Well Hello there! Let me say a belated Merry Christmas to you and Happy New Year! I’m feeling so much better now and almost out of the woods. Still ridiculously tired… but that comes with the pregnancy territory.

Continuing with my Kitchen Makeover series, I have a few more tips and lessons learned to share with you regarding the cabinet painting process. To view the first two posts of this series click, 1. Kitchen Reveal, and, 2. Kitchen Makeover 1.1.

Using a Paint Sprayer:
Click here for a link to the spray gun that I purchased by recommendation of the employees at my local hardware store. They said it was the best one they had on the lower end scale and considering that I’m not a professional house painter and only need the gun for my home DIY projects, I was told that I didn’t need anything more heavy duty than this. You’ll need to practice on cardboard or scrap wood before going for your cabinets. It takes a little bit to get used to the gun and make the right adjustments. The only downside that I found to this sprayer was that it needed to be cleaned out very frequently or the paint starts to clump a little bit. Not sure if this is a common problem with other sprayers, but it’s an issue that I ran into. Other than that, it did a fine job.

Caulking:
One of the most important tips that I will give you for this project is to CAULK YOUR SEAMS/CRACKS! It seems like such a little thing to mention, but I’m telling you it makes such a huge difference. Caulking properly will give your cabinets the finished and more high-end look opposed to a cheep job. After you paint that first coat, you will notice every seem and crack will start to show. I would recommend that you get a paintable, kitchen/bath caulk and fill every seem, including where the cabinet meets the wall.

Hardware:
Sometimes just adding hardware alone can update your kitchen to a more polished complete look. And you don’t have to spend a lot to get the WOW factor! I found my hardware at Ikea (link here) for a fraction of the cost that I would have spend at my local hardware store. Even if price wasn’t an option, I think the look of the Ikea hardware was the best choice. Since I was working with existing cabinetry that didn’t reflect the modern styling that I prefer, I chose a very contemporary long and squared-off hardware handle. This added a modern effect and enabled me to almost camouflage the traditional shape of the cabinets. The stainless steel on the hardware complemented the existing appliances and the contemporary backsplash.

In my last post of this series, you may remember my little rant about the irritating “paint dust” that comes with the use of a spray gun. Since that post, a more experienced friend of mine told me a tip to solve that problem. It sounds like common sense to me now, but sometimes we need be told the answers! Basically, tape your clear plastic drop cloth to the ceiling and drape down to create a “wall” border around your work area… thus no paint dust escaping to the rest of your home. Why didn’t I think of that? Genius I tell you!

Now that my cabinets are painted, I absolutely love them and I’m so so happy that I did it… despite all the hard work! Your wondering now if you should tackle this project yourself or hire a professional? I guess it depends on who you are. I am not a perfectionist, so this was a “good enough” result for me. The finish is smooth and it looks good both from a distance and close-up. But if you start to really look and inspect the paint job, you will find imperfections (which is okay for me). If your a type-A personality, you may want to hire a professional. I seriously got to the point where I just wanted it done and didn’t want to spend another dime on paint. Next up in this series, I’ll be sharing the details of backsplash installation!
Lots of love,
Mary

This week my pregnancy has finally caught up with me… I’m so T.I.R.E.D! Not to mention emotional stuff and the fact that I think I may be coming down with something (fingers crossed that my body is just tired and its not a cold)! Feeling yuck, so I’m just going to go sit on the couch now… just being honest with you my friends! It’s time to rest and take care of baby boy.

I’ve got a lot of things in the works, but as I’ve found myself now in the 3rd trimester, I’m taking the advice that has been given to me from many of my friends and family… SLOW DOWN! “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and neither will my business.
Lots of love,
Mary

It’s been one of those unexpected emotional days and as much as I try and fool myself that it’s the pregnancy, lets all be honest here! To top it off, as I sit down at my computer this evening, I find that I don’t like any of the photos I took over the last couple days. <insert sad face> I must redo them tomorrow. In any case, It dawned on me that I didn’t share with you some ridiculously exciting news! A couple months ago, the HGTV blog, yes I said the HGTV BLOG featured one of my custom painted desks! I know huh?!?! You can view the article here.

The famous piece, was named Wentworth because of his obvious “cool” factor. Click on the photo to view the original tutorial post.

The funny thing is that I didn’t even know about the HGTV post until many weeks later and was in complete shock! Remembering Wentworth inspires me to paint stripes again….Hmmmm…
Lots of love,
Mary