Pop of Color

Our new home is all sorts of white -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing -- a blank canvas! Except beige carpet, white walls, white cabinets and white window trim was feeling a bit too sterile and we decided on our first DIY home project: painting the kitchen cabinets!

Sort of along the lines of my patience level with cooking...I get really excited about the idea and the end result, but the middle part sort of gets messy and I panic a bit. But all in all I'm pretty happy with the result!

Our beginning canvas:

First things first: color & supplies!
Nick and I decided to try spray paint and we stood in the aisle of Home Depot and picked up a bright teal. (And I suppose we were initiated into DIY projects with the ensuing 850 individual trips to Home Depot...)

Second:

Preparing the canvas. 

1. Unscrewing the cabinet doors was no small task. There were a lot of words and push-up training in order to be strong enough to unhinge these stubborn things. 

2. Sanding is a whole heck of a lot of work. First thing on our list before next home project? Power. Sander. I couldn't feel my fingers for a week or so. No big deal. 

3. I may have underestimated how MANY cabinet doors are in our generously large kitchen...there are a LOT and they are big.

4. Spray painting is sort of tricky. But it actually worked out quite nicely - but it took one coat -- dry -- second coat -- dry -- matte finish -- dry. My "this will just be a weekend project" was a bit...off. 

Overall - really excited about our new pop of color!

Part II: Chalkboard paint! 

I wanted to add a little pizzazz to the large pantry door and figured it was a good opportunity to jump on the chalkboard paint bandwagon. And I love it!