Kitchen Cabinet Makeover: Part II

I left you on Part I of this project with my father-in-law painting doors in the freezing cold garage (did I mention what a trooper he is?). - If you missed Part I, you can catch up here.

Once the everything had 2 coats of the chalk paint, I went back and sealed everything with one coat of Minwax water-based polycrylic for a few reasons. One, I have experience with it. Two, it is more durable for something that will get a lot of use, like kitchen cabinets, than the wax that is recommended for chalk paint. And third, I went with a water-based rather than an oil-based to avoid the cabinets yellowing.

Once everything was FINALLY painted and sealed, I got to hang it all back up! It was so nice to again hide the mess that is inside of our cabinets (which I begrudgingly shared in Part I - but hey, gotta keep it real). 

For hardware, I went with oil rubbed bronze, which is a current favorite finish of mine. I like the look of pulls for drawers (we got these) mixed with knobs for doors (we got these), so that's what I went for! I ordered online from Lowes.com because my local Lowes didn't have as many as I needed in stock. They finally arrived, and when Spencer had a couple of free nights, he measured and made two templates - one for the drawer pulls and one for the door knobs. Clever, isn't he?

He marked where the holes needed to be drilled with a pen, and went back in and started drilling. I followed behind him putting the knobs and pulls in place. Easy, peasy!

Are you ready to see the final results?



Are you sure?



Are you really sure??



Ok...here we go!

What do you think? Is this a project you would take on?

What DIY projects are on your list?


Until next time - - 

Kitchen Cabinet Makeover: Part I

Update: You can see Part II of the Cabinet Makeover here.

In April 2013, Spencer and I purchased our first house. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with a small fenced in yard. The first viewing, we both felt very strongly that it was meant to be our home. One thing I just couldn't get past (which of course didn't keep us from buying, as it was changeable), were the kitchen cabinets. They were your average, builder grade "oak" cabinets. They also had no hardware, which I thought was strange (and after living with them, I would get irritated when I'd open a drawer and it would catch my fingernails). 

Christmas Decor Envy

Do you ever scroll through Pinterest and other blogs to see others' Christmas decor and think "that's cute, but my house looks way better!"

Yeah, me either.

Having been married less than 3 years, we are still growing our baby collection of Christmas decorations. (I got Christmas dishes from my parents this year - an early gift - and we have used them EVERY day since we got them! Thank goodness for dishwasher safe dishes). 

One of my favorite blogs for holiday decor is Dixie Delights. Amanda always does the cutest things with her decor (and fun things for her 2 boys), and I can't tell you how many of her posts I have saved to refer back to.

Recently, she posted pictures of her home all decorated for Christmas. If this doesn't put you in the mood for the holidays, nothing will! I think that as I build my collection, I will probably use her home for a bit of direction and inspiration. Also, I think she and I could totally be besties ;)

Check out here Christmas decor here, and in the meantime, I'll work on being inspired and keeping my decoration-envy at bay (it's a real thing. I will have to ask my pharmacy friends for a treatment).

Thanksgiving Tablescape

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only 3 days away? I can't! But I do feel well prepared. We have our menu planned (I can't wait to share with you!), and have somewhat of a schedule worked out. 

One of the aspects of Thanksgiving I used to overlook was a tablescape. Shame on me! It can really set the stage and tone for a delicious meal. This year, we have a white and metallic theme planned. The only item on this list that we have the exact items of are 2 of the Pier 1 mercury glass pumpkins - they were on clearance! Run over and see if there are any left. I am telling you, they're gorgeous!

The remaining items are acting as inspiration for our table, and luckily we have similar items on hand to use.

As you can see, we are doing both silver and gold for our metallics. Mixing the two can make for a very sophisticated feel! And since we're doing a Biltmore themed dinner, sophistication is definitely in order. 

:)

What are your Thanksgiving tablescape plans?

Thanksgiving Tablescape by yellowdoordiaries featuring a 5 piece flatware set

Green lamp / Sferra white linen table cloth / L Objet colored dinnerware / 5 piece flatware set / Table linen / Silver plated napkin ring / Zara Home dinnerware / Silver candlestick / Pier 1 Imports modern home decor / Apple home decor


And if you haven't already, don't forget to enter the Two Drifters Designs giveaway! See how here.