Space Above the Cabinets and More Groupings

People really seem to struggle with ideas for decorating above cabinets. If you have soffits above your kitchen cabinets, then you know what I mean. I can't tell you how many times I've arranged, rearranged and struggled to find "just" the right flow. My friend seems to get it right. Here are some photos.

It's all about grouping, themes and spacing. Don't forget to line those tops with newspaper. Once a year, take up the paper and replace. It will save you a ton of work-and boy does it get dusty up there.

Christy

01 02 12

Easy Furniture Refinishing

I've done plenty of pieces of furniture, in many different ways. Strip, sand, stain and seal. Sand, paint and glaze. Sand and paint....etc. Faux finishes, painted finishes, stencils and more. But some people don't have the time or the head to go through the steps or the additional work. And let's face it, who wants to sand anyway???

My friend recently wanted to refinish her kitchen set. It was solid wood with a light oak finish. She picked up this product made by Rustoleum and decided to give it a try. It's a complete kit with everything you need to complete you project. I have to say -the results were astonishing. No sanding involved!! Wow. Now that's easy. Below is the product. It cost her about 80 bucks. It comes in all different colors and finishes. It also gives you a choice of opaque or solid.
I just wish I could have gotten the picture of the "before". Just remember, it was a light oak color. As per my friend, she had to clean the furniture with something that was included in the packaging. Apply the finish and then apply a sealer (all included in the kit). If your finish is "opaque" then you apply a glaze. Her finish was solid, so applying glaze was skipped. Here is a photograph of the kitchen set all finished.

Another view.

She selected a black color and the photograph shows the wonderful results she got. My question to her was, "how does it hold up?". The answer was "great". So far, it's held up very nicely. No chips or undercoat showing through and she did this 8 months ago. FYI-she has three kids!! That should tell you something about durability.

She did another project using the same product on two tables in her living room. In this case she picked a brown color. Below-the results. This was also a "solid" color.

What I love about this product.

No sanding.

Easy.

A variety of colors to choose from.

Not really that expensive for what you get.

Durability.

If you would like to view some more information on Rustoleum's product, check this out. The actual product name is Cabinet Transformations.

I'm toying with the idea of using this product in my office on build in cabinets that are currently white. Maybe..........

Christy

01 02 12

Changing The Look of Kitchen Canisters

Exactly why are canisters so hard to find? I looked around for a set for a long time before I found three in Kirkland's. They weren't great, but they were the right color and functional, that's all I was looking for anyway.

However, the tops were cheap, quickly broke and looked like crap. Take a look:

The plastic tops cracked and just looked cheap to me. I thought about a way to make the tops look like a better match to the kitchen and provide a richer feel. I purchased three decorative wood disks at the craft store, on sale $1.00 each and painted them with acrylics. I selected several colors that would compliment the bases and just changed the position on each top.

Check it out below:

After they were finished I put three coats of Rustoleum Triple Thick spray on them. I love this stuff!! I gives you a "glass" finish and dries very quickly. I've been able to get it at Walmart for a pretty reasonable price.

At least I don't have to go out and buy more canisters now. These now look like I wanted them to look like in the first place. The lesson learned here is that you can sometimes fix up something, add to it, subtract or embellish it to make it what you want it to be.

More Clipboards....

I've also painted another clipboard. Clipboards make a great canvas for painting. I got the idea for this picture from a photograph on the Internet and then just added, subtracted and rearranged some of my own ideas. This also has at least 5 coats of the Triple Thick Gloss. Although you can't see form the pic, the surface looks like glass.

This clipboard was actually a lot of work, but I did a little at a time and had some fun with it.

01 02 12