DIY Kitchen Makeover Using Chalk Paint 🌸 Easy, Fast and Affordable
Redoing ones kitchen can be a daunting tasks, when you have to work with existing dark counter tops. Do you go with light cabinet color, like white or off white or should you opt for all natural lighter wood colors, or a different color all together.
I am going to share my kitchen makeover (the video is lower down). We moved into our house a while back and inherited wood cabinets. At the time we redid so many things in out home that redoing all cabinetry did not make sense. Instead we decided to choose a complimentary color for the counter tops and went with a granite called Uba Tuba, which is basically a dark green that has specks of silver in it.
I actually stained all cabinets a lovely warm tone and was very happy with look of the kitchen. Now fast forward to today. The stain has rubbed off on the doors that are most frequently used, and I have just simply tired of the look.
Craving for a renewal I did consider hiring professionals to do the job, but during COVID 19, the last thing I want is strangers coming in and out of my home. SO I decided to tackle the job myself.
For my kitchen remodel I am using Annie Sloan Chalk paint. The white is a paint called Original and the green is called Versailles.
Gone are the days of making spontaneous decisions and for weeks I have moved around a plank of wood that I have painted with the colors I am considering for the cabinets. I just could not make up my mind which color to go with since depending on the time of day the colors of the paint change by several shades.
First I tried the Original (whitish) color and it was just too white for my taste. Then I tried just the Versailles (green shade) and although I absolutely loved that color, it became too dark for the space as the light decreased.
So I decided to mix my own color. I used 1 can of the Original and added 1/4 of the Versailles to get the center shade.Now I had three different colors on the panels side by side and watched them for two days as the light kept changing in the kitchen. I highly recommend doing this step, because the color that you fall in love with at the store can look very different in the room. I wanted my kitchen to be much lighter looking than before at all times of the day and really ruled out a basic white tint from the beginning. The artist in me wanted color, but which one and how much was the question. In the video you will see how the cabinet's color shifts even at the same time of day, since the lighting comes from different areas one a pocket door, the other a small kitchen window and then the open space towards the kitchen nook.
To start out I cleaned the cabinets with water and a bit of dishwashing solution and wiped them dry. I purchased the type of brushes that Annie Sloan recommends, but they were heavy and I opted to paint with my favorite painting brush. I know , I know, I get enough remarks from my hubby about the size of brushes I use, but these are the ones I just love and use for my oil paintings as well. One thing I did notice is that Chalk paint is rather thick and as soon as you apply the first coat it acts as both a Primer and first layer. When using the round brushes you tend to pick up more paint and the coverage is really thick. While I was painting I left everything on the countertops, because this paint hardly every drips and that I found amazing.
Pulls and Knobs
Deciding on the hardware was the most complicated thing about the entire kitchen redo. Our kitchen never had any hardware and we really got used to not seeing any. With the new light paint color having hardware was a must, but hubby and I soon agreed that having hardware on every door and drawer might just be too much. I fell in love with the long drawer pull and wanted to keep that one at all cost. So while we both mulled over what to put where, we finally came to an agreement three weeks later and this is what we chose.
Here is a list of the items I used and where I purchased them from:
- Annie Sloan Paint Versailles ( via the Abode Shop in San Juan Capistrano)
- Annie Sloan Paint Original ( via the Abode Shop in San Juan Capistrano)
- Paint Brush
- Pig and Eucalyptus Metal Wall Decor via Amazon
- Wall And Eucalyptus Metal Wall Decor via Hobby Lobby
- Pulls and Knobs from Hobby Lobby
Thank you so much for checking out my DIY’s, and be sure to tag me @Portraits_by_NC if you try any of them! I’d love to see your projects! Budget wise decorating is always such fun ~ don't you think?!
xo
NC
