Table Recycle

After finishing the cabinetry in the kitchen, Mitch and I decided we needed a small table to help fill the room. Luckily for us, his mother had recently "donated" an small round table to our garage. I decided I wanted to add a pop of color and a pattern so off to Hobby Lobby I went to 

find the perfect stencil.

The stencil itself is about 16"x16" and cost me approximately $16 at Hobby Lobby.

 The next thing I needed to do was sand down the table top as it had been finished with a polyurethane. I sanded down the top with a coarse grit sandpaper and then after the majority of the stains were lifted and the finish was removed, I switched to a ultra fine grit paper. 

Since there were stains deep in the wood I was unable to sand out, I decided to place my pattern in a way to cover the majority of the spots. 

I used a measuring tape to make sure my stencil was straight since my table was round. I grabbed double stick tape to help me keep the stencil in place as I painted. Eventually, I got bored waiting for the paint to dry, so I brought out my hair dryer to speed up the process. 

As the paint dried, I lifted the stencil slowly and it up by overlapping a small portion of the already painted pattern. Then I waited. 

After I couldn't wait any longer, I selected a stain and covered the table surface with a thin layer. I used a dry cloth to wipe off the excess and let the table dry. During my process of sanding, I apparently did not get all the previous finish off as my stain only took in certain areas. I liked the look however, since it gave the table an added dimension and more texture... so I continued my 

process of staining. 

 I was quite happy with my results until I got my finished project inside... The stain and caused the white vibrant paint to turn a creamy brown in color. Under normal conditions I wouldn't have minded this unintentional change. However, against our newly painted white cabinets, it just made the table look dirty. So I headed back to the drawing board. 

I decided to take the ultra fine finishing sand paper and lightly sand the top of the paint. My plan worked too! The dingy looking top layer of paint came right off and I was left with a bright white pattern on top of my table.

Lastly, to seal the wood and keep from having the paint scratched off , I added a coat of polyurethane. The final step in finishing my table will be to paint the legs... That, however, will be determined after I decide what color I'm going to paint the kitchen! 

Happy Crafting

-Melanie

Kitchen Cabinet Make-Over

A lot has happened in the last few months in our home.

Biggest accomplishment: I graduated from nursing school with my RN!

Next biggest accomplishment: We re-painted all the kitchen cabinets

(ignore the fact the drawers have not been put back in this photo!)

Let me tell you, this was the longest and hardest project we have done so far in our home. Our kitchen started out with ugly cabinets (see photo below) that made the room look small and dark. Our next door neighbors have the same kitchen layout and re-finished their cabinets in a dark chocolate brown. After seeing how their kitchen turned out, Mitch and I decided to take the opposite approach and paint the cabinets white to match the trim in the rest of the house. 

To start we had to take everything out of the cabinets and take off the doors/hardware. We moved the appliances and covered them so they wouldn't get so dirty during the rest of the process. Our neighbors said they used some sort of spray cleaner on all the cabinets so they didn't have to sand everything. Mitch and I decided, however, that our cabinets needed to be sanded as there were a lot of dings and dents in the wood. So the process began. 

Yes, this is the same room! Ah! So much chaos in this photo! During the process of painting in the kitchen, Mitch and I decided to buy a new refrigerator. Due to the size of the fridge, we had to move some appliances around.

After removing EVERYTHING we began to sand... and sand... and sand. Never in my life has a work-out at the gym made my arms hurt as much as they did from sanding.

Never in my life have my fingernails taken such a beating either!

Next step was to give the doors an update. Mitch and I picked up some simple trim from Menards and cut/glued/nailed it to the front of each door to add a boarder. Mitch even let me use the power tools!! In fact, I spent most of my days cutting the trim while Mitch was at work and in the evenings we had a system for gluing and nailing down each piece.

Paint! Paint! Paint! That's what came next! 

Mitch ended up buying an electric spray gun to eliminate brush strokes and evenly apply the paint. I think he liked the gun for the project, but after doing several other painting projects with an array of other spray guns, I don't think he will use it again. He says he would rather use an air gun connected to an air compressor. (I'll check and see what the brand/name is of the gun he didn't like) For paint we used a color called white chocolate, but honestly, I can't remember the brand of the color swatch. I had so many color options from different stores so I just made Lowe's match the paint swatch I liked. I made sure it was a high gloss specifically for kitchens and bathrooms. I think having the high gloss helps with wiping down spills. 

Mitch re-applied all the doors after letting the paint cure for 3 days. In the center of one of the cabinet doors, we chose to put chalkboard paint to keep track of needed groceries/supplies. The door we chose happened to be above the microwave. We didn't like how chalk dust fell on top of the microwave and ended up re-painting the door with dry-erase paint.

Now Mitch feels the need to leave me silly photos for holidays and special events rather than using the dry erase board for it's intended purpose: groceries/supplies.

Next decisions to make: 

1. room color

2. pendent light colors

3. accent wall?

Happy Crafting

-Melanie