elizabeth m's Profile

Thank you VictoriaOC! I am totally flattered to be a finalist with a $500 kitchen. :-) So many really nice kitchens, so I am really flattered. Thanks again for your vote...I love my little kitchen too!

Hi Mealnie 7

Yes, I would be happy to give you tips on how to do the counter top and cabinets. Here are the details in easy steps:

Supplies: I use Behr paint (Home Depot) flat finish. Minwax polyurethane (water base) TSP, 200 grit sand paper, and Kilz primer (water base)

Counter top: I lightly sand, then wash down with TSP (found in Home Depot). I use full strength. Dry counter top with lint-free cloth. Coat with primer, let dry well. Paint two coasts of paint. Dry well. Seal with three coats of poly. DRY WELL between coats. Sand lightly (200 grit) between coats of poly and wipe with damp cloth. STIR the poly do not shake and stir often - that is how to get a super hard shell. :-)

Cabinets: Sand down till smooth or to get gloss coating off. NOTE: If you have paint on them already, and plan to distress them some, then the color of the old paint will show some where you sand to distress. If that is okay, fine, if not, you will have to remove all the paint. If you have no paint on your cabinet, no problem.

Wash down with TSP, dry well. Paint with two coats of FLAT paint. Don't let anyone tell you to use anything else - flat paint is the easiest to distress down with sand paper after it dries!! Any other paint finish is a PAIN to distress down. The KEY is to prep really well and the flat paint will be fine and then make sure to seal it well. Seal with poly, two coats. Brush same direction, do not over brush.

Tips: Remove drawers and paint them on paper or on a table. I paint the inside of doors, so they can remain hung and painted. I paint the inside "lip" of the cabinet for a complete look.

Good luck!

Hi Act2

No design degree here, but a lot of time designing and working for myself since 1998. And been "scooting" furniture around since I was four! Everything is self-taught. Thanks for wanting to read all the comments - they have all been very encouraging :-)

Elizabeth

Thank you bet.h, aychihuahua, MXM, and gigimet for your nice comments. gigimet, if you decide to use any techniques on your kitchen, I would LOVE to see them! I get excited seeing other people's creative work too. And MXM, yes, I do love my stove. I bought it back in 1994 in Texas, and it has never failed me once. I joke that it could be a crematory - it can get THAT hot! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :-)

Elizabeth

Thank you thorndale for the nice comment. It is a little bit of heaven...especially when it is rainy and cold outside and something is baking in the oven and the ceiling lights are on the dimmer. Very cozy :-)

Elizabeth
P.S. I see you are a night owl too!

Hello, hello123, you are so funny! You have a KEEN eye....love that! Yes, I hate looking at cords myself - in real life, not just photos. And if you look REAL, REAL close, right behind my platter, you can barely see my cord hanging (from the light fixture on the cabinet in the window). I get so fixated, (okay, anal....) that I painted the cord the same color of the wall, AND....(I know, I hate to admit this) I painted the cord also black, underneath the cabinet down to where the cabinet stops and the wall starts. So the cord, actually, is part black, then it is cream, because I hate cords so much.

And if you look at my French pot shelf.....? Well, again, if you look at the wall, REALLY look, you will see a cord hanging down, that is the switch for the lights under the shelf. I hated that cord, but our house being so old, hardly any outlets, I had no choice. So I painted it to match the walls and aged the cord with glaze!....(I know...kinda getting high off the fumes of paint by then, I think) Hahah. But, it does make a difference - to me at least, not to see so many darn cords.

Thank you so much for your vote - how cool of you and how sweet to write me and let me know. You made my day come to a nice end.

Thanks again - :-)
Elizabeth

Thank you for encouraging comments - makes me even happier that so many like the results. Ginamee, all the paint Behr (Home Depot), interior, latex, flat. Most people freak that I use flat paint in the kitchen (actually everywhere) and NOT oil base. I just REALLY, REALLY prep the surfaces with TSP (to degrease) and lightly sand all surfaces. I then seal the surfaces really well with polyurethane and do this really well too.

The wall, I used joint compound and just scraped it on "here and there" to give it a textured look - and I did it right over the tile in some areas where the tile was still remaining on the wall. Let it dry completely for a day or two - it will shrink, so you may want to reapply it again to get the look you want. Then I just rolled on the pain right over it and I then used a light glaze (by brush, which is really hard, a sponger or rag is much easier) to "age" down the walls. I use FLAT paint because glaze will "slide and slip" all around on eggshell walls (for me it does at least) and it makes it harder to control. Although almost 99.99% of my artist friends freak out that I use flat paint and not eggshell when using a glaze because it IS so hard to use a glaze on it. So, you just try it both ways and see which is easier for you. I am totally self-taught, so you might want to listen to my artist friends who are professionally taught.

The counter, again, TSP (found in Home Depot) I use the liquid, FULL strength, wipe it off good, lightly sand, and I used a mix of paints I happened to have and just mixed my own color, and then sealed it with THREE coats of poly. The trick is to lightly sand (200 grit) in between coats of poly. It is hard as rock and has not chipped once.

The floor: Again, TSP, I painted right over the floor linoleum, I use FLAT PORCH paint, Behr, and designed out my design with painter's paint, and sealed it THREE times - again - NO chips.

Kitchen cabinets: TSP, lightly sand, paint, and seal. I seal the cabinets only once - they aren't walked on, or worked on, so no need to go overboard with the sealing.

This is just a quick, cosmetic fix until we can afford to do our kitchen the right way. We don't have the budget to do a total rehab so this will have to do for now.

The entire kitchen took me only 8 days. And really, truly it was $497 for all the supplies, sink, faucet. I already had my beloved stove.

Thanks for asking - I hope this helps you some.

My biggest tip? STIR the poly, do not shake it, and stir it often. Sand lightly between coats, and be patient and let is dry completely - this is how you get a hard, hard shell - and a long lasting result! :-) Oh - I used water base poly - hate oil.

Have a great week.
Elizabeth

Myrna,

Your are so kind with your comments. I love to share .... what good is it to keep it to yourself, anyway? I always get great emails from people who share the coolest ideas ever after they have read something in my blog...so I think I am the one who really gets the best of the best in the end. :-)

Hi Pipstar,

I chuckled when I read your comment - I have a blog on design, travels, and photography - and yes, I sometimes use my husband, Randy, aka, "barber husband" as unsuspecting fodder in some of my posts. (Poor guy.)

Within my blog readers, they are used to my affectionally calling him "barber husband" as it goes with my first encounter of meeting him only four years ago running in a park, which is part of our story. You are right, it is weird, but a good weird
:-)

Fantastic job! I really love the wall color and how you tied in the accents...love it!