Hey guys! How the heck are ya? I have missed you all a lot, and finally have a few minutes to sit down and share a little bit of what I have been doing around here when I am not working on …well…work!
As you know, my Cowboy and the kids and I have recently purchased a beautiful acreage. We moved in last November and are loving our new home…well Mostly.
This house was built in the 80’s. It is a very nice size for us and has all kinds of wonderful things about it that made us want to live here. However…there were a few things that right off the bat we knew we were going to change. Today…I am sharing one of those things.
MY KITCHEN.
I adore the layout of this kitchen. Having the stove on the island is a dream! It makes this Tootsie who generally hates to cook or bake…almost enjoy that task! There are plenty of cabinets and drawers for what we need…and on the other side of the dining area there is a built in china cabinet.
What’s not to love!
Ya…THAT’S not to love.
The oak Cabinets have turned VERY orange…and the finish is worn, dry and in bad shape.
We talked and talked about what to do with the finish on the cabinets. The possibilities are endless when it comes to things like this.
I am NOT a fan of the chalk paint or the other fad paint products on the market right now. So that would not be an option.
I wanted to go classic…and keep the integrity of the wood, so I got the sander out…and took off the old orange finish.
It took HOURS and HOURS and HOURS and PAGES and PAGES and PAGES of sand paper. It was a nasty mess!
I sanded the doors of the cupboards outside when I could…the weather was great, and I enjoyed the fresh air. :)
The cabinet frames and the island were done in place as I did not want to move them off the walls and floors…so I hooked my shop vac to the sander and went to town!
My oldest Daughter was in need of a project for her industrial arts class, and she decided that helping me would be a fun time. So…I handed her some gloves and a sander and put her teenage self to work…teaching her how to do what she needed to do…and documenting all of her help. (she did not want me to share the photos of her assisting me, so I am keeping it simple for her)
Once we finished all the sanding…we were ready to stain.
I didn’t really want to have a color that everyone else has…so I decided to mix up my own color and it turned out to be exactly what the Cowboy and I wanted!
Waiting for it to dry enough to do the finishing touches on felt like FOREVER.
Once the stain was dry, I applied a coat of protective finish to it all to ensure that it would last for years. Once that was dry…it was time to put every thing back together.
Ta-Da!!! The finish came out so great!
We love the way the light plays with the colors. At different times of the day, it takes on a bit of a different shade…sometimes light grey, sometimes darker. Either way it looks very nice.
Now…once I finished the main part of the kitchen, I turned around and decided that the built in china cabinet could NOT stay the original orange oak that it was…but we did not want it to feel like a big displaced heavy cabinet in the dining room…I had to co-ordinate…but be just a little different from the rest.
Here’s what I came up with.
I did the same finish on all of the doors and drawers…but painted out the frame with the same color as the walls. I also used that cream color inside the microwave opening in the cooking area…so it all goes together nicely.
It was a huge undertaking…and a challenging one to say the least…but we are very excited at the way it all came out. It went from Dated and Worn to a more up to date shade of pretty.
What do you think?
I know we are happy with the results…and pooped from all the work! The clean up is almost as hard on us as the sanding! lol
Thank you "Miss Georgie" for all your help! I hope learning from your old Mom was fun!
That’s all I have for you today.
There is more to share from the adventures in this house…but time is of the essence and I will share again soon!
Until Next Time…Happy Decorating!
(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
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(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com
*)*)*)"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, only then well there truly be peace" ~ Albert Einstein
Todays post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot
www.chicaboot.com