Just Do It Already!



Usually before I end up doing something, I talk about it for a long time! I want to make sure it is worth my time, energy and expense! My kitchen cabinets were no different! They are standard cabinets, none descript and perfectly acceptable - but quite frankly a little blah! So for years I talked about painting them. But what color, would the paint stay on, how long would it take, etc. I had a friend who had spray painted the doors of her cabinets, it looked, well, spray painted. And since there would be no hope in replacing them if I screwed up, I took my time.

But over Christmas my boys were looking for "work" and I had decided on a color -  barn red. I had painted my kitchen table 2 summers ago that color and LOVED it and it has held up really well. Black was my 2nd choice - I had already painted my kitchen chairs that color, but wasn't sure if Goth was a decorating style.

So after toying around with the color black for the cabinets, I settled on the red. The boys did all the hard work of scrubbing and removing all the hardware and then we went to work.

First I put on a coat of primer. I wanted black so I could distress it, but it only came in grey. Next we put on 2 coats of red paint. After letting it dry, I got to work making it look "old". I took steel wool and sanded it, but it still looked a little flat, so I did my favorite trick - I took a dry paint brush, put A LITTLE bit of black paint on it and then dry brushed the cabinets. This takes a light touch. Try to emphasis the corners and anyplace that would naturally look worn. I have had a lot of practice with this technique, so if you want to try it, I recommend you practice before attempting it.

I also took the handles and spray painted them black.



I love it!! It turned out just how I pictured it. It was well worth the effort and the price was under $40 - not bad (oh, plus labor ) I went ahead a repainted my kitchen table just so it matched exactly to the cabinets. I feel like I got a kitchen make over - just by making cents and sensibility!