another little peek into my kitchen

Originally I was going to paint all of the lower cabinets in my kitchen a different color than the upper cabinets, but because I really want my island area to stand out I decided to paint all the cabinets, excluding the island, in my kitchen the same creamy white. The island...well, that color is yet to be decided.

Here are a few pictures of my newly painted lower cabinets. Beadborad and mouldings were added to just two cabinet doors, I am trying to achieve a "created over time" look.

Here is a picture of what my kitchen looked like just a few short days ago

If you'd like to how to achieve the look of my painted and glazed cabinets, here is step-by-step instructions:

Supplies used:
*TSP
*sandpaper
*electric sander
*beadboard
*decorative mouldings
*liquid nails
*finish nails
*primer
*Martha Stewart "Heavy Cream" paint
*Paint brushes and paint roller
* Wipe-on Poly *Valspar glaze in "Mocha"

I first thought long and hard about how I would accomplish a more custom and updated looking cabinet. I came up with a plan that included beadboard, mouldings, paint, glaze and new hardware.

Now to really get started...

First you'll need to prepare your cabinet's surface by cleaning it with TSP and sanding it thoroughly. I used an electric sander to make the job easier and quicker, but you could always sand it by hand too.

Next I measured and cut two pieces of beadbord and then glued it, using liquid nails, to the recessed part of my cabinet doors. Finally, I finished it off by framing the beadboard with a decorative a moulding.
Now it's time to prime. I used two coats of primer and then waited until the next day to apply the paint. I used two coats of paint as well. 24 hrs. later, when the paint was completely dry, I sanded the cabinet just a little bit to smooth out any rough spots or drips.



You're almost done now...the glaze is so easy to apply. All you need to do is either wipe or brush a coat of glaze on, wait a minute or two and wipe some, most, or all of it off depending on how worn you want it to look.
The directions on the back of the glaze say to wait one week after glazing to apply a clear protective coat. I used a wipe-on polyurethane.

I am so happy with the end result...a beautiful, updated cabinet for very little money!

Please click on the links on my "Favorite Places to Link" page to check out the linky parties that I have joined.

Thanks for reading!!!