Cabinet Hardware!

I decided about a month ago that my kitchen needed some updating. My house is only about 5 or 6 years old, but when your decor has been there just as long, it's time for a change. My inexpensive plan was to remove a couple of cabinet doors to display pretty dishes, add knobs and pulls to my cabinets and drawers, and re-do the top "shelf" display area. By that I mean the big space on top of my cabinets. Today I finished the last step! The picture you see above is from Lowes, I was aiming to get something along these lines for my drawers. I love this shape! They are REALLY expensive {once you add up how many you need in all!} at Lowe's so I checked out Ikea. Ikea had the same shape, but it had a metal spacer that would make the pull stick out from the drawer. It wouldn't sit flush. Boo!! Those were about half the price of the ones from Lowe's. So...thrifty ole me went to plan B. Check out the before pictures....

Now here are the "afters"....

I improvised and picked a second choice when I was at Ikea. These knobs were $2.99 for a 2 pack!!! Score! The pulls were $5.99 for a 2 pack! By being flexible, I was able to complete my mini kitchen facelift without any buyers remorse! ;) As an extra bonus, my white cabinets won't get quite so dirty now that we have handles!

Beadboard Wallpaper

Well, I called this one! When I posted my turqouise painted beadboard wallpaper a week or so ago, I knew it wasn't gonna last. The color turned out differently than I'd hoped. It also made my dishes look a bit funky. SO...back to white we went! Even though I went from white to white, the added texture of the beadboard made all the difference!

A close up of the wallpaper.
When it was blue. (Picture a unhappy Jaime behind the camera)

I think it looks much better now! Afterall, beadboard is classicly white anyway!

Kitchen {Open Shelving}

I was inspired to take the doors off of one of my main kitchen cabinets. If you haven't checked out The Lettered Cottage, I highly suggest you do. And hold on to your hat, because you will blown away at the before and afters! Here is my messy, embarrassing "before picture". I remembered to take it after I had already started emptying it on the counter.

After removing one door.

When I asked my husband if I could do this, his first response was "will we have to buy new dishes that match?" I told him that I was just going to group the ones that do match. I only displayed the white, turquoise and clear glass items.

After living with it like this for a few days, I decided the back was too plain and washed out with the white cabinets.

I bought a roll of paintable beadboard wallpaper at Lowes. It was $15 and I have a huge roll left for other projects! It was really easy to work with. The hardest part is waiting 24 hours before painting it, like the directions said. When smoothing it out, BIG glops of glue would ooze out the bottom, which I had to wipe up with paper towels. They were gross, lets' just say they looked like something you see before you go into labor, and it rhymes with "Lucas dug". ;)

So, bright and early the next morning {before I even had my coffee!!} I taped it off and painted it.

Yes, that is a paint swatch you see in the background. I think I am like the WORST paint color picker {that's a technical term} in the world! Not that it's not a pretty color, just not what I thought it was going to be. I am going to live with it for a few days, but I might change it. Its too bright and light for me.

I love the beadboard texture even though I might change the color! Word to the wise, even if you are using the wallpaper to get a white beadboard effect you'll need to paint it white. It doesn't look that great after the glue dries, it's dark in some spots and just basically not white.