Kitchen Overhaul 2015

We've been eyeing the oak cabinets in our kitchen since before we moved in. What was to be done with such darkness and 1990s everything-oak eyesore? When Aunt Mo told me about chalk paint, I finally happened upon a course of action.

Okay, I'm going to go all froo-froo and philosophical for a minute. I didn't set out to create a marvelously decorated space. All I did was choose colors and objects that make me happy and didn't make New Daddy declare disaster. And guess what-- it all came together and looks pretty nice. So my advice to all of the decorating-challenged people of the world (like me) is this: choose things that you enjoy looking at, and things will fall together in their places. Okay, froo-froo soap box is coming down.

Aunt Mo sent me this blog post with recipes, since the brand name chalk paint is pretty pricey and offered in limited colors. I opted for the last recipe, since the blogger gave it rave reviews. Calcium carbonate (aka chalk) came from Amazon. Pinterest led me to Farrow & Ball's "Lichen" for the cabinet color. But who wants to try to find designer paint, much less pay for it? Enter this pinned chart comparing F and B colors to Benjamin Moore look-alikes. I loved F and B "Dix Blue" for the walls, which was Benjamin Moore "Rhine River", and "Louisburg Green" for the above-mentioned lichen which was to go on the cabinets.

The kids went to Camp Poppy and Mimi for a week, and we set to work in between CC Practicum and dinner dates, since the kitchen was closed down.

First job was to clean 23 years of cooking grime off the 35 cabinet doors and 70 hinges. The old knobs went to a high school facebook friend who wanted to do crafty stuff with them. Charlie's Soap Indoor-Outdoor surface cleaner was, once again, an absolute gem for getting crud off. New Daddy suggested that I clean the cabinets on the deck, and that worked perfectly.

The first paint to go on was the dining room, so that I could decide on an upper cabinet color. I was starting to become dismayed, because I realized that the green was too much alongside the blue. I was worried that my nil-decorating skills were going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom for my kitchen. Then, I found the pin with the bi-color cabinets. YES. I finished painting the dining room and hung this adorable French country shelf back up. It looked great against the blue. We took the shelf straight to the paint store and matched it for the upper cabinets. Isn't that crazy?! Well, it felt crazy in a mid-thirties way to me, at least.

And then, on went two coats of chalk paint! Just like that.... Not. At this point, the week was over, and we were racing the clock and the return of our beautiful children. Two nights of 2:30 AM curfews finally got us past the messy part of the project- the paint and the polyurethane. New Daddy did most of the muscle work by sanding in between coats. Saturday morning, I called the local chalk paint store, whose amazingly helpful owner walked me through finishing decisions. I had asked about the lacquer, and she quickly helped me realize that I needed some polyurethane. I headed over to her store and bought some General Finishes High-Performance Top Coat. Not only is it "tough as nails" (she told me), it didn't stink at. all. while I was putting it on. I was so amazed. I got the satin finish, and two coats of it gave the cabinets the perfect sheen and protection. Word. I love it.

So... enough ugliness. I know you're ready to see some "after" pictures! I couldn't be more pleased with how my kitchen looks. So much more light-- and I adore that lichen green!