1980's Melamine Cupboard Update

So, my husband and I had a little problem with our kitchen cupboards.  We didn't like them.  They were kinda really ugly, plus a few of them were missing their trim at the bottom. 

So, over the past... ummm.. year... we decided to give them a little facelift. 

Here's a reminder of what we started with. 

 

You can see the original post and a few more before pictures here:

 

And here you can read about how we decided to give them a facelift by adding trim and paintable beadboard wallpaper.   

 

The butcher block counters are from Ikea and you can read all about that adventure here:

 

In my defence, everything has been done since about the end of November, so it didn't actually take quite a year....

 

Anyways, here's what it looks like today! 

 

The cupboards were painted with Behr Premium Plus in white. On the melamine surfaces (backs of the doors and sides of the cupboards) I primed with a great primer by Glidden called "Gripper". Two coats of primer with a couple of hours dry time between coats. Then I waited several days for the primer to cure before coating them with the semi-gloss white paint.

And yes, in case you are wondering, the walls did get painted a light grey.   

 
You can read about the washstand makeover here:

When I painted the walls, I didn't paint the kitchen front door. But a few weeks ago, I decided to paint it a few shades darker than the walls.  My husband doesn't really like it as he thinks it's too dark. 

I don't mind the colour, though.  The one thing I do mind, though, is the carpet at the front door. It collects lint like crazy and takes ten million years to vaccuum off.  I guess it serves me right for paying only paying $10.00 at walmart. 



I do really like the mat in front of the sink, though.  It only takes 10 seconds to vaccuum, plus it's super soft on the feet. 

 

There's still a few things that will get done with time.  I'm thinking about painting the dresser that I have in here and I need to find something to hang above it, and I also need to paint the hallway, so the colours flow better between them. 

So, do we like the new look of our kitchen?  Yes, overall, it is a huge improvement over what we started with.  It's by no means perfect, though, as neither of us are professionals.  One of the reasons we decided to go the route that we did was because we are thinking about moving within a year or so.  We wanted to clean it up, make it presentable, but not have to put a fortune into doing that because we wouldn't be enjoying the results for too long.  But you know what else has made me happy about it?  When I've mentioned to people that it's wallpaper on the doors.. their reaction is... "no way?!" 

UPDATE: For more details on how the cupboards were actually done, please click HERE

 Linking to:
Tatertots & Jello
Funky Junk Interiors
Domestically Speaking
The 36th Avenue
The Shabby Creek Cottage
My Repurposed Life
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest
Homespun Happenings
The Cottage Market
Five Days... Five Ways

Refinsished Oak Washstand for the Kitchen

I purchased this washstand for $20.00 in August from a seller on kijiji.  As soon, as I saw the ad, which had been posted for maybe an hour, I sent off an email as there was no phone number listed.  The lady responded right away and said that she had already made arrangements with someone else but she would let me know if they backed out, didn't show, etc.  I just about cried!  But, then a little bit later she emailed me back and said the other lady had backed out!  Happy day!!!  I wasted no time picking this one up!! 

This is what it looked like when we brought it home.  It was painted green, with some sort of gold glaze applied to it.  Not particularly my cup of tea. 

 

If you are curious about how I strip paint, you can read this post here.  I used Citrisolve and was amazed that this is what the top looked like after just one application of it.  I guess the paint wasn't too old.  It's been my experience that the older the paint, the harder it is to get off, especially with oak because of the grain. 

The hardest part was the detailing on the feet.  I find a needle helps get the gunk out of the grooves. 

It did come with the original hardware, but for now I've added these vintage glass knobs for a little bling. 

Love the curved drawer!

 

 

 Our new washstand is the perfect piece for the front entryway in the kitchen.  I have had numerous pieces there in the past few years since I have been redoing furniture.  However, I do believe this one is here to stay!  I am using the basket to store extra scarves and mitts during this cold weather. 

Hopefully I will back to share more of the kitchen tomorrow or the next day.  

Linking to:

Southern Lovely
The 36th Avenue
Finding Fabulous
My Repurposed Life
The Shabby Nest
Miss Mustard Seed
The Cottage Market: Junkin' Joe
Homespun Happenings
Tatertots & Jello
Funky Junk Interiors
 

A Couple Of Side Tables

Tonight, I am going to share a couple of tables I completed last year and never got around to putting on here.

This first one I purchased at a rummage sale at a local senior's center.  My husband teases me for going because it's mostly 'old people' stuff... but you never know what you'll find, right? 



This was a very sturdy vintage maple piece.  I did take a before picture, but I painted this on the same day that my new camera arrived.  My husband got home from work and of course wanted to play around with it.  Next thing I know he's asking me if there was anything important on the card because he had just accidentally erased the whole thing. 

It didn't come with a knob, so we added this one.  I enhanced it with a little bit of rub n buff.  I used a little copper and a little black.  

I used MMS milk paint in grainsack.  Now I know it's said that you don't have to sand with milk paint.  However, I find that the more you sand, the more the paint sticks.  I did not want a super-super chippy-paint-peeling-everywhere look, so I gave the table a good sanding, and the paint ended up not chipping that much.  However, it did still distress very nicely. 

  

 This table had a unique shape too, with the curves on the sides and the top was curved a little at the front, as well.   

 

 

 It ended up selling fairly quickly, so I was glad I didn't have to store this one too long!  

 This second table I think I did in October.  There once was two of them. 


But then, this happened to the other one...


This is what it looked like before snapping in two!



I had set it down on top of some other stuff that was sitting outside, knowing that maybe it was unstable, but not wanting to take the time to fix it. It landed on our gravel, so the top edge was all chewed up, really almost beyond repair.

And so then there was one table. I refinished the top since it was in pretty bad shape. Then I primed the base. But because I was feeling frustrated about the broken table, I switched my plan from a white base to this grey/blue colour... mainly because I had just doubled the cost of it and didn't want to put as much time into it. So, I quickly grabbed my paint and got to work, flipping the base around as I went.  Well, what do you know, but one of those quick flips caught my paint can and I ended up with this mess. I was pretty much left with only a quarter of a brand new quart of paint. Mind you it was an oops can, and I didn't pay full price.. but still!

After all that, though, it did turn out nice.  Usually when I refinish a top on piece I do the entire top piece, including the edge, but when the other one fell, I discovered that despite the nice wooden veneer on the top, it was a particleboard base, so I couldn't refinish the edge on this one. 

 

A little bit of distressing...  

 

And after all that I ended up still liking it in the end! 

Linking to:
Domestically Speaking
Southern Lovely
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The 36th Avenue
My Repurposed Life
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest
Tatertots & Jello

A Black French Provincial Dresser for Hannah

Remember the desk I painted for Hannah in the fall? Well, here is her completed matching dresser.



I first brought it home in November, I think, and gave it a good sanding. At this point, it was all in pieces, because my father-in-law had taken it apart in preparation for regluing it. It was fairly rickety to start out with. He didn't end up regluing it until just before Christmas. So, last week I brought it home and got to work.

Here it is after sanding and regluing. It's pretty sturdy now!


I painted it in the same manner as I did her desk. I wasn't thinking I would paint the inside of the drawers on this one, because they were in decent shape, but then Hannah asked me if I would. And honestly, I think it just brings the whole dresser up a notch from ordinary to perfect for a young teenage girly-girl.



I used Behr's Premium Plus Paint and Primer in one in a semi-gloss tinted with Glidden's Onyx black. That shade of black is black, but if you are looking for a black-black it's maybe not the shade you want to go with. I wish I could tell you the shade of pink, but it was a mistint. The handles were painted with Rustoleum's "Dark Steel" spray paint. It's lovely paint and goes on like a dream.






And to give you a bit of a teaser, here's a sneak peak of a desk that I started just before Christmas. I still have to put the finishing touches on it. Hopefully soon I will be able to show it to you! I love how it's turning out.

 

Linking to:

The 36th Avenue

The Shabby Creek Cottage 
My Repurposed Life
Finding Fabulous
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest
The Cottage Market: Junkin' Joe's
Five Days... Five Ways
Coastal Charm
Domestically Speaking
Southern Lovely 
Taterots and Jello
Funky Junk Interiors

Best of 2012 and Happy New Year

I want to start off by wishing everyone a Happy New Year. I'm hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I guess I'm a little late with my year in review post, but here it, better late than never, right?

My most viewed post this year, and also of all time, is this Muslin Rag Wreath that I did back in April.

Another is the desk that I painted for Hannah, my sister-in-law.  We loved how this one turned out and I just today brought home her dresser to do up in the same way.  So look for that post in a week, or so.

I experimented with milk paint last January, and this little cabinet was the result.  Loved working with it and I hope to use it again this year!

This ottoman that I upholstered in burlap was a bit of a challenge to me, since it was my next step up from recovering chair seats, but I loved how it turned out and am definitely up for another challenge!

I was a little surprised that this coffee table got as much attention as it did, if you haven't seen it yet, you should click over and check out the before on this one.

At the beginning of August I shared a few tips on how I refinish my furniture pieces. 

 

Again, I was surprised at how many pageviews this little dollar tree pumpkin makeover received.  I will definitely be putting this little guy out again next fall!

 

This little vanity was absoulutely one of my favorite pieces I worked on this past year.  I was this close to convincing myself that I needed to keep it.  However, it found it's home in a girl's shabby chic bedroom. 

We finally finished our laundry/utility room this summer.  It had been an eyesore long enough!  This ruffled curtain is gracing the window on our back door.

And way back last January I shared this china cabinet that I redid.  I'm still wishing I could've kept this one, too!

I just have to paint our kitchen door, and then I will be ready to share our kitchen with you.  I bought the paint yesterday.  I can't believe the kitchen took as long as it did, but thankfully that's behind us now and we can start on the next thing! 

Linking to:
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
The Cottage Market: Junkin' Joe
Classy Clutter
Funky Junk Interiors
My 1929 Charmer