Meet My New Kitchen

I am finally finished with our kitchen remodel, well the cabinet/counter top part anyways. I still have plans to redo the kitchen island and another small piece of furniture that I scored at a sidewalk sale in downtown Monroe. I told Scott that I wanted chalk paint for Valentine's Day so I could start playing with all of our furniture. I am in the mood to start working on different parts of our house. I think I should go with this because for awhile, I was too nervous to touch anything for fear of messing up. Now that I am finished with the kitchen, I have a little more faith in my abilities. Here are a few pictures of the redo.

 This is what our kitchen looked like before. I absolutely hated the faux wood counter tops. We purchased the Giani Chocolate Brown kit. Step one: Prime everything you want to cover. The primer in this kit is black and it covered the back splash and the counter top.

 Step Two: You have to sponge three minerals onto the surface that you want to look like marble. We decided to cover the counter tops only.

 Step Three: You have to seal the counter tops. It says to put a minimum of three coats, however, most of the research I have done said that you can get away with two. I like to follow instructions, so three it is.

We decided to paint the back splash for now to coordinate with the rest of the room. I have been contemplating changing up the decor. I guess I will have a lot of fun shopping around for a few new things.

Scott and I are both excited about our new kitchen. The difference is outstanding. I think this gave us the look we were going for, for less than $130! The kit is only $70, but after purchasing a few other supplies for the cabinet staining and back splash painting, we spent around $130. I like inexpensive and I believe we got a lot of good change for our money. One day I would like to have real marble counter tops with an iron back splash, but for now, this will work for us.

Home Construction

Scott and I bought a house recently and have been working on getting settled in and making it our own. Since we are having company this weekend, I have been in the mood to do a few more renovations. However, I have not actually completed any one project. I did make a few decisions about our kitchen and I am very excited to get started. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until our company leaves, as it will take a week to complete everything and then I will have to repaint the walls. Lovely, I know. I honestly can say that I hate painting but I hate paying someone to do something I am more than capable of doing even more than I hate the actual task. Here is a picture of our hideously decorated kitchen.

 The left is what the kitchen looked like before we moved in and the right is what it looks like now. I chose this color and I hate it, but I did not want to repaint until I picked out new counter tops, cabinets, and a back splash. We have decided to use one of the counter top transformation kits from Lowe's. I have read great reviews about them and for $70 we should have the look of marble. I think for the price, it is worth the gamble. Yesterday, after work, I went to Lowe's to look at different back splash options and I think I have decided to use Fasade. It gives you the look of tin for 1/10 of the cost. I priced what it would cost to use the real stuff yesterday and the quote I was give was nearly $1000. For $220 I can use the "off" Brand and will be happy to spend my savings elsewhere. The cabinets are not completely hideous and I honestly think with the new counter tops and back splash, they will fit in quite nicely. Well, nice enough that I can live with anyway! I may spruce them up with new hardware that coordinates with the new counter tops and back splash.

The flooring in our house is another matter all together. I hate it and I would like to rip up everything and stain the concrete until we can spend $10,000 to replace everything with hand carved hard wood flooring. Our house has a lot of square footage and to replace the flooring as I think it should be done, it will cost a pretty penny to purchase and install the beautiful wood. Therefore, Scott and I are several tax returns away from getting what we want. In the mean time, I would like to make everything more bearable with stained concrete. I love the look of it and I have read that it is not too difficult to do yourself. Scott has agreed to let me do this in our kitchen, but I think I will wait until the back splash, counter tops and walls are complete that way I will not have to worry with drop cloths.

I will keep everyone posted with pictures of our progress. I know that owning a house means constant upgrades, renovations, work, etc. I just need to really believe that they do not have to happen over night.