WORKING IN THE KITCHEN… Window Treatments

Yesterday I left off saying that I was headed to Ikea.  Well, shortly after my son and I arrived (and I mean shortly), he said he was sick and well… all kinds of stuff happened

So my trip was cut short, but I did manage to grab a curtain rod.  While I was there, I had my hubs hang some bamboo blinds for me in the kitchen.  I’m not sold on them as of yet (I’m thinking they need to be hung higher), but I do love the fabric that I’m using for curtains

The fabric is by Robert Allen.  The name of the fabric is Khanjali and the colorway is Glacier.  I purchased my fabric from Calico Corners.

Pardon the dark pics, did I mention that now I have TWO sick kids??? So I’m working around a lot

I actually purchased this fabric to use in the family room, but decided that I loved it in the kitchen too.  I have 12 yards and I’m using all 12 at this window. I don’t want the window to look “cheated” out of fabric!

I still have to do a lot of hemming.  I decided against using the campaign dresser in here.  I think I’m going to try a window seat instead.  Cabinet hardware should be here soon so the kitchen is moving right along! I do need to do a few things in my dining room and living room to prepare for Thanksgiving so I’m probably going to be bouncing between these rooms in the next few weeks.

BTW, as you can see, I have yet to add the seats back to the chairs… I’m hoping I have enough fabric left over from the windows to use on them (fingers crossed!).

It’s November! Can you believe it?!?!?

KITCHEN TABLE AND CHAIRS UPDATE

Remember the table and chairs in my kitchen?

The plan was to paint the table the color of my upper cabinets and then change out the chairs for the bentwood chairs

Before I started to paint the table, I remembered the table that I had planned to use in my bedroom

Could it work in my kitchen? There was only one way to find out!

It’s definitely smaller than the other table that was in there (about 10 inches smaller), but I think I like it better. It is large enough for four large plates which is perfect for the boys.  All of us rarely sit at the table in the kitchen together (we us the dinner table for that).

 

I’m wondering if I should leave the base of the table “brass” or if I should spray it white? I’m leaning towards leaving it brass.  Also, finding the right fabric for the seats of the chairs in proving to be a challenge.  I’ll keep you posted on what I come up with.  Oh and as far as the cabinet hardware, I think brass is it! Now I just need to find some I like and order them

KITCHEN CHAIRS PROGRESS

Just popping in to say that the chairs are looking great!

I wish my camera showed the true color of the paint.  They are a nice shade of turquoise.  I’m using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence.  If you remember, I used it on this dresser too!

Speaking of this dresser, how fabulous does this picture look?! Rachell of Moments of Happiness Designs wanted to style a few of my pieces to use for her site and I think she did a fabulous job!

 

See you back here on Monday hopefully with some finished chairs and the start of a kitchen gallery wall

STILL WORKING IN THE KITCHEN

Morning peeps! The lack of posting this week came from the fact that I was still working in the kitchen.  I managed to finish the doors on the upper cabinets and now I’m moving on to the window treatments..

I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby months ago and it was deeply discounted! I have a little more than seven yards of it and only paid like $24! At the time, I had not a clue what I was going to do with it, but I loved the dusty blue and off-white stripes so I figured it would work somewhere in my home.

I have a double window in my kitchen with a white faux wood blind up (not a good look).

Because I’m going to have a few other painted projects in the room, I plan to install bamboo blinds to add a little warmth to the space. Speaking of other painted projects, I am prepping to paint my kitchen table and chairs

That table has definitely seen better days.  If you notice, I only have three chairs at the table right now which brings me to the chairs in the background.

I’m going to paint these and add some different fabric to the seats.

I’m actually headed to my kitchen now to do some work so I should have an update tomorrow.  Let me share a little side note with you on the projects that I’m doing around here.  I have accumulated so many things during all of my thrifting excursions that I plan to use as much of those items as possible.  I was out in my garage yesterday and was blown away by the amounts of fabric, frames, accessories, etc.. that I have just collecting dust.  I even have paint and primer that I I have never used! This is a low budget makeover and I am so happy about that

Here is a list of things I still need to do in the kitchen

paint table and chairs

add frames to wall above table and chairs

“make” and hang curtains

paint last cabinet in kitchen

FIND HARDWARE!!!

change lights

find a rug

touch up banister/railing

SEARCHING FOR HARDWARE….

Now that the kitchen cabinets are pretty much done, it’s time for me to find some hardware for the cabinets.

Let me tell you, that microwave is driving me CRAZY….. And I doubt I’ll leave the two doors off of the cabinets flanking the sink.

Here are the knobs and pulls I’ve picked out so far

oiled rubbed bronze cup pull

oil rubbed bronze knob

antique pewter cup pull

antique pewter knob

 

Or do you think brass would be better?

Brass would be my first choice since I have had a love affair with white kitchens with brass hardware and lighting, but I’m not sure if it would look right with my cabinets….

Before I forget, a few of you have asked about the color of my lower cabinets and the color is Sherwin Williams Intellectual Gray 7045

So, which finish should I pick????

LOWER CABINETS: Sneak Peek!

These pictures are of poor quality, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of how the cabinets are coming along.  I was a little freaked about the color being too dark, but they look great now that the doors are on.  I’m going to look for some new hardware soon, but first I need to finish the upper cabinet doors!

What do you think?!

ps, anyone like to clean floors and wanna come clean mine? I’ll buy ya lunch

CHECKLIST: Working while the paint is drying…

I am on a roll around these parts… After painting the doors to the lower cabinets and waiting for them to dry, I started priming the powder room. 

There is no time to waste!

 

By the time I cut in all of the corners and trim, the primer was dry on the cabinets and ready for me to paint them!

What has gotten me through all of this work? 2 Alieves a day and 1 Motrin PM at night

This checklist is kicking my butt, but I’m loving getting these things done.  I have a “Make your own chalkboard” post coming soon.  Also, are “drop cloth” drapes still in style?  They may be going into my living room and dining room

What are you guys up to?!

CHECK LIST: Don’t think I’m not working over here!

 

I’m trying to give you an idea of how the color looks!

Hopefully I’ll have better light for you tomorrow.  I think it looks great, but I’ve already gotten the stank eye from my husband… We’ll see what he thinks of it when I’m done.

BTW, do you think I should leave the doors off of the upper cabinets that flank the sink?  Of course I’ll only display my good dishes and all that random stuff will be moved to a new spot.  AND, I’m thinking that my microwave is getting the boot (well, maybe I’ll just move it to the pantry?)… We’ll see

CHECK LIST: PAINTING CABINETS AND SUPPLIES

Starting from where I left off yesterday, I’m here to talk about the supplies I use to paint my cabinets.  I use Whizz door and cabinets high-density foam rollers.  I love these and I use them for my cabinets, my doors, and my furniture makeovers.  They are found at Lowe’s

Gotta love Scotch Blue painters tape! Again, another must have in my stash…

I love love love Sherwin Williams paint.  I’m painting my upper cabinets in Aesthetic White 7035.  This white is not a bright white and it’s not a yellowish white either.  It has a gray undertone and it’s the color of the trim and SOME of the doors in my home (another thing to add to the check list…paint doors!)

Because the bottom cabinets get the most wear, I decided to prime them again and my go to primer is

Some prefer oil-based primer, but I decided not to go that route.  Plus I wanted to add this, I’m not painting my cabinets again because the the last paint didn’t hold up.  I’m painting them to go with the colors I painted my downstairs late last year.  I want all of my trim and wood work to be cohesive.

My go to brush is

I know a lot of people swear by Purdy brushes and yeah they are good, but I’ve never had a problem with my trusty ole Shur-Line for 6 bucks!

The little craft brush (above) is a MUST for me! I use it to get in the small spaces.  Let me tell you, these brushes are my FAVORITE when I’m painting furniture! You can find them at Hobby Lobby or Michael's.

 

So after sanding the cabinets

and wiping away the dust

and taping

I started painting!

I LOVE THIS BRUSH!

You can kinda see the difference between the two whites. The new white on the left, and the bight white on the right.  I do like the white that I had on them, but the new white is going to be perfect with the wall color!

Now, I mentioned painting the upper cabinets Aesthetic White… The lowers will be another color!  Here is a hint

It’s Intellectual Gray by Sherwin Williams7045.  I went back and forth between this color and Amazing Gray7044, but I ultimately chose the darker color.  Amazing Gray is truly amazing, but it wasn't too much of a difference with my current wall color which is SW Accessible Beige7036.

I’ve already started on the bottom cabinets.  I’ll keep you posted on the progress.  Will I be finished by Monday??? We’ll see

Happy Weekend!