Refinished Kitchen Island

If you’re a DIYer, and you’re anything like me, then you have some unfinished projects around your house. I have about a gazillion. Well, this awesome fall weather we’re having has inspired me to finish up some of these projects. First on the list? Painting and staining this island. 

It used to house our coffee machines before I added the industrial shelving unit. Once I did that I decided to use this piece as an island. And I’m still working on painting that refrigerator. (Remember all those unfinished projects I was talking about?)

This little makeover was pretty simple. I used some white paint and sandpaper for the base. Birchwood white by Valspar for the first coat  and bright white mystery paint from my basement for the second coat. By the way, this was a free sample of paint. Always check your decorating magazines for a coupon from Lowe’s. Eight ounces of free paint? Yes please.  

For the top I used a DIY vinegar stain followed by a Minwax stain in Dark Walnut. You can read more about the vinegar stain here. It creates a great ashy finish. 

Then I added some simple bun feet using straight top plates.

Before

After

No Island

Island

I always thought our kitchen was too small for an island but it actually makes it so much more functional because it gives us more counter space to work with. It’s a small change but it makes a big difference. So that’s one thing I can cross off the list! What’s on your list of unfinished projects?

Linking up at some great linky parties this week. Liz Marie Blog / DIY Showoff / Rain on a Tin Roof / The Shabby Nest  / Suburbs Mama / Domestically Speaking / Start at Home

Small Space Solution: DIY Industrial Shelves

I love our home. It’s old and has lots of old house charm but it’s also small and storage space is limited. Because of this I have always struggled with keeping things organized in the kitchen.

After I started painting the refrigerator I started thinking about ways I could make better use of the space next to it. I decided I wanted something taller and with shelves. This would allow us to keep the coffee makers where they are (which frees up counter space) and also give us more storage.

I found this at World Market for $89.99.

I love the looks of it but it just wasn’t big enough. After a little more searching I just couldn’t find anything I wanted in my price range so I decided to make one using the World Market piece as my inspiration.

I found this at Home Depot.

Gorilla Rack Free Standing Storage Unit

The metal is almost exactly the same as the World Market piece which is one reason I chose it. The second great thing about it is that it’s the perfect size for my space and third it claims to hold 250 lbs per shelf.

The makeover was really pretty easy. Spray paint my friends, spray paint. I went with a metallic silver finish because I thought it would look good next to the freshly painted black refrigerator (which is almost finished). I used a combination of the following three spray paints.

1. Brushed Nickel by Valspar
2. Dull Aluminum  by Krylon
3. Hammered Metal by Krylon

I gave it one coat of the brushed nickel followed by a coat of the dull aluminum. Then I randomly sprayed sections of it with the hammered metal. I wanted it to have dimension and look a little less new.

I didn’t want to use the particle board shelves that came with it. I wanted actual wood shelves. So I took one of the shelves to Lowe’s and picked out the type of wood I wanted from the Lumber Isle. Then I just gave the very nice wood cutter guy the particle board shelf  and asked him to make the boards the same size.

I love the people that work at Lowe’s!

I chose paint grade pine. I knew it would give me the look I was going for. So I sanded them down and stained them with one coat of vinegar soaked in steel wool then I stained them with a layer of Min-wax in Dark Walnut.

I used the scraps of  wood that were left over when they were cut to test the stains first. Always keeps the scraps so you use them for testing when using a new paint or stain.

I decided I liked the richness of the stain over the vinegar. Now if you are going to be using anything that could get these boards wet, like coffee makers,  then you will want to apply a polyurethane. I recommend Rust-Oleum Polyurethane  in matte finish. It protects the wood really well without any shine.

I let the boards dry overnight before I put anything on them.

After buying everything I needed for this shelving unit I still spent less than I would have on the piece from World Market. Plus it’s bigger and it’s the exact color that I wanted.

If you want to do something like this for your own home you can usually find these shelving units at Home Depot and Lowe’s in various sizes and styles. Home Depot offered free shipping to their store which was perfect for me. You could possibly find these on Amazon as well.

So what do you think? Would you use something like this in your kitchen or do you prefer that everything be hidden?

Have a great weekend everyone and Happy DIYing!!!

These are the fabulous blogs I’m linking up at this week.

 

Am I Crazy? Reupholstered Dining Chairs

White upholstery is scary. Granted we don’t have any children. Well, not human ones but we do have three furry ones and they love to sit on the dining chairs. And of course by sit I mean wallow. Plus there is also the whole food thing and my clumsy factor.  Well, white is what I really wanted on these chairs so I went for it. Life’s too short to worry about it. Plus, they’re just chair seats. Right?

This (below) is what I originally covered the seats with. I loved it at first, but got tired of it pretty quickly. Then, when I moved the dining furniture into another room the fabric REALLY didn’t work. So when I found some white fabric on super clearance at Hancock Fabrics I jumped on it.

I removed the old fabric with scissors, a screwdriver and pliers. Then, before I cut the fabric I measured the width and length of the seat to determine how much fabric each seat would need.  You basically just measure the width and length then add about six inches to each side.

Then I ironed the fabric and started stapling. I hate using the staple gun. I’m always afraid I’ll point it in the wrong direction and lose an eye.

Keep in mind when you go around the corners you have to kind of pull and gather the fabric so it pleats and you don’t get any wrinkles that show on the top.

Then I cut all the excess fabric off. This is when you cover the bottom of the seat with another piece of fabric so everything is nice and tidy. Yeah, haven’t done that yet. In fact I’ve only recovered one chair so far, which is why the whole table isn’t pictured.

I think the white fabric looks so much better with everything else going on in this room.

Pretty soon I will have this table and chairs totally finished. You can see what it used to look like here.

So do you think I made the right choice?  Do you use white upholstery in your dining room?

I need to know these things :)

Happy Weekend!!

Hope Chest Turned Dining Room Bench

 So I totally lucked out on this hope chest. It was a freebie from someone who just wanted to get rid of it. Well it just so happens that it’s perfect for my dining room. Not only can it be used as storage but I can pull it up to the dining room table as seating when we use the leaf.

 It took me forever to decide what I wanted to do with it but I finally figured it out. This is what it looks like now.

I could have just painted the whole thing but I just wasn’t feeling those floral carvings. So I painted everything but the front panels with two coats of white chalk paint then I lightly distressed it.

Then, I went to Lowe’s and bought a small sheet of birch ( I think ?) and had them cut it into four small pieces that were cut to fit each section. Then I tried to distress them a little using a rock and a hammer but I  almost broke one of them so I made myself  stop. (I got a little crazy with the hammer).

Then I applied a steel wool and vinegar solution similar to what I did to my dining table only this time I didn’t use tea. After I applied the steel wool/vinegar I applied an uneven coat of dark pecan stain. I was hoping to give it a little bit of a weathered look.

Then all that was left to do was apply the panels to the chest. I like E9000 glue for this type of project. If you use it just be prepared to smell it for weeks. It’s really strong.

Before:

After:

I’m still playing around with the pillows and the accessories on the shelves. I can’t decide if it needs color or not. I kinda love the coral with it.

So happy I can mark another dining room project off my list!! One of these days I WILL finish this room.

I’m linked up at

 http://www.lizmarieblog.com/

and

http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/