Painted counters...

Ok, so I was so tired of my counter tops .... plain boring pale beige, stained and chipped, knife marked. We've been looking at different treatments - Rust OLeum paint, The Faux Granite kits, etc.... all are cool but $$ or just not what I was thinking.....here's a "before" photo of my counters....

            Not hideous but just not what I wanted to keep ....

  Then I found this tutorial at Creative Kristi ... for how to paint your counters to look like granite! Yes you heard me right paint.....after watching the tutorial and seeing how lovely her counters were I decided to give it a shot! I love the look of granite but it's so $$ ... choose a "sample" or photo you like of a particular overall color, I knew I wanted black because I want to paint the kitchen white ... but you could do any color...

         My partners in crime....

 

Polycrylic sealer, Anita's Glossy Craft Paint (Glossy Black), Anita's Metallic Craft Paint (silver), DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic (navy Blue), FolkArt Acrylic paint (Mettallic Gunmetal Grey), Anita's Acrylic Craft paint (Charcoal)..... 1" brush (she doesn't use but I liked it for getting right along the edges), Cardboard, glove. Not pictured: paper towels, tak cloth, 60 and 220 grit sandpaper, Kilz2 primer, 3" brush for primer, ziploc bags for storing brushes between coats.

 These views are after a few coats -- primer, black, grey, black, metallic grey, silver and some blue have been daubed on. (If you are ever tempted to have your sink in the corner DON'T  it's such a pain to reach that corner to clean! -- this is also why the board across the sink, so I could paint that corner without sitting in the sink, yes I had to take it up and down but easier than the alternative!) ..... There will be a point in this project where you think .... what the heck was I thinking?! Keep going ... there will also be a point where you think ... I like THIS! and it will all of a sudden look like granite/marble.... STOP lol!  Definitely take the time to scuff sand and prime the counters, wipe with the tak cloth..... you may also be tempted to just do all one color and then the next  -- DO NOT DO THIS you will wind up with funky looking cabinets, (no I didn't just saying), the layers of daubing are what create the marble like finish as each layer when dry creates a type of resist for the next layer, especially the metallic paint which I wasn't sure about at first but I think worked well in the end! I also used the brush along the edges, and know that it will look different/brighter your contrast colors will show up more after the first coat of acrylic sealer. Once it looks the way you think you want, leave it and walk away for a bit come back and see if you think it needs more of any one color (particularly the overall one, in this case black) .... if not put on your first coat of sealer. If after that you think it's not right, don't panic you can fill in on top of the sealer and continue sealing after that! Yes I did do this....


and eventually ... you get.......

"Granite" Countertops for less than $70.00!! ta da.....

They're not quite done still need a couple coats of sealant but you get the idea...... :) I love it and it looks even better in person(my friend was totally fooled --- yes!).Just takes time but really it's not hard at all, now to paint those cabinets white and change the hardware........

Thanks Kristi!!...... Let me know what you think!

ps... the fridge is actually a past paint project as well... we used RustOLeum's stainless paint to paint our existing fridge (I should probably clear coat it) and it came out nice but warning it reeks to high heaven, seriously we spent the night in a hotel because everyone was getting headaches!! ;)

Making a house a Home...

Ok so you might not know from my blog of late but I absoloutly LOVE to decorate! Have honestly toyed with the idea of a business... this is why I really enjoyed being Programs for PWOC, I can decorate on someone elses dime and it's a new program every month! :) 

Truly though I enjoy decorating and making things look exspensive on the cheap, using items for different purposes - and if I do say so myself I'm pretty darn good at it! LOL ...not to mention easily moved, lightweight or things I don't mind getting broken or having to dispose of -- after all I AM an Army Wife! ;) I've teased Tim that I am going to write a book called "Creative Decorating for Military Wives ... or how to squeeze 2000 sq feet of stuff into 900 ..." when we retire! For those of you not in the military you might think that all military housing is the same, which would of course make sense and is therefore WRONG! LOL ... every house is a different size, shape and layout!

 So, I haven't done as much in this house as I usually do though, I don't know if it's cause we actually own it, it's larger than usual, or my hormone issues that I just didn't care (truly a nonexsistent testosterone will do that to you) but I am starting to want to again ... either it's that or the fact that we left Ft Irwin in March of 07 so techinically I should be unpacking and decorating a different house again! :) Anyhow ... Maybe you're like me and are looking for a little after Christmas inspiration.  I found some great articles on seasonal decorating here The Inspired Room, here The Nester and here Winter Mantel's if like me you have a mantel you don't always know what to do with or just want some inspiration (ours is huge! For some reason the people who put our fireplace and surround thought it needed to be big, the mantel is actually a wooden board that's 1.5x10.5x96 so it presents a bit of a challenge at times!) . We have redone our upstairs bath (twice) and I love it right now although I need to finish it (I don't know how to do the corners on the wainscotting!)...

I love Nell Hill's store but it can be a bit pricey her blog has great ideas you can adopt to a Hobby Lobby, GoodWill budget though! Nell Hill's Blog  and Gatherings on the Prairie in JC is a fun store to visit as well -- very similar to Nell Hill's but a little cheaper (although I spent $100.00 in one fell swoop on Christmas decs without meaning to!)

Where do you get inspiration? From nature, other blogs? Decorating Magazines (hey they're cheaper than hiring a decorator buy a bunch and rip out the photos you like!), or books? Other Homes? (I LOVE Christmas/seasonal Home tours for ideas! A LOT of my decorating is "stolen" - tweaking someone else's ideas to fit your home!) Do you enjoy setting a beautiful table?

Don't see home decorating as unessential -- making your house/quarters/tent/etc a home is part of making memories with your family! And hey it's easy to change! I've had teens walk into our quarters and say "I wish my Mom would do this....."  There are all KINDS of ideas out there and I guarentee the Prov 31 woman did her home! ;)

Ok so that's just some ideas/thoughts... I promise to blog more on this subject soon! Oh and I pictures soon too....(gotta get a new camera!)