Personalized Home Decorating on a Budget

If you know me, you know I LOVE a good deal. Who doesn't?!

And if you know me really well, you know that I LOVE Walgreens.

In fact, when Jayden was in kindergarten, he did an 'all about mommy' worksheet and he said Walgreens was my favorite store.

He knows me well.

I check the Walgreens photo site weekly to see what the deals are.

I recently discovered a new product, a Wood Hanger Board Print.  

Oh this looks cute!

We moved into a new home in August and our hallway was bare.

Not a single thing on the wall except for a clock at the end.

I painted our home a clean shade of white which brightens up the home and creates warmth. However, the plain white walls were a bit sad looking for me.

I needed to hang something so I decided to give the Wood Hanger Board Print a try.

BORING!

The Walgreens Photo site is extremely easy to use. You upload your photos and add the photos to the project you choose.  It's really that easy.

Oh and did I mention they have same day pickup?!

That truly speaks to my impatient heart.  :) 

I decided to make 4 of these. These are normally 29.99 but they were 60% off.  

So that's 29.99 X 4 = $119.96

$119.96 X.40 = $47.98

I saved $71.98!!!

To hang the photos I decided on these: 

https://amzn.to/2BLmjm9

Voila! Much better!

The final price was $47.98 + 15.99 = 63.97 (plus taxes of course).

NOT BAD!

Go ahead, people. Get obsessed with Walgreens. It's fun!

And whatever you do, do NOT pay full price. 

Happy decorating!

A Bright Retro Makeover

I never knew how much I loved vintage items until moving into this house.

I love the character.  I love the history.  And most importantly, I love the blank canvas.  

It's an opportunity to put my personal touch on an item and get the

ever-so-satisfying before and after.

 

Painting furniture is a lot different from painting walls so I started small to get my feet wet. 

 

I repainted 2 coffee tables. 

 

 

And then I took on this beast:

I found this on Craigslist.

 

Here it is in the dining room. 

It looked alright but it needed something to brighten it up.

 It was too dark. The simple, cheap, but tedious solution was paint. 

 

Here's what I used:

Valspar furniture paint (color is 'du jour')

Tack Cloth

3M Sandblast Pro sandpaper (100 medium)

one paint brush

one small paint roller

 

 

Nate took off all the doors and removed the magnetic hardware.

 

 Then I sanded all of the surfaces that I would be painting.  NOTE: the Valspar furniture paint states that sanding is not necessary.  I firmly believe that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is, so I sanded.  (Valspar, I'm willing to give it a try...I'll skip the sanding...on a smaller future project). 

 

After sanding I used a hand towel to wipe down the dust.

 

Then I used tack cloth to remove any excess grime.

 

 

Ewwww grime.  You can see why this step is so important.

 

I painted 4 coats on this. 

 

Notice that we removed the back of the china cabinet top....

 

....and that's because I wanted to paint it a different color.

Tip: paint the back of the backing. The side that is inside the china cabinet is shiny finished surface which makes it the enemy. You want the dull rough unfinished side.

 

 

 Nate painted 4 coats on this.

 

And I did 4 coats on this.

NOTE: you have to wait 8-12 hours between coats.

 

YAY! putting it back together!

 

Nate putting the doors back on.

 

TAHHH DAHHHH!

 

so happy and bright :)

 

Funky retro. :)

 

Of course I have before and afters...

 

you guys know I live for the before and after. ;)

 

 

 

Fugly to Fabulous Air Vent

From day 1 this vent has bothered Nate and me. 
It's hideous. It's fugly (blogger wants me to believe that fugly is not a word....oh silly blogger).

 

We could see right inside the vent even if we flipped it around.  

I looked on the internet for prettier vent covers and found several.  However, spending $200 on a vent cover did NOT seem worth it.  So we made our own.  Here is how we did it....

First, here is a list of supplies:

Wood screws

Cloverleaf aluminum sheet

Wood molding

Flat phillips wood screws

Corner braces

spray paint

We purchased the aluminum sheet from amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LNJYOE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Corner braces

wood screws

 

We cut the aluminum sheet and made it smaller.  

Then we cut the trim for the outside.  
(Beer is a must for any project--add that to the supply list)

We used the fugly vent as guide.

 

Next, we screwed on the corner brackets.

Then we used a staple gun to put the aluminum sheet in place.

We didn't put screws in the inner corner holes
of the bracket because placing screws so close to 
the edge of the wood might cause splitting/cracking.

Almost done.

Now use my favorite item in the whole crafty-do-it-yourself world...
SPRAY PAINT!

and there it is!

way better. :)

fugly to fabulous.

Our Cabinet Transformation...FINALLY!

First, let me start by saying that there was nothing wrong with the cabinets.  When I was first saw them I had an 'ehhh' reaction (insert Greek/Italian hand gesture and facial expression).

After almost a month of painting the entire interior of the house I was hesitant to start a new project.  My mom tried to talk me out of it. Nate was hesitant.  Hell, I was reluctant. 

But I went for it.

I read a LOT of reviews and how-to blogs about painting cabinets and decided to use Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations Kit. 

The biggest selling point of this kit is that it eliminates the sanding process (don't worry I'll explain how).

The project is a 3 step process (4 steps if you use the optional decorative glaze).

THE SET UP

 Before you begin, take off all of the doors and drawers.  Tape off edges on the walls to avoid getting product on the walls.

Initially, I set up the cabinets standing up like this:

I found that this position was difficult to paint on.  It causes drips in the paint and if you are leaning the cabinet against plastic it will most likely stick to the plastic a little.

Instead I repositioned the cabinets like this:

 

STEP 1 - Cleaning and deglossing 

Clean the cabinets thoroughly.  I used warm water and Pine-sol. This process takes time.  For 21 cabinets and 6 drawers, cleaning took about 2.5 hours.  Be sure to clean off grease that may be on kitchen cabinets.  

Next is the deglossing process. This is the part that replaces the traditional step of sanding. The kit comes with scrub pads and liquid deglossing formula. Scrub the liquid onto the cabinets.  This preps the cabinets so the paint will adhere properly.  

Scrubbing action:

After scrubbing you will need to wipe down any excess liquid deglosser.  You will be surprised to see how much liquid remains on the cabinets. Here is what I wiped away on one cabinet:

TOTAL TIME FOR STEP 1: ABOUT 4.5 HOURS

STEP 2 - BOND COAT

The bond coat is the color stain.  We chose the color Kona.  It's the darkest brown you can get.  

This step is time consuming because it requires 2 coats.  

You start by painting the frames first then move on to the cabinets and drawers.  

I would describe the paint as thicker than stain but thinner than standard wall paint.  

I didn't tape the hinges of the cabinets because mine aren't completely flush to the wood so I could maneuver the brush under it carefully like this:

TOTAL TIME FOR STEP 2: ABOUT 9.5 HOURS

STEP 3 - PROTECTIVE TOP COAT

This step scared me.

There were so many reviews that said that the top coat product was crap.

 Many of them opted to buy standard polyurethane.

I started at a spot that wasn't in a high traffic area...just in case I wasn't pleased with the results. 

The consistency is much thinner than standard lacquer.  It is a milky white color which was the main complaint of other reviewers.  Once you start painting it and do back and forth brush strokes, the white color clears up and evenly coats the area. 

Here is my one complaint about the kit and this particular step: they say to start with the back of the of the cabinets.  I do NOT recommend that.  Being that the protective coat is rather thin, it's really hard to prevent dripping. 

So let me walk you through the final hours of this project....

I'm exhausted, physically and mentally.

It's like I'm on the final mile of a race and I can see the finish line.  

I am about to paint the front and final side of the cabinets and drawers.

I give a little speech to Nate and my Mom and went a little something like this..."after hours and hours of hard grunt work, I am about to put the final coat on these cabinets...I'm am so excited".

I walk outside, flip over the cabinets and discover this:

 Excess protective coat from the back of the cabinet door that dripped to the front and dried up.  

ahhhhhhhh!!!! 

I had to use a sanding block to sand off the damage, then repaint those areas TWICE and then finally do the last damn coat.  

TOTAL TIME FOR STEP 3: ABOUT 6 HOURS.

Would I recommend this kit to others? ABSOLUTELY!

A couple tips:

• Set up the doors and drawers on tables. Otherwise you will spend hours squatting awkwardly like I did (hellooooo BenGay).
• Make sure you have good lighting.  Our garage is poorly lit so I had to touch up several spots that needed more paint.  
• Be realistic.  This is a DIY project. It will take time, patience, and dedication.

TOTAL TIME FOR THIS PROJECT: 20 HOURS.

Was it worth it?

I think so. ;)