Kitchen Progress and a "Help Me Decorate My Kitchen" Poll

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Roeshel

I thought I’d get the painting done in one day. I can usually knock out painting a room in 1/2 a day. WRONG! There is so much more cutting in and edging in our kitchen than a standard room. I am sore. But I’m also happy! One coat down. One to go.

I had the pleasure of trying True Value‘s Easy Care Platinum – Paint and Primer in One.

The True Value in Slippery Rock, PA has awesome customer service!

I was skeptical. I love my high priced paint and with redoing the kitchen, I was prepared to buy my favorite brand. It’s a kitchen – one important room where paint quality really matters. Mr. DIY’s domain (“D” stands for disastrous. BEST FOOD/BEST Messes.) But I figured I’d give it a try. It’s just paint and if I didn’t like it, I’d tell you and re-paint. However, I’m going to tell you that I was pleasantly surprised! For an affordable $27.99 a gallon – this paint is amazing!

Old color: Benjamin Moore “Palisades Park” eggshell finish (a pretty sage/pine color) but with the remodel, I wanted a completely new fresh look.

New color: Easy Care “Old Fashioned” satin finish (a light blue/gray that depending on the light, looks light blue-green or light blue-gray). I LOVE the new color. It looks beautiful with our newly painted cabinets, new Jet Mist granite and marble backsplash. It’s exactly what I wanted. It looked ‘white’ going on but dries darker to a beautiful shade of blue/gray.

Coverage? These pictures are just the one coat. I could get away with one coat and call it “done”. Except there are a few spots where I must have been stretching the paint thin and the green shows through brush strokes so I will do a second coat just for the sake of doing 2 coats/knowing it’s 100% perfect. Second coat goes faster than the first anyway, right?!

Isn’t it pretty? It’s perfect for showing off some reclaimed barnwood going in the room and our new distressed medium-tone bamboo floors (coming in June).

BEFORE

AFTER (Yes…small pantry closet is gone! So is the vinyl flooring!)

You can see the “Old Fashioned” wall color in the back ground of the pictures below. So, now I’m choosing the overall feel and accent colors. I have a farmhouse style. We’ve made up my mind but I’m curious to see what you think of the choices I created to choose from. Please vote below for your favorite! (Click here if you’re reading in your reader or email if you’re interested in voting.) I might be persuaded to change my mind. I’m indecisive like that.

Option 1 – Light Aqua/Blue & Green

Option 2 – Light Aqua/Red

Option 3 – BOTH! Combine it all!

Option 4 – Neither.

Something completely different.

Which would you choose?

Have you tried the Easy Care brand paint?

What do you think?

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Roeshel

We’ve lived with our outdated kitchen for 3 years since we purchased our home and the time has come for some updating. First thing on our list was painting our cabinets. This is how we did it and we love the new updated look. We’re still deciding if we’ll distress or glaze to fit the style for this farmhouse but here is how we got this far.

Notes before you begin: This is a very time consuming DIY project. It took us a two month time frame of working weekends, an occasional evening and free time.

Materials:
Primer
Paint – We used Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo Paint (it’s like an enamel coating – love it).
Paint brush – We use Purdy paintbrushes.
Sand paper – We used our Dremel Mult-Max

These were our cabinets when we moved in…orange-tone red oak with brass handles.

1. Remove hardware and doors. Our hinges are hidden so they were left in place and I painted around them. Note: cracks where cabinets meet each other or meet wall are hidden and unseen when cabinets are darker. When going with white, take the time to fill and sand the cracks with a sandable/paintable/flexible caulk.

2. Label each door with tape (keep this with the door at all times).

3. Put hardware, hinges and screws into individual baggies and keep close to each area. We taped them inside cabinets and drawers.

4. We sanded the cabinet bases and each door. The Dremel Multi-Max is perfect for reaching grooves and hard to reach places.

5. Clean doors removing dirt and sawdust. We also stuffed newspaper into the big hinge holes to prevent paint from pooling/dripping inside.

6. Prepare your paint area. We had two areas prepped. One for spraying and one for brushing paint techniques. You’ll want to tape around the cabinet bases where they meet the walls, floor and ceiling. Note for removing tape after – run an Xacto blade where the tape meets the cabinet before removing tape so you don’t pull paint off of the cabinets. Also – I lay out newspaper to throw wet removed tape onto, it makes throwing it away a lot less sticky and messy.

7. We used a paint sprayer for applying the primer. It did an amazing job for coverage. Practice first to get the technique down as well as getting the air out of the line. We had to water down the primer. Surprisingly, we used much less than anticipated. Cleaning the sprayer is super easy – just run water through the line and nozzle until clear. For the spraying, we did two coats of primer on half of the doors. Let dry. Flip and repeat. Then moved those doors to another area and set them on paint cans to keep them raised and sprayed the other half twice and flipped and did two coats of primer on the other side. *Wear safety gear including a respirator and safety glasses.

If using a paint sprayer – practice before doing this project. It’s very tricky to get the correct consistency (thinning the paint) and learning how to achieve an even coat. We had to re-sand and start over. Unless you’re familiar with a paint sprayer, I’d suggest using a brush.

8. For the actual paint, I tried both a foam roller and Purdy paint brush for the first coat. I preferred using the brush. I liked the way it reached all areas thoroughly and since we wanted to see the wood grain, I was able to apply the paint with the direction of the grain.

Benjamin Moore’s Satin Impervo is thi
ck. It dries to an enamel-like finish. Spills wipe off with a dry towel easily! It’s also self-leveling and a great choice (worth the extra $) for it’s durability.

Tip: Using a screwdriver and hammer, poke small holes around the lip of the can. It’ll act as a drain for paint that collects there and make life much easier when the lid goes back on easily and isn’t “glued” with paint when it dries.

9. We allowed at least a few days between each coat of paint.

10. Once dry, reattach doors and hardware. You’ll be happy that doors were marked and hardware is located at each cupboard/drawer after the length of time that has passed.So much fresher. We’re both pleasantly surprised with how much of a difference it makes in giving our kitchen a more classic look.

New color is actually not white but gray. It’s Benjamin Moore’s Moonshine. (I’m not sure why that day says is was mixed 9 years ago!) We purchase our paint at our local True Value store.

I’m happy to answer any questions about our experience. Just email me at thediyshowoff@gmail.com

SEE MORE BEFORE/AFTER AND IN PROGRESS PICTURES OF OUR KITCHEN AT
http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/p/farmhouse-tour.html.

Wastepaper basket to Lamp – Easy DIY

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Roeshel

We’ve had this wastepaper basket for a few years. It’s so pretty but no one sees it sitting in a guest bathroom corner plus the bottom had fallen out. Time to replace it with something else and re-purpose the pretty can.

True Value sells lamp kits – this one was around $11. Lamps can be made out of pretty much anything. We used the wastepaper basket and a plastic charger that I already had (Michael’s).

If you’re repurposing, clean and disinfect wastepaper basket. Also – because we used a charger, I have to reach in through the top of the shade to turn on the lamp. I don’t mind because it’s what we had on hand and I love the result but you might want to use a smaller plate or if the design on your wastepaper basket allows, just turn it upside down and drill a hole in the bottom.

Also – this is something you can do yourself. Mr. DIY took over when I asked about the drill. I was all set to Do-It-Myself but I don’t mind. It’s fun to work on things together too! 🙂

1. Mark the center of the charger and drill a hole big enough for a cord.

2. Drill a hole into the back side of the wastepaper basket big enough for a cord.

3. Following the instructions, we inserted the lamp nipple through the charger and secured with the adapter on the bottom and lock nut on the top.

4. Put the check ring on top of the lock nut.

5. Put the harp on top of the check ring.

6. Unscrew the set screw a bit from the socket cap and screw the socket cap to the lamp nipple.

7. Insert the wire end of the cord through the hole in the wastepaper basket.

8. Pull through the lamp nipple in the charger.

9. Insert wire end of cord through the socket cap and pull through so there’s enough room to work with it.

10. Attach to socket shell according to package instructions. Ribbed wire attaches to silver screw. The other wire attaches to the brass screw (terminal screws).

11. Insert socket shell into socket cap and tighten set screw.

12. Add harp top if you took it off during this process.

13. Glue charger to top of wastepaper basket.

All done! Add a bulb and shade.

I love how it turned out. I love that we repurposed it into a lamp. It’s going in the guest bedroom (our next project after the kitchen).

What do you think?

Have you attempted to DIY a lamp? A lot easier than it sounds, isn’t it?

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I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience
. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

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I also wanted to say thanks to Mike and Katrina at

http://www.athomealterations.com/

for featuring my bathroom! Hurray!

DIY Show Off ™ – DIY Decorating and Home Improvement Blog

DIYShowOff – Budget Friendly Do-It-Yourself Home Improvement and Decorating blog

Category Archives: Blog Squad

Kitchen Progress and a "Help Me Decorate My Kitchen" Poll

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Wastepaper basket to Lamp – Easy DIY