Kitchen makeover. Here I go...again!

A little over a year ago, I remodeled the house that we had lived in for 18 years.  Then...I sold it.  Bummer!

But, I bought a new house...okay, not so new.  I've lived here a year.  I've painted the bedroom, the living room and the hall.  I stained the deck this summer....remember the heat and  all the whining, the crying, the foot stomping?

And...to all of you who read my blog and have stuck with me...you're good friends!

And if you stick with me through this, well...bless your hearts, you've got stamina!

So...this is what's happening:

I hate my kitchen cabinets, but really don't have the money, nor do I want to spend that much (between $3000-$6000) to fix them.  Hubby doesn't want to do anything with them (big shock, huh?)  I looked into re-facing, re-finishing, and...gasp...new cabinets!  Not gonna happen!

The problem:                         

                     

There is too much damage and too many cabinets.  I didn't want to spend weeks stripping, sanding and priming.  I knew I couldn't just paint, because it would 'slip' off or give me the same effect that is on there now.  So what's a girl to do?

The solution: 

RUST-OLEUM Cabinet Transformations

I know, right?  I had never heard of it either!  Found it at my local hardware store when I was looking for other solutions!

What is  it?

                                        

                                         

It's a kit...I paid about $80 and bought 3 to do my kitchen cabinets, drawers, and island.  I may have to buy one more...the island is pretty big!  There are two kits...one for dark cabinets and one for white.  There are also two options...glaze or no glaze...I chose no glaze and I chose the dark color kit.

What's in it?

                                              

and a DVD.   If you plan to do this...watch it!  Seriously!

Quickie instructions:

Step 1:  Degloss and clean.

Step 2:  Apply bond coat.  (color)

Step 3:  Apply glaze for wood grain, etc.  Optional

Step 4:  Apply protective top coat.

Final product: 

                                           

(If you click on the picture...you will see what I was dealing with!)

(*I will probably get cup pulls for the drawers.)

Why did I go dark? 

Even though it looks black  (YIKES!), it's really espresso...dark brown.  It looks good with the orange countertops...sorta Tuscan-looking!  I thought about white...and all the kitchen makeovers I've seen on the internet are white.  Well...you know me!  Dare to be different!  I'm still debating on whether to paint the island a different color...maybe white?  (I'm also considering wainscoting on my walls in my kitchen and dining room...?)  We'll discuss this later!

Do I like the product? 

Heck,  yeah!  No sanding, no stripping, no primer...my kind of project!  Cost wise?  Good deal!

**The only drawback?  I know of no one who has tried this.  We'll have to see how it holds up to usage.

So...even though you only have a small sample to look at...what do you think?  Have I made a mistake?  Should I stop now?  Should I have gone white? 

Gotta get back to the grindstone 'cause these cabinets aren't going to refinish themselves!

Later,

Debbie