Thursday, April 19, 2012

Farmhouse Kitchen: Part One

I know I've shown pictures of my kitchen (and usually messy counters) a gazillion times - but I'm showing it once more for reference and as a "before" picture! And, I know you've been catching glimpses in my pictures all week of what I've been up to :)

This idea has been brewing for a few years, but sometimes I must wait for inspiration to strike before jumping in especially to something this big. Well, the same night I was laying in bed dreaming up the Canning Jar light re-do, I was also dreaming of painting my cabinets.

My good friend was coming soon and together we were up to the challenge of taking on the cabinets. Now, I've known for a long time that our kitchen is very dark - but that never really bothered me because I love dim lighting.

However, now that it is half re-painted, I am wondering why I did not do this years ago! The difference has been astounding. Anyway, yes - I am only half finished and even that half does not have a top coat of sealer over the paint - but I'm going to show these pix anyway because this is what I've been working on lately. I could not be more thrilled with the results!

First of all, was the question of what kind of paint, what combination of colors, how much distressing, etc... I ended up e-mailing Miss Mustard Seed a photo of my kitchen and getting her opinion after I've heard her wax eloquently about how much she loves ASCP paint.

I confess that even after reading her blog for months, I had no idea what the ASCP letters stood for so even had to do some research on that. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in case you are wondering too. It is European and while Grace did not love it, I like it, it's been easy to work with and clean up and it is giving me the look I was going for. It's other benefits are you don't have to sand or prime first (hallelujah!) and it has virtually no paint smell plus is quick drying.

My cabinets are painted first with Old Ochre and then with Old White - I had envisioned the darker color showing through with some distressing a bit more - but in the end, I'm very happy with how they look and very minimal distressing. When I distressed them more, it looked like I hadn't fully painted the cabinets:


In addition to the painting - I wanted to add hardware. We've never had any and when we first bought this house - I looked for knobs/pulls I liked but with the dark cabinets, it just wasn't clicking plus they were an extra expense. This time around, I found exactly what I wanted and at about 1/3 of the price by shopping contractor's packs on Amazon rather than one knob at a time at the local hardware store.

After all that wordiness - here is what you've been waiting for - some after pix!

There is obviously still the other half of the kitchen to do, top coats to brush on and some bead board to add below the counters on the back side of the cabinets and the lazy-susan is awaiting my Dad's skilled fix - but I am so pleased with the beginning and it will motivate me to continue! It has felt so farm-house-ish which of course I love! And, so far - having it lighter has inspired me to keep it cleaner since the clutter shows more.

Tomorrow: the open cabinets and a cute diy inside re-do!

30 comments:

Leanne said...

I am totally inspired...I feel a paint project coming on for my hubby!!

Julie said...

Beautiful! Your kitchen redo is just beautiful. (And I love the strawberry jam on the counter!)
Once again, thanks for the inspiration.

Katy said...

WOW!!!! It is FANTASTIC!!! I absolutely love it!

Catherine said...

Wow - such an amazing result! You are a talented (and brave) lady - I'd be a tad scared to take to the kitchen cupboards with paint - hard to undo. But you're right - it was worth it. Well done!

asnipofgoodness said...

So pretty Monica! I have been itching to try the chalk paint. Are you planning to wax them? It makes your kitchen so cheery and bright, I just love it! Iam so glad you are pleased after all your hard work! Can't wait to see more!

Wendi said...

Fantastic! Thanks for the tip on the hardware. Getting new hardware is on my wish list. Enjoy your "new" kitchen!

Mom said...

Love it! :) I've never heard of chalk paint -- but I'm glad to know that it doesn't smell strongly. That makes the job easier. Great results! Love you, Mom

~katie~ said...

Gorgeous!

I know you named this "Farmhouse Kitchen: Part One"...but, in my mind, Part One began with you producing all the delicious farmhouse recipes in that kitchen over the years. =) Now, you have the opportunity to put a fresh face to all the loveliness and yuminess coming from within all this time.

What fun ~ thrilled for you and can't wait to see more.

Blessings,
Katie

Megan said...

Looks GREAT. Maybe I'll get the courage to redo the girls' early 70's salmon colored bathroom cabinets... Maybe...

Agnes said...

it looks beautiful, what a lovely work. Just love it!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous, and so quaint looking...can hardly wait to see the final results since it looks so nice already! :-) I'm itching to do something like this, but we're renting, so it will have to go in the "someday" file! :-)

~eunice b

Elise said...

I love your cabinets!!! We painted our cabinets-yes, in a rental-and the difference is amazing!!!

Elise

The Gundy Bunch said...

Amazing!!!!!!! This is exactly what we want to do in our new house!! You'll have to give me all your pointers on the how-to!!

Sara said...

Monica, great job! This is very impressive! I love white kitchens and you're right, it just totally changed the look and feel of your kitchen. I love it. I'm about to do a more major kitchen remodel (put in all new cupboards) and your post inspired me!

sandi s said...

I think your kicthen looks wonderful. Good for you to go for such a big change. We redid our kitchen and went from dark to light and it is so much nicer.

Patty Williams said...

wow wow wow ! WOW ! It looks fantastic ! I want mine to look like that - I have lighter cabinets but they sure don't look like what the little sample door looked like when we picked them out. And I don't have hardware either - could never find any I liked that weren't so pricey !

I love your style - thank you for sharing ( and I need to look up that paint too !)

*carrie* said...

Turned out so beautiful, Monica. Great job!

Heather at Hearthsidet said...

I am very very happy for you, it looks wonderful, Monica. Good job. How great to have a good friend join you for an ambitious project like this, too.

HeatherMavis said...

Just beautiful!
My K cabs have been painted white but need to be done again - badly. I like the sound of that paint.

georgia kelly said...

Oh my goodness. That looks SO good. I know you must be thrilled with the results.

Anonymous said...

I love it!
kaflannery@juno.com

More than Survival said...

LOVE it!! GREAT job!! :)

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

Hi Monica,

WOW...this kitchen redo turned out FANTASTIC :) :) Did you have to sand all the cabinets first before applying the paint? I love the color you chose and it really has done a lot to make the kitchen look so much bigger and brighter :) :) Great job :) :) Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

angie said...

Our kitcen cabinets were painted cream by the former owners. The hardware was not in my taste, so my husband spray painted them. The finish on them is holding up well. I think you will love the addition of hardware--so many less fingerprints--and more traditional looking.

Mary said...

Would your house be a double-wide mobile home? Ours is and we love it.

Amy @ Hope Is the Word said...

Wow! I've been contemplating ASCP for some projects around our house, but was really unsure of how it might stand up to heavy use. Thanks for sharing--now I have something else to think about!

Melissa said...

Turned out great Monica! So pretty!

Christy Stanton said...

White makes a room looks so much bigger... Lovely: )

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Oh, I love what you've done to the cabinets! It looks entirely different now...so light and bright! Great job!

Tracy said...

Wow! The white really made such a difference! Your whole kitchen looks much more inviting and bright. You did a great job!