Cabinet Eye Candy

I first have to say THANK YOU so very much for all the sweet comments! All the hard work that went into painting the cabinets was worth it when reading the wonderful things people had to say.

I noticed there were a few “I’ve been thinking about painting my cabinets” comments so I thought I would share a few inspiration pictures and maybe encourage you.

This color wouldn’t normally attract me but there is just something about all the colors together that really works for me. I think the glass fronts really open things up.

ArtisticAlternatives.com

I love the glaze on these cabinets.

decorpad.com

The all white of this kitchen really makes it bright and crisp. I wish I had beautiful windows like that in my kitchen.

    decorpad.com

I love the sparkle of the subway tile backsplash, the more I see subway tiles the more I think it may be the backsplash for my kitchen. If this were my kitchen I would have painted the island black and switched the counter to lighter for contrast.

decorpad.com

White on white, it’s just so clean.

decorpad.com

I LUH-VE everything about this kitchen! The hood is just beautiful, the little cabinets at the top are soooo much better than blank wasted space and the black chopping cart I want!

decorpad.com

The pops of color from the spring flowers really stands out against the white cabinets.

marthamockford.co.uk

Are you brave? I don’t know if I’m brave enough to attempt this color on my cabinets but I think it looks so cheerful. There has to be something I can paint this color and not hyperventilate.

designerantiques.net

Black cabinets look great if you can pull them off in your space.

Hopefully you’ve picked up some inspiration, if so please come back and link up your projects (I’m a sucker for before and after pictures).

I’m going to tackle the bathroom vanity with a can of black paint, wish me luck!

Pictures are from and owned by the sites listed under each picture unless it is unknown. If the picture is watermarked with the Cheaplikeabirdie name it is copyright by me. If you own one of the pictures and wish it removed please contact me and I will do so.

 

Painted Cabinets

What do you do when you’ve got UGLY cabinets, don’t have the funds for a total kitchen remodel and really get sick of looking at those ugly cabinets?

Paint those babies!

I have to warn you the following pictures are not pretty!

Don’t ask me why I feel compelled to tell you that I don’t normally have pots and dishes on my counters but I do.

The tools were out during the molding portion of this project.Who in their right minds ever thought a big block shape of faux wood looked good enough to commit this crime. Yes I just called this a crime!

We removed all the cabinet doors and made sure to use numbered post-it notes to keep the placement right after painting.

The hard part of this whole project was finding areas in the condo to place drying cabinet doors! Well and the tears that almost flowed after the primer was applied and I was positive it was going to look that uneven in the end.

    The look of primer is NOT a first time cabinet painters friend.

We didn’t want to have to sand at all (we won’t go into how I hate it with a passion!) so we started with an oil based primer only to discover it wasn’t adhering well and cleanup was horrible. We took the paint back to the store and after grilling the paint guy for an alternative discovered the 123 primer, it worked wonderfully, clean up was so easy and it didn’t have the intense smell the oil based had.

Even though the look of the primer finish freaked me out, it was too late to turn back now so we grabbed our kitchen bath and cabinet paint and pushed onward.

I’m happy we did because I love the change it made.

It’s so much brighter now, I just love it!

 

  I LUH-VE my chalkboard menu on the end of the cabinet!Now for an inexpensive new counter top, an beautiful backsplash and a project for the blank space above the cabinets and I’ll be finished in the kitchen…….for now.

I’m linking to Met Monday, TDC before and after, Room a month, Do it yourself day, Trash to Treasure Tuesday, Get your craft on!, Toot your horn Tuesday, Penny Pinching Party, Show and Tell, Power of Paint Party, Make it Yours Day, It’s so very Creative, Timeless Tuesday, Transformation Thursday,  Thrifty Thursday,Show off your Stuff Party, Show and Tell Friday, Frugalicious Friday, Funky Junk, I made it without my hubby party

 

For the love of molding

I don’t know about you but I luh-ve molding. I am always amazed with how much of a difference a little molding can make to things.

I mentioned earlier this month how I had a builder basic kitchen that was SCREAMING for some TLC and it all started with a little molding.

The first steps to any room makeover for me is inspiration. I have a habit of clipping and saving anything that catches my eye and from the looks of my “kitchen” folder it was time to act. I noticed that every inspiration picture I had of kitchens I loved had one thing in common. Can you guess? Yep, molding.

I started out by taking a trip to the kitchen design shop to ask about this molding. I was disappointed to say the least when I was told the molding was “special order”. We all know what “special order” is code for……It’s going to cost you a FORTUNE. My cabinets were blah but the bones were good and I knew there had to be a way around it.

I spent the next couple weeks scouting the molding section of any home store I passed much to my HB’s dismay. I found styles I liked, styles I loved but none of them were constructed with an edge that would allow for cabinet installation. Special order was starting to appeal to the HB as I made one last ditch effort to the home improvement store and finally found the perfect molding.

This is my cabinet before.

Yeah remember how I said BLAH, nothing to write home about.

This is after we installed the molding.

  Is that not the most perfect, oh how I love thee let me count the ways molding!

I think this makes such a difference in the cabinets and finishes them off so they look complete instead of lacking. Did I mention we were able to do the whole kitchen for $20? I can tell you one thing, “special order” would have cost 10 times $20.

I have to admit I still wasn’t a fan of the cabinet color so come back tomorrow and see how a little paint changes the look!