Friday, January 10, 2014

Hate your fireplace? Paint it!

It is amazing what a little bit of paint does! I thought I would share with you all my before and after pictures of my fireplace (which I hated!)…It made the room look dark and small, and I wanted a splash of VIBRANT LIGHT in the room! SO, I decided…….

PAINT IT!


BEFORE:

It was cherry stained (just like my kitchen)….

Here is what I did step by step ( AND IT IS SO EASY! )

1. Prime with a 3 in 1 primer (or sand, and prime if necessary)



2. Paint Once, let dry.


3. Paint again….

4. Lacquer, or use a gloss over your paint (unless you got a semi-gloss/gloss paint [ then it might not be necessary ] )

AND you will be so happy with the results you get!!!


FINAL RESULT:




Kitchen Remodeling!

Ok Ladies & Gents,

I decided since so many people have been asking me what I have been up to in my new house, I figured I would write a little blog about it!
I have been remodeling everything and slowly but surely I will have this blog filled with all the remodels that I have tackled thus far!
I am actually currently in the process of my kitchen remodel, and wanted to let you know how it is going & what things are looking like. This is also a step - by - step "how to" in case you decide you too are brave enough to tackle your kitchen!

My kitchen started out a cherry wood stained color with black granite (mixed with tans and whites)
Here is a picture..

Okay, Well Anyways,
Some people look at these cherry wood cabinets - and wonder why would I change them? They look great! Well I personally, do not like the look of the dark wood, and preferred something lighter. Also, they were stained by someone that did not take the time to do them properly and did not look good (in person). SO I decided quite quickly that I would change them all.

1. First I took all my cabinets off - and all the hardware off (handles, knobs, drawers, everything was detached)
2. Lightly sand your cabinets if necessary, although they make some great primers (3 in 1 primer) nowadays that makes it unnecessary to sand if they are in good condition!
3. Next step was to prime everything! I used Bulls Eye 1.2.3 All in one primer~  It works amazingly!
 The picture shown is of a cabinet primed, and then painted! This just shows that the primer does not come out a solid color - and doesn't need to in order to work perfectly!
As you can tell, the next step after you prime everything, is to paint it the color of your desire! I decided to go with toasted wheat for all my cabinets - and I chose to do a GLAZE... I used 8 oz of Belgian sweet (dark brown) in a small can of faux glaze which came out to a nice chocolate caramel brown!

The last and most important step! LACQUER the cabinets! :) This is so important for the kitchen because it gives it the 'smooth' finish you desire - and easily cleanable cupboards! 

I used 5 cans of lacquer clear gloss, and one can of clear gloss. I used the spray cans for the actual cabinets, and the can of gloss for the actual cupboards and island. 

It took about 30 minutes per cupboard of drying time (dry to the touch in 15, and in 24hrs ready to be used) and for the cupboards it took less time! I was using them within 4 hours.



BEFORE: 



AFTER: 











Thank you for checking out the blog :) Be on the lookout for some future blogs & projects that I post!