the cabinets are painted, along with the counters and hardware. Yup. Fantastic. There was just one little thing with the cabinets that needed some serious finishing...

The toe kicks.

Here's a shot of the toe kicks before.... 

We used just regular trim molding for the toe kicks and of course painted them white! (Ignore the gap, I plan on putting more trim around the dishwasher to make it look a little better.) I bought two long things of molding from Lowe's for $7.20 a piece and made a total of 6 cuts for the entire kitchen. 

Here's a wider shot of the new toe kicks...

And a little closer....

Definitely dresses up the kitchen and gives it a far more finished look. Plus it blends really well with the molding in the living room which gives it that cohesive look that I love so much!


The cats are in love with the new kitchen rugs.... I dunno why but they just roll around all over em.

Here's a final shot of the cabinets with the new toe kicks in. Looks awesome! Yay! :)

Counters+Paint=WIN!

I hope you guys are ready for some serious excitement becauseeee guess what?? The counters have gotten a face lift! Yes! Indeed! It was definitely a scary process and I almost didn't do it but I am sure glad I did! You can't have a cute updated kitchen with dusty rose counter tops. It's like going to a beach that only has rocks and no sand. Still pretty but not as good!

So if you are ready for some surprise hold your breath I have a bunch of pictures headed your way! 

First let me tell you what materials you will need for this journey:

• Rust-oleum countertop paint. There is directions on the box for determining the amount that you will need. For my small galley kitchen I only need about half a can.
• Foam rollers
• Small paint brush that you are okay with throwing away.
• Tape. 
• Plastic drop cloths.
• Sand paper.

The first thing you have to do is lightly sand the counter tops so that you get the shine off. My counters were about 30 years old so they didn't have much left but this is an important piece so that the paint will adhere better.

Here's a few of the final before shots of the pink counters.... they will not  be missed.

If you are putting tape anywhere do it VERY VERY meticulously because there's no going back. Take the time to do a good job. Around the sink and near appliances especially because once this stuff is on anything it's not coming off. At all.

The trick is to apply THIN coats at first and allow it to dry completely in between. We ended up doing 4 coats because I wanted a really dark finish.

Ready to take the plunge? (this is the most attractive picture of me ever! But I do love my painting pants.)

Yayyy!!! Look at the HUGE difference? Isn't it awesome? and totally dramatic! We painted a bit on the tiles that were on the back of the wall because I will be pulling those out anyways but bam! They are fantastic.

I will warn you though. This stuff stinks. Like a lot. A fan, a face mask, and some good ventilation are important, otherwise you end up with totally stoned cats.

Which is kinda funny.

Taking a step back.... beautiful! Looks completely different! And it was only $10.75! Bargain! *Usually the cost is $21.99 for a can but the lady at Lowe's mistinted ours slightly. The color is called "Acorn."

It's super shiney and sticky at first...

One thing I learned was to make sure to paint VERY evenly. Otherwise you kinda get slightly different textures, though after it sets I don't think it'll be too noticeable.

And another view... Now just envision some beautiful white tile backsplash and cute white picture frames for my DIY wall art...

Sighhhh soooo pretty!

The instructions say to allow the paint to set for 3 days. So that means no using for anything. I have to put obstacles in the way to keep the cats from jumping up there while I'm gone and I just have to wait 3 days before I can decorate again! So excited! For $10.75 my kitchen got more then a face lift!

I'm in love!

Linked to:Domestically Speaking House of Hepworths I Should Be Mopping Savvy Southern Style

Wine And Dine Part II

The one thing about my old kitchen was that it seriously lacked any personality. It was the same decorations that were pretty basic and boring. It's a challenging space because there is so little wall space and such weird heights on top of the cabinets. If you've been following me on Facebook you've seen some of what I've been up too. One of which was ordering a fantastic print from {here} and it was probably the best $20 I've ever spent!

Since I bought that fantastic print I had to get a frame... the print is a 13"x19" which is slightly odd. So I decided for right now to just get a floating gallery frame. I can always reuse it if I change my mind on it. This guy is from Hobby Lobby for $15.00. 

It was a little tricky but we finally got it into the frame! Fantastic right?? It's sort of a spin off of the traditional "Keep Calm and Carry On" British propaganda poster. I think it's awesome. I love wine!

And then again from a distance....

Since I was on a wall decorating spree I decided that I should add a couple more into the space some how. Creatively and cheap was the goal. So I was pouring over Pinterest (of course) and came across another blog that had these great prints as a free printable! They are sort of graphic but simple, and free!

{source}

You can print them in an 8"x10" but since I have very little wall space I decided to just stick with two 5"x7" print outs. I think I need to get some new frames but for zero dollars it definitely turned out way cute!

But wait!! There's more! I went to Lowe's! I bought the rest of the products for the kitchen remodel! 

At least I hope that's the last of it. Ughhh.

You see here from left to right: Olympic paint for the walls, Rustoleum paint for the countertops, and paintable wallpaper for the back splash! Oh it's going to be awesome! Kinda scary! But awesome! It's going to be a very busy weekend!

Here's a better shot of the wallpaper. I piked this one because it's in the shape of tiles and I can use some semi-gloss paint over it to give it an extra protective coating. Plus it's easily removed if I get bored with it at any point. What you don't see is the new molding for the toe kicks that I am finally replacing.

So what do you think of all the additions so far? Do you think it looks better then the old kitchen?

Just think! It's not even done yet! hehehe. Yay!

Linked to: Addicted 2 Decorating