I finally did it!

This May will mark our 8th year in this house, believe it or not. We moved in just after Baby #1 turned a year old, and I was about 6 weeks pregnant with Baby #2. Of course, being a first time homeowner, we had a lot of builder-grade everything and I woke up every morning with the burning desire to paint every wall in our new abode a deep, rich color. Fast forward almost 8 years, and I'd like to think that I have matured and mellowed quite a bit. Our walls are much more neutral and we have marks and scuffs of much love from living as a family of seven in our sweet, albeit shrinking, home.

Now, I'll be the first to admit, I am a home junkie.  I think growing up as the daughter of an architect and touring great homes and building sites had a fantastic affect on me. The smell of drywall is easily one of my favorite smells ever.  Anyway, I've noticed a growing trend of painted cabinets on HGTV, on Pinterest, in home magazines, etc. (Check out my Pinterest page for some of my favorite home ideas.) My kitchen cabinets were a medium oak-y color, but the finish was not wearing well with our large family dynamics. I knew I had to face my fears and help my poor cabinets a little. Why "face my fears"? Well, like I said, I grew up around a lot of spectacular homes and the term "resale attributes" is something I think about everytime I bring out my hammer or the paint or my drill. "What if I screw it up?" What if it looks terrible?" "These are solid wood cabinets! What if I'm ruining them forever?"

Well, 2 weeks ago, I put the "what if's" behind me and dove in. I sanded, primed, sanded, painted and repeated. I still haven't sanded after the first coat and applied the second coat, but it's coming very soon. My family was really tired of not having drawer fronts and cabinet doors and they wanted their dining table back, so I'm taking it one step at a time.

 Can you see the huge difference? It is almost like night and day! It is spectacularly bright in our kitchen and so much more cheerful than that oak-y brown stain. You can also see that old brown color in the above shot where I haven't done the spot under the cabinets, but believe me it will be done soon.

I used Kilz oil-based no-odor primer (highly recommended) and Olympic oil-based semi-gloss in 'Horseradish'. My original paint chip was Valspar's 'Bay Oyster' ~ I love that name~ but 'horseradish' was the closest shade that Olympic could match.

I even picked up some better cup pulls for my drawer fronts when I was they were clearanced at Target.

(Clearly I also need to use my camera tripod more often.)

So there you have it. The mini kitchen make-over that cost lots of hours and hard work, but only about $40 and gave new life to the hub of our home.