Chalk Paint Kitchen Cabinets - KITCHEN EVOLUTION UPDATE

It occurred to me today, as I walked through the house for my much needed coffee, that I had never actually done a proper post about my experience with chalk painting my cabinets. So, there's no time like the present. Here we go.

I'm actually glad that it's taken me so long to do this post, because I can also address the wearability and longevity and staying power of this project.


Ok, so let's go back - way back - to 5 1/2 years ago, when Aaron and I got the keys to this house for the first time. If you haven't seen my KITCHEN EVOLUTION post, now might be the time to head over there and read that, to get all the details.  But our kitchen was majorly outdated, and in desperate need of a facelift.

The cabinets had been UNTOUCHED since the house was built in the 50's, and so all things considered, they were in great shape. The fridge was a disaster, it wouldn't even stay shut, so you had to kick it at the bottom to get it to seal. It worked fine for when we were working on the house for keeping cokes and bottled water chilled and for any snacks we might have.... and that was usually Subway.

The tile was mostly perfectly fine. It had been installed when my father in law purchased this house (remember, this is actually his house, we rent from him) he ripped the carpet up and uncovered our gorgeous wood floors, and replaced the old linoleum with this pretty tile. The stove could have worked for us, but we decided to replace it, since we were replacing the fridge anyway. And that avocado range hood had to go.

Have you ever seen anyone more tickled to be ripping down a wallpaper border than this gal? It's my first home, and I'm so proud of what we've done to it.


Ok, so we worked pretty steady for about 3 months, September to November. And we got married on the 12th of December. So we used those twelve days to move and get everything set up and put away etc etc.

So on December 20th, when we came home from our honeymoon and officially moved in (we did not live together before we got married, but because our house is right next door to Aaron's Dad, with whom he was living at the time, Aaron did spend a few nights in the house after we got all of our stuff moved in, just for safety's sake. It was so weird living at my Mom's house with literally nothing in my bedroom except a bed, a suitcase of clothes (since all mine I'd moved here) and my gigantic wedding dress taking up all of my closet for almost 2 weeks) this is what the kitchen looked like.

We painted the walls green, replaced the countertops to the black ones, painted the cabinets dark brown using oil based paint, we got new (actually scratch and dent) stainless steel appliances, we replaced every light fixture in the house.... I actually kind of regret getting rid of that table. It was a PERFECT size for the kitchen, but I do love our current table. Because now we don't have to buy a huge dining table when we buy our forever home.


Ok, so.... fast forward to September 2014. I decided I was freaking tired of the green walls and was longing for something that was a bit more bright and airy. My style was changing. No more was I into the dark colors and the modern influenced things.... I was going towards the bright, airy, country influenced, antique inspired looks. So I thought, to avoid painting the cabinets, which I felt like was going to be a huge undertaking, I would paint the walls and go from there.

Read my post about it HERE. I completely re-did the kitchen for under $80. I ended up using contact paper on our countertops to brighten up that space and for a while, I loved it.

And let me get brutally honest with you.... when the new wore off I kind of felt like my cabinets and countertops looked really cheap. Sort of like a badly manufactured mobile home. Some mobile homes these days are amazing, for reals, but this just had the feel of cheap cheap. But I loved the color of the walls and I loved the lighter countertops, but they were contact paper, it was obvious. And even though it was a "granite pattern," it was a sticky paper. C'mon. But it can be done. And it held up amazing for a year.


So I finally decided, you know what, I'm gonna paint my cabinets. I'd regretted painting them so dark almost from the beginning, and I just felt like something brighter fit us better. And I am all about your home fitting YOU.



April, 2015. I'd been doing lots of research  on chalk paint. I spent pretty much all day every day looking up chalk paint and learning all about it. And what I discovered was that DIY chalk paint was just as effective as Annie Sloan chalk paint. Plus it's WAY cheaper.

So I decided that the absolute cheapest way I could paint my kitchen cabinets was to DIY chalk paint them.

The recipe is so simple.
1 part flat (no primer) paint in the color of your choice - mine was Valspar "Gypsum."
2 parts Plaster of Paris
enough water to mix it all together

I ended up officially using two quarts of paint, 4 cups of Plaster of Paris and around 2 cups of water. You want to mix your PoP and water together separately, and mix it until it looks like pancake batter. Then add it to your paint. I actually bought a plastic bucket at Lowe's when I bought the paint, that had measurements on the side so I dumped my paint in there. (I mixed the rest of the paint into chalk paint a few weeks later, and it keeps pretty well if it's sealed really good.)


2 quarts of paint was all it took for three coats of paint on my cabinets. I had maybe half a cup left over when I was done. The paint is very runny, but you only need to barely dip your brush into the mix. Back brush all you want, get in there with it and use some elbow grease. Don't sand, don't prime. 
Literally slap the paint on. That's the amazing part about chalk paint. It's so easy to use.

I took all my cabinet doors off and all my drawers out (I just put my drawers on my countertop to paint them) and painted the base of the cabinets first. Chalk paint only takes about 20 minutes between coats to dry so while that was drying, I put my first coat on my doors and drawers.

Ok, so you've got the first coat done. And holy crap, you've ruined your cabinets. I should have taken a picture. It was terrifying. It looked like I'd done a really "crap-tastic" job of painting a primer on. It was splotchy and nasty looking. But I was already too far gone, so I just went with it.

The second coat covered up all sins. It started looking really amazing then.

I ended up doing three coats, just because it's a kitchen and I felt like it needed the extra stuff.

Now, once your done, you need to wax the cabinets to seal it all in. I used Minwax in the natural color. Just use an old lint free rag (I used one of Aaron's old cotton undershirts) and applied it in circular motions until my thumbs hurt.

It took me from 10am to 5am the next day to get everything painted, dried, put away and cleaned

THIS was the finished product.

Ok, so this shot was taken with me shoved up in the corner by the window, but it gave me the effect I wanted, entirely. As you can see I took some doors off and made some space for open shelving for our dishes and my antique glass. 

But look closely at this picture...... it STILL looks pretty dog gone cheap. And I couldn't understand why. So I got on Pinterest to look at photos of kitchens with white cabinets and I noticed a reoccurring theme. Black countertops. So after supper that evening, I asked Aaron what his opinion was. And he was pretty adamant about ripping that cheap contact paper up. "It looks like a bathroom!" He exclaimed. And when I showed him a picture of black counters and white cabinets from Pinterest, he got up, stomped into the kitchen and took out his pocket knife and started scoring the contact paper so we could rip it up. 

Ok. Aaron wins this one. It looked so much better that I could hardly contain myself. NOW I was in love with it. 

And here is what our kitchen is looking like today! Sorry for the crappy pictures, I was taking these for the #cleankitchenatnight challenge and they were just gonna get edited in Instagram anyway before I posted them.

As you can see in the above shot, I also swapped out the globes on my triple fixture above the sink. These were just $3 a piece from Lowe's and I LOVE them! They're bubbled glass, but clear, so it gives so much more light to the room! I also worked really hard to eliminate the clutter that was accumulating on top of my fridge. Since we don't have a cabinet up there, it tends to catch lots of random things. Now all that's up there is our air filter and two pottery pieces that were my Mom and Dad's. The cereal boxes you see peeking at you are actually on the top shelf of the Non-Pantry.

My kitchen is so much so my happy place these days. I love the look and the feel of the room, and love how country it is. Aaron tracked down an antique shop one afternoon and brought me home a box full of goodies so that I could decorate with them and I love it.

The only thing left to do is switch out my rugs and replace them with something a bit more country, and they're on order from Amazon. Be sure to follow me on Instagram to keep up with the latest, cause I'm always posting there! The trick to spicing up any space is keeping your overall color - i.e. wall color, cabinet color - pretty neutral and using accents to bring in color and personality. We have lots of aqua blues, some yellows, some pewter here and there, but this space is absolutely ME. And that's what I love about it. The kitchen is the heart of the home, it's the central space, it's THIS woman's domain. And I love it.

It's been several months since I tackled this project all on my own. The paint has held up great. I have nothing to report. I cook at least two meals a day in this room. And it's just as perfect now as it was then. Over time, should it get some wear on it, I'll be fine with it, because I like that look. And everyone loves it. I've had several girlfriends tackle their kitchens since I did mine, and each one with sparkling results. 

So don't be afraid to mix up a little chalk paint and go to work. Since then I've chalk painted some other pieces of furniture in my house and I am trying to resist painting more. I do love painted furniture. 

Verdict: I LOVE IT, it's EASY to mix, it's CHEAP to mix, and it looks SO GOOD!

Disclaimer: Painting is hard work. Painting cabinets is a time consuming process, don't think your gonna have this done in a few hours, cause your not. Plain and simple truth. 

I love y'all!

All About My Tabby - Furry Friend Tag

Hello everyone! Today one of my favorite YouTube personalities posted a video on the Furry Friend Tag, and I thought OH! I can do that on the blog today!

So I thought I would!


Ok, let's get started. I'll go through the questions and then tell you a little bit more about our fur-girl.

Glamour shot

Question 1: What is your pet's name?

Tabby - Tabitha Nicole Renfro to be exact. Aaron wanted to give her my middle name. So... there it is.

Question 2: What kind of pet is it, and what breed?

Tabby is a dog. She is a Chihuahua/Pug mix. It's funny, I never have really seen the pug in her, aside from her stupidly cute curly tail. However, I was out with her a few mornings ago and I ran through the McDonald's drive through to get us a little breakfast. The kid at the window asked me if she was part pug because he could see it all over her. But Aaron explains it well, she has the face of a chihuahua and the body of a pug.  She's way bigger than a typical chihuahua, and way skinner than a typical pug. 

Ready for bed!

Question 3: How long have you had your pet?

About 3 1/2 years!  We got her when she was 8 months old in November of 2011. 

Tabby's First Christmas. She was not as enthusiastic about the Santa hat at as her Daddy was.

Question 4: How did you get your pet?

Lovely question! It's a long story, but... here goes. Aaron and I had been wanting another pet for a while. We'd adopted a dog from our local shelter a few months after we'd gotten married in 2009, and that dog and us just were not compatible. So we ended up surrendering her back to the shelter. And we'd been on the hunt for another dog that was compatible with us since then. Well one afternoon Aaron and I are in town and he asks if I want to swing by the shelter and look again. So I say ok. But at this point I'm very particular about what kind of indoor dog I want. It had to be small and it had to be pretty laid back. So we looked and looked and looked that day, we played with probably 5 different dogs.... none of them seemed to have a personality that was in line with ours. And so we were getting ready to leave. We made one last trip through the shelter, just to make sure we'd seen all we wanted to see. Aaron was the one that spotted her. She was in the very last kennel in the very back corner (on the left, funny how you remember details like that) and she was scared to death. So Aaron asked if we could see her. The guy at the shelter was actually pretty rude. He said "You don't want that one. She doesn't warm up to anyone, not even us." Aaron, always so good at tough situations, said "That's not what I asked you, I asked you to get her out. Let us be the judge for ourselves." Verbatim. I still remember that conversation vividly. So it took the guy about 10 minutes to get Tabby out of the kennel. She had been surrendered with about 4 other dogs and so they were all in the kennel together, and the other dogs were wild, and little Tabby was just sitting back there, shaking and terrified. So when he finally got her out, he brought her outside to where we were and Aaron asked if the guy would leave to give us some alone time with her. Aaron disappeared for about 2 minutes, idk where he went but I was left alone with Tabby. When she was let off her leash she walked straight to where I was sitting, licked my chin and curled up in my lap. And BOOM, my heart belonged to her. Aaron came back out and before I let him say anything I said "This is our dog."  She clung to me like I was her life force and no one at the shelter could believe that she'd found a home. It was one of those right dog, right people instances.

Question 5: How old is your pet?

She turned 4 years old on March 2nd. My baby is growing up!

Tabby likes to sit like this, straight up like a little lady, and we think it is the cutest thing.

Question 6: What are some quirky things about your dogs personality?

Oh my, where to begin?? Tabby-girl is very sassy. If you are petting her and she doesn't like it, she'll stick her paw out and basically tell you to stop. If she's just done with the situation, whatever it is, she will turn her back to you and stick her nose in the air. She loves to be held. Above everything, she loves to be held. She thinks she's as big as a Saint Bernard. She's always going in like a bat out of Georgia only to remember that she's teeny tiny. She's got a big personality. For sure. She is a diva, and if the food in her bowl isn't just right, forget it. If it's raining or snowing outside she refuses to go tinkle, she's like "but it's wet out there!" She loves only certain people. Aaron and I obviously, but my Mom is definitely next in line. We call her "Mamaw," and Tabby knows that word and knows what it means. If you say "Mamaw" and my Mom doesn't instantly appear Tabby will whine at the door or at the window until Mom shows up or we go there. She loves Aaron's Dad and Mom (Papaw and Mimi) and our niece, her "cousin" Lauren the best out of our bunch. Everyone else she likes well enough, but Aaron's little brother Blake she has to really sniff out for a while. She's very protective of me, particularly. If she thinks I'm hurt, or in pain, or in danger, she is not afraid to show them little teeth of hers to whoever. She loves applesauce and vanilla ice cream like you wouldn't believe, and pizza, good lord Pizza. We don't give a whole piece to her, obviously that's not safe, but she knows she gets Daddy's crust, and she gets all excited when Aaron comes in the door with a pizza box. And popcorn, oh heavens! She loves popcorn! She's a bit indecisive. If all her favorite people are in the same room, she kind of lap hops for a while, so she can love everyone. She has the sweetest, most loving personality. But she's a firecracker and will bark if the wind blows the wrong way. It all stems from when we first brought her home and Aaron started really working with her to get out of her scared stage. And it worked. His parents and my Mom all comment on how she's livened up since we've been her parents. She loves to sleep. Sleeps all day. She's in my bed sleeping right now! In our bed, in her bed, on the couch, in the chair, in a lap, it doesn't matter. Tabby gets still, Tabby sleeps. She is pretty laid back and if I'm watching a movie, she curls up between my legs and there she is. A dream come true.

What? Oh nothing, just..... hanging out.

See. Tabby loves her sleep. 

Question 7: What does your relationship with your pet mean to you?

Oh my.... Aaron and I have been struggling, as you probably know, to have a baby for a while now. We actually think that Tabby has been doing some anti-baby voodoo but our suspicions are, as yet, unconfirmed to be true. But she is our baby. We love her like we would love a baby. She's my constant companion, with me being a SAHW, she's my little shadow. No matter where I'm at in the house, Tabby is where she can keep one eye asleep and the other on me. Aaron will sometimes say that she's just a dog, but I know better. When he comes in after work the first thing he does is grab Tabby and pull her up on his chest and love on her. When we are away from her for a long time we will both admit that we can't wait to get home to play with her. She's the world to us. Whenever there is a time when we lose her, we will be be distraught. It will be a huge, great loss for me.

Tabby with one of only toys she will play with. Meet Chickey.

Tabby likes to watch movies in bed with Daddy. 

Question 8: What are some of your favorite pass times with your pet?

Snuggle time, for sure. I love when she lets me hold her like a real baby. We love belly rubs. We love walks at Mamaw's house. We love to watch movies together. And lord yes we love to play. She's not a huge toy girl. She's got a basket of toys that she just doesn't touch. But occasionally I'll get her to act like a dog and we will play. She loves to play "find it." We will throw something, or pretend to throw it, usually food or treats and see if Tabby can find it. She knows when she gets treats that you play "find it." Bath time sucks, but post-bath snuggles are the best things ever!

She's a laid back girl.

She DOES NOT like snow.

Question 9: What nicknames do you call your pet?

Tabby Tab

Tabster

The Tabster

Tabby girl

Tab

Tabitha

Presh

Boo Boo

Bee Bee

Gee Gee

Squishy Face

Tabby Wabby Waggy Tail (don't judge)

Mary Katherine (... seems random, but it's after my Granny. They have such similar personalities)

Pee Wee

Little Bit

Hoss Cat (I think this one offends her)

Tubby (cause she's eating all the time)

Toot Knocker

Punkin

Shoogie Boogie

Ti Ti

Demon (when she's parking at the wind)

Princess

Your Majesty

Tabby Nicole 

Toot Toot

Toots MacGuilicuddy

Angel Face

Angel

Precious-ness

this list could last for a while. I'd better cut it off here. As you can tell.... we rarely call Tabby "Tabby."

She's just gorgeous. 

So I thought I'd share some of my favorite shots of my little miss! It's puppy cuteness overload.

Majestic little thang.

This picture reminds me how tiny Tabby really is. She loves sitting in the big chair with Daddy.

Mama's little buddy.

This was right after we got her, she couldn't have been a year old yet. She just loves snuggling up with me. 

With her two favorite gals. Me and my Mom with Tabby on Christmas Day 2012.

 

From her perch on the back of the couch. 

If I leave the front door open during the day, Tabby sits on the rug and keeps a watch on the front yard.

Puppy in a blankey! Tabby LOVES blankets. She's always very content when she's wrapped up in a blanket.... or two.

When Mommy sits down or a minute Tabby takes advantage.

These next few shots are of Tabby at my Mom's Christmas morning. Mom got her a pack of applesauce, because she loves it.

What's in there? Is this for me??

WHAT?

APPLESAUCE!

Open it Mommy!

OPEN IT!

Yummy!

Don't bother me now, I'm eating.

Family shot. I'd been sick for about a month at that point and Aaron gathered up his "girls" and plopped us on the loveseat for a movie night.

Reunited! Aaron and I had been gone for a couple of days and I went to pick up Tabby from my Mom's house. 

You don't want me to go out there do you?? It's cold and wet.

This was the last big snow we had earlier in the year. Tabby went out in it only to tinkle and then came right back in. She hates the snow. But she didn't mind looking at it out the front door with Daddy.

She probably didn't like the snow because Daddy hid behind hit truck and started flinging snow off on her. Look at her little face. "Whaaaaaa?!"

Mommy had been trying to clean but somebody wanted to snuggle.

Waiting on Daddy to come home. Every afternoon around 4:45 Tabby starts looking out the windows for Aaron to come home.

Little Tubby. <3

Thanks for taking time out today to listen to me go on about my little fur baby. I do love her so! Tell me about your fur babies in the comments! I'd love to hear about them!