A Facelift - the Cabinets & Counters
Brooke With An E was very much a child of the 70s…she had the classic brown cabinetry throughout and it was very dark in the already tight space. I knew I wanted to change out the floor (there were two layers of linoleum on there!) and give a good paint over the brown wood to brighten up the space.
First I removed all of the doors, hardware, and the cover over the propane furnace. I gave the hardware a coat of black spray paint, and the furnace a coat of high-heat spray paint (I honestly didn’t know if it needed it, but I wanted to be safe rather than sorry!). I also removed the burners from the stove and cleaned the rust off, smoothed the existing paint out, and coated them in the same high-heat spray paint. On the doors and walls, I dug out the Milk Paint I used in my kitchen remodel earlier this year (a creamy linen), and put several coats over the brown wood.
I had decided that my theme would be “the outdoors” - specifically the woods and rivers. So I dug out my acrylics and began dry brushing various shades of blue, green, and gray over the linen doors. I didn’t follow any kind of pattern, just added colors as they felt they needed to be. In the second photo, you can see the first door with it’s first coat of colors dry brushed on - the second door has some of the linen Milk Paint dry brushed on top of the colors to blend them and soften the edges.
For those that are unfamiliar with dry brushing - it’s super easy and super forgivable! Just add paint to your brush, and then brush most of the paint off on a rag or paper towel, then brush over your canvas. If you’ve added too much paint, you can smooth it out with the base color on top - likewise, if you’ve blended out too much of the colors with your base paint on top, you can paint more color in! Just keep experimenting. The final picture above shows the finished door.
The ice box cover also got the same treatment as the cabinets, and several layers of Milk Paint were rolled onto the walls, the benches, and above the counter. I taped off the black trim as I liked how that popped and wanted to keep that look. I didn’t bother with the tops of the benches as those are usually covered with cushions, nor did I mess with the inside of the cabinets. Pulling off the tape at the end was as satisfying as I thought it would be - doesn’t that black just pop?! (By the way, I didn’t bother with keeping the paint off the floor since I was planning on removing the linoleum in the next project)
The brittle, tan, ugly t-moulding was easily pulled out of its track with a needle-nose plier. That gross stuff was tossed so fast! Then, I installed the new countertop to cover the yellow/tan formica. I simply used a Grey Granite vinyl to go over the existing counter.
This stuff couldn’t be easier - and it’s also so forgiving! I chose a pattern that I didn’t have to worry about matching up since I knew a lot of scraps would be created when I did the sink/stove counter. Clean the surface well (I used vinegar and a magic eraser to do the dirty work) and make sure there are no bumps or grease. Measure the vinyl over the space and give a little allowance for the edges. Then peel a corner from the back of the vinyl and slowly start to adhere it to the existing counter. Work slowly and push out the bubbles as you work - if you need to, you can pull up a little of what you’ve already set down and readjust if necessary. Use a credit card to help push out the bubbles. I put the edges down over a bit since the new t-moulding didn’t come right up to the top of the counter, and I wanted to be sure to hide the unfinished mdf counters.
I really liked how the granite vinyl looks with the cream and the black hardware. Almost wish I went with the marble pattern, but I think that would have been really tough to work with when I did the sink.
Speaking of which, before putting the vinyl down around the sink and stove, I gave the stainless steel a good scrub. Once again, a magic eraser did all the work and the sink was sparkling new! I removed the faucet and started laying out my vinyl. You really can’t see the seams unless you’re looking for them. Some of the blogs covered the big spaces like sinks with the whole sheet of vinyl and then cut out the sink, but I opted to just go around the edges. I cut the vinyl a little wider than I needed and then used a utility knife to cut around the edges.
My roll of granite was just enough to cover the counter and backsplash! I only have enough scraps left over to use for patching if necessary. What’s great about this stuff is that if I decide to go for that marble look down the line, I can easily remove this stuff and put something new on!
I love how bright and fresh it all looks in there now - nothing like a new facelift in a coat of paint!
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