Modern Farmhouse kitchenette Black kitchen cabinets

Honey Oak to Black French Farmhouse-

The challenge here was to design an existing kitchen to blend with our massive bar/pub and game room. Our basement was very country looking, with a lot of orange tones. It has a lot of natural lighting and is a walk out. So we really went with a dark tone in the walls, cabinets, and ceiling.

We didn't want to replace any of the appliances or countertops, but I couldn't live with the honey oak cabinets. We don't cook a lot to justify spending the money to redo the entire kitchenette, so we went with a color palette to incorporate the space we currently have with our pub themed basement.

Added a veneer backsplash to give the room some texture. Wayfair sells this in peel and stick. Super easy to apply.

Our new kitchenette has tons of texture. I wanted to blend with our existing countertops and not replace the granite that was there. The backdrop of warm tones is a great base for decor and it will be a fun space to easily change up with the seasons.

The stain on the shelves is vinegar stain, which brings out the natural grain in your woods, while aging it. For the details on How to achieve that look  here

We added farmhouse brackets and chunky shelves to give the kitchenette and updated look with more storage.

The shelf brackets came from amazon here

I used peel and stick wallpaper for my drawers and drawers. It’s so much thicker and luxurious then using contact paper. They have a much larger selection of colors and patterns too, then what you’ll find in contact paper. Here is the one I choose.

White was my first choice for the honey cabinets, but half way thru the painting I derailed and re-painted the cabinets in black. We have a lot of natural lighting so the area isn't dark it all. The transformation has actually helped the space feel more homey and welcoming.

We added the same veneer to the back of the island.

Here is the other side of the basement. Our pub style bar in progress. We opened up the basement by having  the drop ceilings removed and sprayed flat black.

Before it was just okay. I am not a fan of anything honey oak. The cabinets were in great shape we just needed to add some color.

want to know where to get the backsplash?  I linked the one we purchased here

The shelf brackets came from amazon here

The stain on the shelves is vinegar stain here
 

The paint color for cabinets is Dark secret Behr 

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

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Cleaning the Farmhouse porcelain washboard sink

 

I am not an expert in cleaning these sinks, But the sink I had found at the side of the road had no cracks or chips in the porcelain.  So these are the products I used to get my sink back to working order and shiny again.

                                                                   

The products I used

-gloves

-scrub brush

-CLR here,

- Household Bleach

-Comet here

-bar keepers friend Here

-Magic Erasers here.

I soaked it with CLR first trying to loosen up any deposits and residue or rust on the tub, 

I put the stopper in the sink and poured 2 cups of  CLR then filled the sink with water. I would use a good amount of CLR to really give it good fighting chance on that grime. Use a scrub brush and give the entire sink a good scrub with the CLR. Let the CLR soak on the tub for a few hours. You can purchase it in a spray as well if you need to apply it stronger on the sink top and washboard. I just let the water sit on it from the sink.

I would come back every 15 min and take a scrub brush and try to loosen any grim on the sides of the sinks.

Drain sink and completely dry.

Now that the sink is dry  I went back and scrubbed it with bleach, just to get anything that was left. 

I did the same process with the bleach as above. Filling the sink with water and adding 2 cups of bleach to the sink. 

Let it soak for a couple of hours.

Scrub, drain and dry.

Now that I have gave the sink a good soak I went back and covered the entire sink in bar keepers friend  and really scrubbed in a circler motion. The comet did a lot to the finish on the sink it helped get it nice and shinny and any scuffs or marks really came out in this process.

Once you have scrubbed the entire sink rinse and dry well.

That should get all of all the old yuck off the porcelain sink.

Now go over it with a Magic eraser. They work great for any left over scuffs.

 I do need to from time to time give it a good scrub with the bar keepers friend  powder.

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

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DIY farmhouse style sign

I fell in love with the large family signs I see all over Pinterest, but I didn't love the price tag on it.

The large ones that I wanted cost $300 and up. So it was time for another DIY.

Supplies needed

• plywood (I used 2x4)
• stain
• black paint
• sandpaper 80 grit
• furring strips
• vinyl sticker
• nail gun
• saw

I had a scarp piece of plywood in 2X4 feet so it was the perfect size for my project.

I stained the entire piece of plywood in walnut first.

Then I went over it with black milk paint. You can purchase milk paint or just take some black paint and add water to it. For this I did half paint half water ratio. 

I brushed the black milk paint over the stain. 

Let dry

 I didn't take pictures of the process, but once the milk paint dried I just lightly sanded the entire top of the board. You can do this either more aggressively or lightly just depends on how much you want it to be destressed. 

I do not own a cricket maker, which I know a lot of you do. So I ordered my letters off of Esty. I ordered the last name to fit the width of the board. 

Applying the vinyl making sure to center it on your wood. Then peel away...

 For the trim I used furring stirps. Home depot has them for $2 a board. I needed 3 for my sign. Cut the sides first, We used a chop saw to cut the boards. The boards are thin enough you could use a hand saw if you don't have a chop or circular saw.

For the finish on the furring strips I used steel wool and vinegar you can find that here 

we attached the frame with our nail gun.

hope this inspires you to try something new. Thanks for stopping by.

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

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Tutorial for painting ceramic floors

How to paint ceramic tiles

Supplies 

2 boxes of Floor coating, two different colors with glaze Here

Paint tray

2 Mini foam rollers for smooth surfaces link Here

Painters Tape

Paint trim brush

Stencils in the size of your floor tile link Here

Polycrylic here

Prep your floor first.

 Clean your floors really well and dry, make sure there is no hairs or dust left on your tiles. This is really important because they will show up in your paint. 

Tape all your trim and cabinets in the room were you are painting the flooring. Give it one more vacuum or dry swifter to make sure there is no lint or debris.

Start painting your tiles. 

Mix your paint well. Start in sections, I did a 3x4 area first, this way You can keep cleaning the tiles to remove dust or debris  as you work in sections. 

Apply your base coat color using a paint brush around the edges, trimming the outside of your floor and your grout lines.

Next you start rolling the tiles with your base color. Make sure you do two coats so the tiles are completely covered. 

Repeat with your next section.

Let dry. 

It took about 6 hours for the paint to not be tacky. Once I had the entire floor painted with the base color it was time to stencil.

The stencil pack comes with two stencils. Use one at a time that way if you stop you can use the clean one to finish your project, they aren’t really easy to clean once they get full of paint.

Get your second color ready for your stencil.

Lay your stencil on the tile using your grout line as a guide to keep your stencils straight and uniform.

Do not tape your stencil down. You will just run the risk of pulling up the base paint since it hasn’t quite cured yet.

Roll your paint roller into the paint, but makes sure you don’t have too much paint on your roller or it will smudge and leak thru your stencil.

This is a good time to practice on a piece of card board, in a closet or behind your appliances before you try your first tile.

I did my practice behind the washer and dryer. First few too much paint. 

Once you have the right technique with rolling your stencil you can’t start on your actual tiles.

It’s always better to use less paint, you can always replace your stencil and match up the design on a tile to redo if you need to darken the stencil pattern then it is to take off paint.

Work first your 3x4 area, doing every other tile, (this way your not touching the freshly painted tile)

They dry pretty quick, so just keep moving along the pattern.

One you have finished the area go back and do the stencils on the unpainted tiles.

Repeat in sections until your floor is finished.

Now since this is stencils they won’t be perfect or all the same but that it’s what makes them look so unique

Once you have finished stenciling all the full tiles you will have have tiles around your trim and cabinets. This is the tricky part. I let the paint dry completely for 6 hours.  The stencil doesn't bend well to get a clean finish. I cut  the stencil in different edges and corners to finish all the edges in the room. With your two stencils you can used all 4 sides to cut them to fit into the edges of the room. 

Let your paint dry a couple of hours make sure it’s not tacky. Dry swifter the area again to make sure it’s dry and free of any debris. 

Now you add the glaze that came with the kit.

We did apply polyurethane after we applied the glaze and it had dried. This is our exit to the garage and only way to the basement.

We let the glaze set overnight. Then applied the poly. If you are using a light color make sure to use Polycrylic, Polyurathane will yellow.

This picture was taken before we applied the poly. So the finish with the glaze still has a nice gloss to it.

I have heard that Polyurethane can be slippery when wet, so I would just do the glaze if you get a lot of water traffic. Do not use Polyurethane if your base color is white, it will turn yellow. Instead use Polycrylic.

I am very happy with the finished results. They are all perfect. But they definitely gave my laundry room a more luxurious feel and my tiles don't look dirty anymore.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope this post will inspire you to try something new in your home.

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

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Gallery walls

 Gallery walls are a good way to group items you love and display your family photos.

Here you can get matching frames to get started 

Make sure you start out with similar frames and do all your images in the same color. If you want black and white do them all in black in white.

Its pretty easy now with Walgreens website you can just send them to the store in the color and size you want printed and pick them up when they are finished.

First make sure to lay out your frames on the floor in the design you like the best. Make sure your four corner pictures of your gallery line up in a straight line. You can place any metal pieces, shelves or whatever else you want to add to your gallery on the floor as well.

Your finished product will be one big piece of art. 

At this point I take a sheet of paper and make a template of each picture, making sure to mark where the hanging clip is. This way you can hang the paper on the wall and nail right threw the paper.

I then will tape each sheet to the wall, so I can play with the different sizes to make sure its the grouping that works for me.

Just make sure each sheet of paper lines up and is level with the next one, hammer your nail wear the hanging clip would be.

Once you take each sheet down you can now replace it with the actual framed picture. 

The biggest mistake in decorating is hanging your pictures too high. Make sure the middle of your gallery is at eye level. 

I did shelves in our new home and just lean the photos against the wall. This way I can change them up as the seasons change. Or add Santa, Halloween, Easter, or which ever fun signs you like.

These shelves are perfect in the hallway. 

I am able to change them out as I please.

Here you can order white ones in 60 inches

or

Here you can order black ones in 48 inches

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Read More

Vinegar stain. Best aged wood look ever.

Supplies

• 1-quart Mason jar and lid 

• Extra-fine steel wool 

• Distilled white vinegar 

• Fine strainer 

• Paintbrush 

Making your vinegar stain

• Put the steel wool pad into a Mason jar then add vinegar, fill about 3/4 full.  I prefer to not cover the mixture (the mixture will give off gases), set aside for at least 3 days. The longer it sits, the darker the stain will become.
• Stir and then strain the mixture  through a fine-meshed strainer, some people also use a coffee filter to get any left over particles. I have not. 
• Now stain your pieces as you normally would. You can sand the wood first to get a stronger grained effect. (Always do a test piece first before staining)  
• As the stain dries it will darken. Once the stain has fully dried, seal with a wax or polyurethane finish. They say you can keep the stain for a few months, but I always dispose of any leftover, because I am not sure of the reaction of its shelf life, 

Here is a before and after of vinegar stain on new common wood.

You brush on the vinegar stain and watch it change colors and bring out all the grain and detail as it dries.

I am a big fan of aged wood and this is the best finish I have found for turning new wood into reclaimed looking wood. 

One you brush the wood And cover the entire section you will see it starts changing colors, keep moving with the stain to make sure it blends evenly.  Once you have brushed the entire piece with the stain. give it a good wipe down with a cotton cloth to remove any excess stain. Let completely dry before you wax or polyurethane.

If your ever dare to strip a piece, I prefer to sand it. It is way less messy and for some reason therapeutic to me.

I did use a furniture stripper on this one. 

What a mess. But I’m sure there are better techniques it was just my first time. I always just hit furniture with my orbit sander.

Once you get all the original color off and your down to the raw wood. You will then apply the steel wool and vinegar. You have to make it up a few days before, there are lots of different recipes out there. But I just add a fine grit steel wool pad and fill a jar with vinegar. Mason jars work the best. I don’t cover it but I know some do. I will build up gases, I just did a mixture in Tupperware and within an hour it blew the top off. Leave it for a few days and you'll have the perfect grey stain.
I love the finish more than when I have used the stains with the grey color added to them. This stain is a more natural aged look.

The stain will look different on different woods. As you can see the table I applied it to was made from 3 different types of wood, so I had to apply more on certain parts. I didn’t mind the uneven look on this project. But remember each wood type will take differently just like any other stain.

Steel wool and vinegar stain gives your wood a natural weathered or aged grey finish.

Depending on the type of wood you are staining, steel wool and vinegar stain can produce anywhere from warm reds to an aged grey finish 

This sofa table had three different types of wood, so in some spots I purposefully went heavy. Stain takes differently on different woods. So make sure and test a spot to see the color you will achieve. Once the wood was completely dry I then applied white wax over the entire piece. I wanted to have the restoration hardware type of finish with layers. You can achieve this with applying either white wax or dark wax, depending on your preference.  You can seal it with polyurethane as well. 

There are all sorts of waxes on the market. This is the one I choose to use. The link below has info on how to apply the wax and how to purchase.

Here

Also to apply the wax you need a stiff brush which you can find here

Here is  a close up of the finished sofa table. You can see the wax in the corners, the wax brings out any details and grains in the wood. 

  I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Read More