How I Painted my Kitchen Counters

Finally another kitchen update! A while ago I posted the final look of the kitchen and promised I would do a more detailed post on my experience with painting the counter tops! So here it is.

This idea was controversial to a lot of people.  We knew we didn't want to replace them due to the work and renovation process.  My husband and I after flipping our first house, renovating the basement in our new house as well as completely overhauling the bathroom (pics coming soon on that I promise!), are totally sick of renovations right now.  We aren't sick of house projects - we LOVE those! Just the idea of ripping things out, multiple trips to the dump, possible drywall repair, etc ... you get the idea.  

We know one day we will completely renovate the kitchen but now is not the time.  I did look into the counter top refinishing kits sold at Home Depot (made by Rustoleum) but just wasn't interested in the look and colors.  I also read they had a pretty potent smell meaning the kitchen would need to be well ventilated.  It still being pretty cold out at the time didn't really allow for that.  When comparing painting vs. the counter top kids they seemed to wear down the same way so again, I opted for the painting idea.  

Here is how I did it! 

1. Tape Edges

I usually don't use painters tape on edges when painting regular walls.  I would much rather buy a good quality paint brush and just be careful rather than taping it all.  I love to paint so over the years this has gotten much easier.  However, for this project there were a lot of little corners to get into and I wanted to make sure it was even so I just decided to tape all of the edges.  

2. Prime Counters

Next step is to prime the counters.  A good thing to do first is sand them down just to give the primer something extra to stick to.  I actually skipped this step due to being a little too excited to get started haha!  Plus this primer is awesome - it literally sticks to anything! I have even used this to prime vinyl flooring to prepare it to be painted and it was totally durable, no scratches.  I absolutely love it and it is always my go to.  

2. Paint!

Next step is to start painting!! I used the color "Swiss Coffee" by Behr - a nice classic white with a warmer undertone (wanted it bright and white but not 'cold').  I used regular latex kitchen & bathroom paint and a small foam roller.  I painted three coats to get a nice even color.  My original plan (and something you might want to do depending on your tastes) was to sand in between coats.  For this, the best is to use 220 sandpaper and lightly sand in between each coat once it is dry.  After sanding, use some tack cloth (a sticky cloth pictured below) to wipe off any of the dust.  This will provide a nice smooth look, however after my first coat I decided I really liked the textured look.  I thought the little bumps that the roller gave actually made it look like a real textured counter-top so I went with it!  

3. Protect

To protect the counters I used Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish.  I went with this water based protector because it will stay clear rather than taking on a slight yellow tone over time (that would only be noticeable with using white paint so it was appropriate in this case).  Due to the water base, the Polycrylic also has a less intense smell and dries faster so it was a win-win!  I painted three coats of this with a good quality paint brush.  I tried using a roller but found with the white paint, little bits of dust were attaching to the roller and showing up. Using a brush was definitely the best way to go in this case.  I originally planned on doing more coats for maximum durability but figured I would stick with three and see how it wears (if I get chips I can just touch up at that time).  

This all took me about three days but that was because I did it in between working full time. If not for that I could have done it in about two days if you take in to account drying time.  

So far we only have two little chips on the edge of one counter.    I am totally OK with this as I hated the counters before that much that I don't mind a couple touch ups here and there.  Plus the little marks are things only we notice - no one else would probably even see them!  Otherwise we have been letting ourselves use the counters as normal.  In the beginning we were so cautious and careful but figured I can always touch up so let's use them as normal and see how much they can really take.  So far so good! 

If you have any questions about my process in doing this let me know!  I would be happy to answer anything for you.  Overall we are so happy with this project.  I will post an update in a few months or so when we see how they continue to wear over time! 

Hopefully this post helps you if you have a kitchen project in mind or are planning on painting anything where you need that extra durability (a bathroom counter, a vanity top, a desk, etc ...)  

Have a wonderful day and as always, thanks for the support! 

Our Kitchen Makeover: The Before

So my husband and I have been itching to makeover our kitchen since we first moved into our new house almost a year ago.  At first glance when we moved in it seemed fine - the counter top was ugly but livable, and the cabinets were white which is one of my favorite looks for a kitchen.  We always thought we would just put in a new counter top, put a fresh coat of white paint on the cabinets, maybe add a back splash and be done! 

After living in the house a while we knew it needed more than that but also realized that other rooms needed more than we originally planned in terms of paint and renovations.  After completing those other renovations in the house we are pretty much sick of living in a construction zone and don't feel like putting out the money for a big renovation either.  With all this in mind our brains got creative and we thought up some other ways to make a big impact on the room with a small budget and small time frame.  Check out some 'before' shots below.  It's not terrible, but we know we want to be in this house for a long time so we just wanted to make the space feel more like us.

(please note the hideous counter top color!)

The previous wall color was not terrible but the yellow-beige just wasn't working with the rest of the house.

Planning a new home for the microwave to free up some counter space!

The white cabinets just didn't work for us in this space.  I like a bright kitchen but I also like a warm kitchen with a "homey" and almost craftsman or rustic feel.  Something about this particular kitchen with the white cabinets just felt cold.  We also use our side door as our main entrance and when you come up the stairs from the porch, the kitchen is the first room you see.  Because of that, we wanted the room to make more  of a statement when walking in the house.  I came across some inspiration photos on Pinterest with cabinets painted more of a taupe or 'greige' color and, well, it was love at first sight.   I also came across an aqua colored ceramic tray in the stationary section of Target (I think meant for paper or office supplies) and thought it would be a perfect tray to sit next to the sink to hold dish and hand soap.  See - keep your eyes peeled because inspiration can hit you anywhere!  Keep an open mind and you will find things or ideas for your home in unexpected places.  

That completed my vision and inspiration for the space.  We decided to go with a darker taupe or greige on the cabinets, a light greige for the walls and white for the counter tops. Did you catch that?  Yes we are painting our counter tops!  A few people I've told think we are a bit crazy but we are so excited!  We know that one day down the road we will do a complete renovation of the kitchen with new cabinets and such, so it is fun to experiment for now and try new things!  I am not afraid of painting and am excited to see the result.  The counters are not pretty right now so really, anything will be better! There is a section of butcher block beside our stove as well that we are keeping which I think will look great with the white and really contribute to that craftsman look I was talking about. 

The photo below is our paint swatches on top of that tray I mentioned which will be an accent color.  It is basically a visual for me of the final look to keep me on track.  

 

 That's all you get for now!  Stay tuned for some after photos coming later this week of the transformation.  I'll also do a tutorial on the counter top painting process for anyone interested in that.  It's amazing how for less than $200 we have totally changed the look and feel of the space - I can't wait to show you the results! 

Hope you all enjoy your week ... Happy Monday! 

Bathroom Reno: The Vanity

As promised in my last bathroom renovation post, I wanted to share with you our beautiful new vanity.  

This step in the renovation process was just that - quite the process.  I can not tell you how many times we went back and forth on this decision due to the crazy  prices of vanities!  All of the vanities I even sort of liked were well over $1000 and that was #1 not in the budget and #2 just crazy to me.  The DIY-er in my knew there was a better way!  Even though we didn't want to spend that much on a vanity I still didn't want to "cheap out".  I wanted something good quality that would last us a long time as well as something with a lot of storage since our second bathroom only has a pedestal sink.  I was also struggling with the idea of possibly keeping our old vanity top (you can see photos of it here) since it was a beautiful granite top with a great Kohler faucet.  That idea just didn't excite me though so it was back to the drawing board.  

Jay and I have been wanting a vessel sink for a while that could sit on top of the counter - we just liked the look and thought it would be fun for something different.  Our original idea was actually to find an old vintage dresser and turn it into a vanity!  We wanted something that I could paint, maybe re-stain the top and add a vessel sink.  I still love that idea but knew it wouldn't provide us with enough storage.  We will most likely still do this in our second bathroom so stay tuned for that in future posts!  So, with this idea as our inspiration we finally came up with what we think was the perfect combination.  We decided to find a regular white vanity from Home Depot (something good quality but nothing too expensive), add our own wooden top and vessel sink, and freshen it up with new knobs and drawer pulls!  I love how the modern vessel sink combines with the more traditional and rustic feel of a wooden counter top.  I also love how the wood pulls together the feel of the first floor of our home which has a lot of original wood trim and doors.  I didn't want the bathroom to feel too modern and disconnected from the rest of the house.   

We started looking on Amazon  and found a sink we loved that was a white rectangle shape.  We found a great and affordable faucet on Amazon too!  I enlisted the help of my amazingly talented Dad in building the vanity top - he helped us decide on the perfect measurements based on the sink and the vanity size - then built and sanded it perfectly for us.  I stained the top then sealed it with a Polycrylic to protect the surface from future water splashes and cleaning.  Check out the photos of the process below! 

Unboxing the sink! Gorgeous! :)

Getting a visual for the final look

Staining the top! I used "Dark Walnut" by Minwax

We followed the directions from the sink for the installation of this!

Turned out better than we even imagined!

Adding your own knobs and pulls to a standard vanity is a great way to customize it and make it look more high end!

 

     Sink: Kraus KCV-121-CH White Rectangular Ceramic Sink

Faucet: 14" Chrome Contemporary Vanity Vessel Sink Faucet

Vanity: Glacier Bay Hampton White Vanity Cabinet

Stain: Minwax Dark Walnut

Protective Top Coat: Minwax Polycrylic Clear Gloss

So - with some creativity and a little extra work, we created a gorgeous vanity for less than $500! 

Stay tuned for even more updates on the bathroom renovations coming soon!  I also have a kitchen project coming up and I can't wait to share it! 

Bathroom Reno: My Process in Picking Paint and Tiles

Continuing on in my bathroom renovation series; today I thought I would share how I came up with the design of our bathroom including colors and tiles.   

Since we ripped everything out of the bathroom I was able to start from scratch in terms of colors and styles so that was good. Well ... sort of.  I love that I had that freedom but my mind tends to go crazy when I am designing a new space.  I get so many ideas at once and it usually takes me a few days to settle my mind on one.  This one took me a few weeks!   

I was struggling with the idea of keeping true to my character home, but adding some modern touches too.  I love the balance of mixing vintage and rustic pieces with some modern flair.   I wanted a "spa-like" feel to the space so I knew I wanted a green or blue on the walls mixed with lots of clean whites and natural elements.  I knew I wanted the fixtures chrome with curved and rounded edges.  These type of fixtures feel very vintage to me and I love that.   

So - since I knew all of that, at least I could narrow down my choices.  First thing I did was head over to the paint section at my local Home Depot and pulled some swatches of blues and greens.  I found a ton that I liked and brought them all home.  It is so important to do this and look at colors in your own home and light.  A few I liked were definite "no's" when I brought them home!  Some were too blue, green, light, dark, etc ...  I narrowed my choices down to three and taped them to the bathroom wall and left them there for about a week. Throughout that week I moved them around, took one or two down, and finally decided on one.  I picked "Southern Breeze" by Behr and below is a swatch! 

Home Depot started putting little tags next to Behr paint swatches saying "popular colour" and I love that!  Every colour looks different in every home but in a world with so many thousands of swatches its nice be able to narrow down your search that way.  Knowing that this shade by Behr was a popular choice convinced me to take a swatch and I'm so glad I did because it's just perfect!

We went back and forth for a while on tile choices but one thing always remained constant and that was we wanted the shower enclosure to be white subway tile.  This is my absolute favorite type of tile because it is timeless.   The subway tile dates all the way back to 1904 when the NYC Subways were in need of a long lasting and good looking material.  The white, rectangular ceramic tile was chosen for its' durable and stain resistant nature.  These tiles have truly stood the test of time in the design world and I am a huge fan because they are classic and the white will match with anything.  I also love that you can completely change the look of these tiles by using different colored grout!  Although we went with white grout, I do love the look of dark grout with white subway tile.  Because we live in a character home built in 1920, using subway tile brings back a timeless feel to the space in the midst of our added modern elements.  A bonus is that subway tile is usually one of the cheapest options out there! 

                                                     Donald Uhrbrock/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

We decided to build our own shower floor out of tiles rather than use a pre-made shower floor because our space was an odd size.  As pictured in my first bathroom renovation post, we wanted the shower to reach from one wall to the other and the best and cheapest way for us to do this was tiles!  We also prefer the look and again aren't afraid of a little DIY.  We decided to go a little fancier for the floor and picked a small hexagon shaped mosaic tile in a light grey and white marble.  We chose a grey grout with this to give it some character and help keep future cleaning easy! White grout + floor = no thanks!  This is a great way to add a little more luxury to a room because a shower floor doesn't require a huge number of tiles which means it won't totally break the bank!  

Finally for the floor tiles we found a beautiful porcelain that looks like planks of wood. They have no shine to them so we liked how this brought some warmth back into a space surrounded by shiny white tiles and a marble shower floor.  Again, I love the mix of clean whites with something more rustic, distressed or vintage.  These being porcelain is also great for durability rather than having an actual wood floor in the bathroom.   

*we chose the one on the right!

We bought a couple different variations of the tiles and brought them home to look at the colors in the space.  The floor wood-style tiles came in a few shades ranging from light grey to a dark walnut.  We compared these with the white subway tiles, the marble shower floor tiles and the paint swatch.  

We finally settled on what you see below!  

*these photos were taken pre-blog so I apologize for the bad quality ;)

It is so worth it to take your time on these decisions because tiles are so permanent.   I am a huge Nate Berkus fan and I will always remember his advice of choosing simple tiles in neutral colors.  Trends come and go and you can always change the feel of a room with different paint shades or decor items ... but tiles - not so easy!  Sure I would have loved to add a sea-glass mosaic tile to the shower walls as an accent - but knowing me in a year I'll probably be so over the aqua colors and want something different!  If that time comes all I need is some new paint and new towels to transform the space.  If you take anything away from this post, I hope you take your time on your next large project and really compare items and colors until you find your perfect choices!  And try to stick with simple, classic tiles and add fun accents elsewhere!   

Stay tuned for my next bathroom renovation post all about our vanity!  

    

  

Bathroom Reno: The Before

I thought it was about that time to post my first blog about some home renovation projects. My hubby and I are a tad bit addicted to DIY-ing our home.  We love the satisfaction of looking at something and knowing we did it!  There can be a lot of long hours and little sleep involved when we are working on a larger project - but for us it is all worth it in the end!  

I grew up with a Dad who could build just about anything you ask him to and a Mom who is majorly crafty and an amazing seamstress ... so it's in my genes to be a DIY-er!   After a long day at work, I would much rather pick up a paintbrush than lay on the couch and watch TV all night ... it is my way of relaxing and clearing my head!  Thankfully my husband Jay is the same way so we make a great team!

We moved into our new house last spring.  My sister-in-law thankfully sent me a Kijiji ad of the most beautiful character home (was also only a few blocks away from the house we were in at the time).  I fell in love instantly and knew this house was meant to be ours.  It was a hectic and very quick move but we are so happy we did it!  We have always wanted a character home and this one was beyond perfect.  It was on the market for a few months so maybe not perfect for everyone's tastes - but to us it was love at first sight.  Since we love home renos (and we basically flipped our first house), we weren't scared of a little work ... but thankfully it didn't need a complete overhaul like our first home!  

One of our major renovations planned was the main floor bathroom.  It was outdated (but not in a good/character type of way) ... and just plain ugly.  The shower was annoying because it was tiny, yet there was tons of space for a larger shower!!  Our upstairs bathroom has a claw foot bath tub (*no big deal ... just kidding, only my favorite part of the house!!) so we knew we wanted to rip out the old shower and build a larger stand up one.  The cabinets were made out of a horrifically ugly melamine (I know ... I'm being overly dramatic) and one door was literally hanging by one hinge.  It really is a miracle we still have our toes because when that door would get knocked, the melamine corner would hit the floor so hard! (yikes!!)  The vanity sink and faucet were actually really nice ... granite and a Kohler faucet ... but we got rid of those because it just wasn't going to work with our new design ideas.  Ripping this bathroom apart was so exciting!! It was just all kinds of wrong!    

Here are a few before shots of the bathroom.  We are done now (aside from decorating - I'm still working on that!) ... so I will share with you all of the ups and downs along the way and how it all came together in future blog posts! 

* ouch!! 

* see all that wasted space beside the shower!?

Happy Friday (Hooray! ... You made it through the week!)  Let me know if you have any home renos on the go this weekend!