Showing posts with label cabinets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cabinets. Show all posts

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Cupboards and Cabinets in Decor

Hello Friends,
I'm so glad you're here, because today I'm joining a great group of bloggers as we share our love for all things vintage with the Lifestyle of Love Blog Hop, hosted by our wonderful friend Cindy from County Road 407. We were given the topic of "How we use Cabinets and Hutches in our decor". Well, let me tell you I was jumping for joy when I saw that I would get to share one of my favorite pieces of furniture. 

Yes, you guessed it.
The Holiday Cupboard!



Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Keepin' it Real, Folks

In an effort to blog more "Real Time"
I had a decision to make.
Do I show you what I'm working on today
...or do I not?

I'm choosing to share a project in progress.



Now I know many of you will want to bop me 
for thinking this needs to be painted.
That's ok, I've taken a few jabs this last day or two.

We talked about "being real" and trying to be more 
in the moment on our blogs.
Not to make a "production" out of every blog post,
or strive for perfection.
But to just be ourselves.



So, I'm sharing what I'm up to today...




I've had this little jelly cabinet for about 30 years.
It's not old (in furniture years) 
and it's been moved all over creation and then some.
It has chunks of wood missing and deep scratches and gouges.
I know, you can't see them from here.
But I need something in this spot behind Hubbs' Chair.
I don't want something dark and "noticeable".
Too much of that already.
I'm thinking "blend in" has become my decor motto.
Especially in a small space
with too much furniture already.



This spot drives me crazy.
Nothing I've tried fits, or looks right.
It's one of those odd spaces, due to furniture placement.
So I need something to take up the negative space
and cover up this wall that feels lopsided.




So I'm in the process of painting it.
First coat is French Linen ASCP.
Not sure where I'll go from here.



But I'm blocking the Hallway traffic 
so I'll have to get it figured out pronto.
Thank goodness for chalk paint.
I did not want to sand this thing.


Have you entered the Canvas Pop Give Away?

Endless possibilities for your own canvas art...




See you all Wednesday Evening for 


joining in with:


Back to painting.

xoxo,



Monday, October 6, 2014

Cabinet Painting....Done!

Hurray! the cabinets are "finished"! 



I'm just so excited on how the kitchen is turning out. We started last weekend and then I came over to the house and painted in the afternoons last week. Thank goodness, it's not a big kitchen! It's pretty compact, but after living in the lease house, I think I can get organized and make it work.



Remember, this is how it looked when we first got the keys.




There are still a few changes I'd like to make in here; the first being subway tile on the back splash. But we've been at this 6 weeks now, and the backsplash is just not a priority. We need to get moved in. The problem is that I'm not fond of the granite horizontal stripe, (I think it looks too "modern"), but I'm going to use my black tole trays again over here, (I've added a couple to my collection this week) so hopefully those will break it up a little bit.


I brought a few of them over to see how they work. By the time I get my other goodies on the counters, I'm hoping that stripe no longer jumps out and smacks me upside the head. There's still an option of painting the tile, so that might happen. I have to live with this for a bit before I'll know.

My new kitchen is starting to remind me of the old one,
 I just love a black and white kitchen!

Christmas 2013



Although technically, the cabinets aren't white, they are a light warm gray. (Benjamin Moore, Pale Oak) You might wonder why I didn't just use the same color as the wood work, and that would be because to me, that color just looks "dirty", and I wanted a crisper color for the cabinets.




Here's the kitchen eating area, just a few weeks ago...



Now it's painted and cleared out for my white kitchen china cabinet.We have the chandy raised up until the furniture gets here. How many times have I seen the movers knock around a light fixture?  (And we still have to get covers for the cable line).



We found the brushed satin nickel pulls at Lowe's. I thought about using bin pulls on the lower cabinet drawers, until I realized they weren't practical for bottom drawers. You'd have to get down underneath to pull them out, so I just went with the same pulls for everything.




The cabinets were a lot of work to paint, but I'm glad we had the time to do it. I'm so much happier with the kitchen now, it feels more like "my" kitchen. Hubbs had to agree; so much better than before. It just looks and feels "cleaner".




This week we're working on the deep clean, and I have to get the hardwood floors cleaned up. Paint splatters, workmen, and lot's of previous spills are making for some "on your hands and knees" time. The new carpet will be installed this week upstairs, then we're getting close to move-in. Hopefully, we'll start moving some of the furniture from storage in a week or two, then move our current furniture when that gets in.  

Hubbs was working in the garage with the doors up, when someone drove by and asked if we were going to put the house back on the market...  ahhhh, that would be a big, "NO". 

I have landscape and front porch photos, 
so I'll share those in a day or two.
Hope you're off to a wonderful Fall week!

Joining in on these parties:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Show and Share at Coastal Charm
Inspire Me at A Stroll Thru Life
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

xoxo,

Monday, September 29, 2014

Cabinet Paint Decisions

Hi Everyone, 
can you stand some not so pretty "progress" pics?

I'm sure some of you were wondering if and when this would happen... well, it has.

When we first looked at the new house, I knew the kitchen and adjacent kitchen/dining area would require some updating. We removed the line of cabinets and the study counter first thing, but I still was putting off the decision about what to do with the kitchen cabinets and large bar peninsula that dominated the space.

I tried a whitewash technique last week with semigloss latex that actually worked pretty well. The cabinets looked aged and somewhat more "pickled", but the finish on the cabinets was so scuffed and worn that it showed EVERY ding and dent instead of enhancing them. I was bummed, because I was hoping that the "white wash" would be a relatively easy fix. But no, it didn't work because of the poor condition of the cabinet finish.


Here's the bar area today, with 2 coats of the new paint. 
Sorry for the mess, this is some "real life" progress pics of the painting.



So as Hubbs and I sat contemplating the situation we agreed a paint finish was needed. If I would have had to make this decision a month ago I would have been overwhelmed, but now, with almost every thing else done, I could approach the project with some sense of calm and common sense. Painting the kitchen cabinets at the old house was a monumental task, and not an easy one. My paint choice was less that perfect so I had headaches with it from the get-go. Runs, drips, build up...I had to re-sand and go at it again. I didn't want to repeat that scenario.




So, I headed to my trusty Benjamin Moore peeps and they told me what and how to use their new cabinet paint, Advance. It's a thinner paint that requires no sanding or primer...I know, I know, but it's that good, and I've kept the doors up, and just sanded down the bad parts of the previous finish. I'm only painting the interior of the three cabinets with glass doors. I will put my everyday china, Studio Provence Noir by Royal Doulton and some ironstone in those, the other will hold some of my glassware and crystal.

* This is now 4 years later, and we are undertaking a renovation of a "new to us" home built in the 60's. We are researching paint again, so I've gone back to Benjamin Moore for advice and paint. The protocol now for painting cabinets is to use a coat of pre-tinted Primer before you use the Advance paint. I've had a few chips, but nothing much. I would have used Primer if the company had been advising that. Live and Learn. Just wanted to let you all know of the protocol change.


(love the black and white toile pattern)




Oh, and let me tell you about a new product I've found for clean-up...Krud Kutter. Some of you might be familiar with it, but I used this instead of TSP for prepping the cabinet surfaces. Took off all the junk that collects on wood cabinets and didn't leave any residue.





Advance is an Alkyd which is a cross between the durability of an oil based enamel and the soap/water cleanup of a latex. It dries harder, so a little more difficult to clean up brushes, but the difference between this and regular paint is night and day. I've put on thin coats with a brush and foam roller and I've had almost no drips or problems. You have to wait 16 hours before recoating, but for us it's not a problem, since we're not living at the house yet. It takes about 5 or 6 days to fully cure, but then they said it would have a super hard finish.

I had originally chosen China White by Ben Moore for the cabinet color, but even though it had gray and taupe undertones, it was still too light. I ended up with Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore, here is the sample.




It's hard to see on the cabinets, but it's just a nice neutral "griege" that still gives the effect of an off white. We had to consider the wall color and woodwork color when we made this decision, since you can also see it all from the Living Room.




Before, when we first got the keys...







You can tell from this photo that the oak color was too orange and the black granite made it really dark in the prep area. It's not a very large space, but now it's so much lighter and brighter.



Before... there was a little "pickling" on the cabinets,
 but not enough to make it work.



Here are some kitchen inspiration photos from my Pinterest Board, New House Kitchen Inspiration. I have focused on light gray or beige cabinets and some with the black granite. I'd love to have subway tile on my backsplash, but that probably can wait.














I still have more work to do. You could tell by the photos I still have another couple of thin rolled coats to do, but I'm really pleased with the progress. I'm taking my time, and being vigilant with the process, keeping an eagle eye out for anything that even slightly looks like a drip. Hubbs and Aly have been helping, so I don't feel like I'm doing it all by myself. You have to be psyched up for a job like this. I'll be looking for new cabinet and drawer pulls in a pewter finish, then I have to find a couple of bar stools, as my other chairs are "counter" height and take up too much space. 
Most of the new landscaping is in except for the new tree, and I even have some pumpkins and mums on the porch, Yay, it's starting to feel like home! (I'll share those pics later in the week)

*(I have not been compensated in any way by any companies or product manufacturers; all decisions for product usage and opinions, are my own)

Have a great week, everyone!

xoxo,

Joining in on these great weekly parties:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Show and Share at Coastal Charm
Inspire Me at A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style