makeovers | Beneath My Heart

How I Painted my Vanity with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

September 4, 2012 AT 9:36 am 47 Comments

September 4, 2012 By traci 47 Comments

Hey, friends!

I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Today, I wanted to show you how I painted the vanity in yesterday’s post.

Warning: I am not a professional painter and never will be. Smile

There is no special or secret method that I use.

Basically, I paint, I sand, I seal.

For this project, I decided to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I have attended one of Annie Sloan’s workshops on her American tour, but I have never painted a piece of furniture with her paint.

source

Although I have wanted to for a long time.

I have heard GREAT things about ASCP. The qualities I am most attracted to is that you don’t have to prime or sand a piece of furniture before painting with ASCP, and it distresses beautifully.

source

If you want to know more about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I highly suggest you reading about it HERE, from Shaunna at Imperfectly Perfect. She also sells ASCP, so if you want to purchase some, go HERE.

The color of ASCP I chose is called French Linen.

Product Image 3

source

Since I didn’t have to prime or sand, I just began painting with my regular paint brush.

When the paint is wet, it is several shades lighter than the finished color. It will dry into a deep, warm, beautiful gray.

It dries fairly quick. I painted two coats.

Then I sanded the dresser with a sanding sponge on all the raised areas.

It was late at night when I took the next two pictures, so I used a flash. That is why the paint looks like a different color.

After I sanded the raised areas, it was ready to wax.

Before you wax it, the paint looks dry and chalky.

But when you apply the Annie Sloan Clear Wax, that is when the REAL beauty of the paint comes out!

source

(For a great video on how to apply ASCP wax, watch Shaunna’s video HERE.)

Annie Sloan has awesome brushes to apply the wax, but I don’t own one. Sad smile So I just used a cheese cloth. I am hoping to buy one of her brushes soon, but they are a little bit pricey.

I was smiling from ear to ear and filling pretty giddy when I was waxing this piece.

Girls, I was falling in love. Ooh-la-la!

I cannot tell you how much I love this color of paint!

The original hardware looks amazing on this piece. It’s old tarnished brass, I believe.

Painting this vanity was exactly what this bathroom needed.

I’m gonna see how the wax holds up to water drops around the sink. I talked to Shaunna, and she said it should be fine. But if I need to, I will apply Minwax Wipe-on Poly.

That’s it!

SUPER easy.

I love ASCP! It’s pretty pricey, though. Over $30 for a quart. But you don’t have to buy primer, which is nice. It was definitely worth the extra splurge on this piece.

If you have any questions, just let me know. I’ll try my best to answer them.

Have you ever used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?

What did you think of it?

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under bathrooms, furniture makeover, makeover, makeovers, paint, Paint Colors 47 Comments

Dresser turned Vanity Makeover

September 2, 2012 AT 10:19 pm 62 Comments

September 2, 2012 By traci 62 Comments

I am soooo very excited to show you this project!

I gave you a sneak peek of something I was painting last week.

It was our bathroom vanity! You know…the one that we just re-did?

Yep! We re-did it again!

(I just started singing Brittany Spears’ “Oops, I did it again” in my head.) Smile

The second makeover turned out WAY better than the first.

Let’s take a look back shall we?

We bought this dresser at a thrift store last fall for $50.

I immediately knew that I wanted to turn it into a vanity for our master bathroom.

I was picturing something beautiful in my head. Like this…

4116784323_67f4631d69

Cy worked really hard on sanding and staining our dresser…

He added a drop in sink…

It really was beautiful. I loved it.

But as we continued to work on the bathroom, something wasn’t jivin’ and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

I loved the hard wood floors…

I loved the faux wood beams and white washed brick…

I loved the claw foot tub….

But there was something about that vanity that wasn’t sitting well with me.

I think I was having trouble with the dark cherry stain. It just wasn’t working with the walnut floor and beams.

I started thinking about painting it, but I didn’t want to tell Cy.

He was going to kill me.

But it kept bugging me.

And bugging me.

I mentioned to Cy that I sort of wanted to paint it. And guess what? I’m still livin’!

I guess after being married to me for 15 years, nothing really surprises him any more. Smile

So then I started rolling around in my head, “What color do I want to paint it?”

And here is what I decided on…

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen.

Perfection!

(If I do say so myself!)

I was able to add the original hardware back on the vanity, and it looks great.

It is the exact contrast I need between the vanity and the flooring. I was probably more giddy about this project than any other that I have done during our renovation.

I was DYING to show you guys last week! It is EXACTLY what I was envisioning for my bathroom, and I am SOOOO glad I painted it!

So here is my advice to you for what it is worth.

If something isn’t jivin’ in your décor…change it!

Trust your gut!

Just do it!

You’ll be so glad you did. I know I am. Smile

Let’s look back and the transformation of this $50 dresser…

Tomorrow, I will show you how I painted the dresser. It was super easy.

I will also give you a breakdown of the total cost of this dresser turned vanity.

So what do you think?

Do you like it better stained or painted?

Linking this project to…

and

“Show me What You’ve Got” at Not Just a Housewife

“Furniture Feature Friday” at Miss Mustard Seed

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under bathrooms, furniture makeover, makeover, makeovers, New Home, paint, Uncategorized 62 Comments

How to White Wash Brick {Bathroom Update}

August 22, 2012 AT 4:28 pm 95 Comments

August 22, 2012 By traci 95 Comments

For anyone who is new to my blog, my family lives in a 1400 sq ft ranch that we are updating and adding on to.

The addition to the house includes a master bedroom and bath downstairs and two bedrooms and a bath upstairs.

When we added our master bedroom and bath to the side of the house, I knew I wanted to leave the brick wall exposed instead of covering it up.

The only problem was the brick was not pretty. If you can see where the lamp is shining on the brick, it is very orange-y.

It looks a little darker in the picture below, but it definitely had an orange hue to it. Try as I might, I didn’t think I could decorate around orange brick.

So at about 11:30 pm the other night, I got a hankering to white wash the brick.

I posted about my idea on my Beneath My Heart facebook page, and I got a bunch of “Yeah! Do it!”

So full of courage, I mixed my wall color paint (SW Natural Choice) half and half with water.

I actually used my glass measuring cup, added two cups of water and two cups of paint, then mixed them together.

It gives you a milky consistency.

(Some people white wash with a lime and salt mixture, but not I.)

Then I just painted the brick with the mixture. Be sure to put down a drop cloth because it can get really messy!

It goes on white, but as the white wash dries, the brick color begins to show through.

Here is what the brick looked like with the first coat of white wash on it.

It looked really good, and I was excited about the process. I shared the pic on my facebook page again, and everyone gave me big thumbs up!

But the brick color still showed through a little too much for me. I needed the brick to be a little whiter.

The paint mixture had thickened up a little by the time I got to the bottom of the measuring cup, so I added a little more water. I had to do this several times. I would add a little more paint, then water it down. There is no perfect formula. You just want to water down your paint color

NOW HERE IS WHERE I FREAKED OUT!

It was about midnight, and Cy was tiling the shower next to me. I add the second coat of white wash on and the brick turned completely white.

It wasn’t pretty. I said to Cy, “Oh no! I’ve ruined it! The brick is going to be completely white!”

But there was nothing I could do at that point, so I had to finish.

Luckily, as I continued to paint up the wall, the brick below me began to dry and the brick color began to show through. WHEW! It just takes a minute for the brick to soak up the paint to give it that white washed look.

I was so relieved! And I was very satisfied with how it turned out. You can still see the detail of the brick, but it got rid of the orange color. And it gives me a more neutral palette to decorate around.

We have not finished the trim work around the doorway or the ceiling.

Cy will finish that this week.

I definitely love it! And now I cannot wait to white wash my orange brick fireplace!

I plan on doing that in the next couple of weeks. Can’t wait to share it with you!

Here is a little white washed brick “eye candy”

for you!

source

So what do you think?

Do you like the brick natural or white washed?

(You won’t hurt my feelings.) Smile

Have you ever white washed brick before?

Linking to…

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under bathrooms, makeovers, New Home, paint 95 Comments

Fireplace Mantle Headboard {for a little girl’s room}

August 9, 2012 AT 10:13 am 16 Comments

August 9, 2012 By traci 16 Comments

Hello, friends!

I hope you are having a great week!

I wanted to share with you one of the projects I completed for the Habitat House last Sunday.

I knew that I was going to need to make a headboard for Jurnei’s room, but wasn’t sure exactly what to do at first.

Can you believe that the very first day of our 5 day journey that Lindsey spotted this headboard at the Habitat Restore in Detroit?!

Brooke and Lindsey started yelling, “Traci! Traci! Come here! You’ve got to see this!”

We knew immediately that we could use the fireplace mantle for a headboard. It was the perfect size to use for a twin bed.

Here are some inspiration pictures that we found on Pinterest…

source

fireplace mantle headboard

source

Aren’t they beautiful?!

Here’s how we made our headboard:

First, Cy cut a piece of plywood the same size of the inside of the fireplace mantle.

I laid the plywood on top of batting about 6 layers thick. Then I trimmed the batting around the plywood, pulled it over the top, and stapled it to the board.

Because we were rushing to get the rooms finished before the home owners arrived, I didn’t have time to take a lot of pictures.

But I did the same thing with the green material that I did with the batting. Just pull the material over and staple it to the back of the board.

I was also wanting to make it a tufted headboard with buttons, but again, time did not allow.

I found some tutorials online for you on how to make a fireplace mantle headboard. Just click on the links below.

Cy attached the plywood to the fireplace mantle with screws, and then he mounted the mantle to the wall.

Because we were running out of time, and the family was arriving in just minutes, Cy nailed a two by four horizontally to the wall and then attached the mantle to the two by four with long screws.

We were thrilled with how it turned out!

The adorable wall decal is from Leen the Graphic Queen.

Leen donated the wall decal to us. Here is the link to the decal in her store if you would like to purchase one for yourself.

Butterfly Name Wall Decal ($20.00)

I believe that Jurnei was thrilled with her new room!

I pray she has many sweet dreams in her new bed!

Have a blessed day!

Linking this project to…

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under DIY projects, makeover, makeovers, Uncategorized 16 Comments

Budget Breakdown of the Kitchen Makeover

January 12, 2012 AT 11:59 pm 71 Comments

January 12, 2012 By traci 71 Comments

Happy Friday, friends!

I am still trying to answer the many questions about our kitchen makeover.

One of the main questions I keep getting asked is: “How much did this cost ya?”

Well, we paid approximately $3,300 for our floor to ceiling kitchen renovation.

That sounds like a lot of money!

But when you remember what it used to look like…

And compare it to what it looks like now…

I think it was DEFINITELY worth the money, don’t you?

Let’s be honest. If we had hired out all of this work, from floor to ceiling, it would have cost us about $11-12,000!

However, we did 100% of the labor ourselves, so this renovation was a third of what it would have cost us otherwise.

That’s pretty darn good.

So here is the (approximate) breakdown of what it cost:

(click on the pictures to see the post about each project)

375 square feet of Southern Yellow Pine (Lumber Liquidators)

(3/4 inch by 5 inch) – $1.25 sq foot = $465

Flooring supplies (oil-based stain, semi-gloss polyurethane,

wood conditioner, floor sander rental, sand paper) : $200

Baseboard and Crown Molding: $175

Paint for cabinets and walls: $120

Cabinet hardware (Lowe’s): $50

Wood plank ceiling (Lowe’s): $240

Pantry doors (Lowe’s): $300

Recessed lighting: $40

White Subway Tile (plus adhesive and un-sanded, pre-mixed grout) from Lowe’s: $175

Open Shelving (3/4 inch MDF cut at Lowe’s) and Corbels (Home Depot) and Trim: $240

IKEA butcher block countertops (stain and poly): $525

Farmhouse Sink (Signature Hardware) $600

Faucet (Home Depot): $100

Supplies for making extra lower cabinet: $40

And that’s it!

I’m sure there were a few more miscellaneous expenses that I forgot about.

Like maybe the 128 times we went out to eat because I had no kitchen in which to cook.

Or a table to eat on…

Oh, those were the good ole days!

But we made it through!

And I’m so glad we did!

(I promise this is my LAST kitchen renovation post for a while!)

Now it’s time to get (back) started on our addition!

So, do you think all of our hard work was worth the $8-9,000 savings?

Did you think our renovation would have cost more or less than what we spent?

(Please say more, please say more, please say more…)

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under husband's handiwork, kitchen makeover, makeover, makeovers, My Kitchen, New Home, New Kitchen Makover 71 Comments

Painting our Kitchen Cabinets (Supplies and Process)

January 10, 2012 AT 11:09 am 34 Comments

January 10, 2012 By traci 34 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

I am still trying to answer a lot of the questions we had about our kitchen renovation.

Many of you were wanting to know how we painted our kitchen cabinets.

I had planned on doing a detailed post about the process while we were working on it, but things were happening so quickly, I just couldn’t fit it in.

Painting kitchen cabinets is not difficult, it’s just a pain in the wha-toosey! (How do you spell that?)

But it is sooooo worth it!

Remember what they used to look like?

Painting your cabinets is one of the quickest ways

to update the look of your kitchen!

We basically did three things:

1. Cleaned/Prepped the cabinets.

2. Primed the cabinets.

3. Painted the cabinets.

Now let me break it down a little further.

1. CLEANING/PREPPING

We removed the cabinet doors and drawer fronts before we cleaned them.

We also removed the hinges and the handles from the cabinets doors/drawers and threw them away because we knew we wouldn’t be reusing them. If you will be reusing your hinges or handles, keep them (along with the screws) in a bowl to use again later.

Then I laid the doors out and cleaned them with Krud Kutter.

This stuff worked great! I just used an old rag to clean the doors and the cabinets frames. I also cleaned inside the cabinets since I knew we would be painting those too.

Next, we prepped the cabinets by applying this Liquid Sander/Deglosser.

This stuff is the best invention ever! Instead of sanding all of the cabinets with a sander, all you have to do is wipe them down this this deglosser, and they are ready to go!

2. PRIMING:

Next step is to prime the cabinets.

We almost always use KILZ primer. It has always worked well for us.

We covered up our appliances and used our paint sprayer to apply the primer.

We didn’t have to cover our floors or our countertop because we knew we were going to be ripping them out soon. Yay!

When using a paint sprayer, be sure to clean it out thoroughly (and according to the instructions) between each use.

3. PAINTING:

Last step is to paint!

(If you are getting new hardware for your cabinets, you may need to put some wood filler in the old holes, let it dry, and sand it before painting.)

Here is the paint that I always use on my kitchen cabinets:

It is by Valspar and is usually located over by the spray paint at Lowe’s.

It only comes in a quart size, and I think it took us 2 or 3 quarts to paint our cabinets with the paint sprayer.

I used this same paint during our kitchen re-do at our last home:

This paint goes on so smooth and is extremely durable! And it is also easy to wipe clean.

I use the “gloss” finish to give the cabinets a little shine.

Cy used the paint sprayer again to paint the cabinets.

We were thrilled with the results of the paint sprayer, and it saved us a ton of time!

However, if I didn’t have the sprayer, I would have just painted the cabinets with a paint brush and roller.

On our previous kitchen, I used the paint brush to paint around the edges of the cabinets or around the parts with “grooves”, and I used a small paint roller (like 4 or 5 inches) with a low nap to paint the smooth parts of the cabinets.

Looking at the above picture gives me hives! I really did not think those days would end!

But they did! Halleluiah!

When you are finished painting, all you have to do is attach the hardware and put the cabinets back on. Voila!

And then you will look (and feel) like you have a brand new kitchen!

If you have any other questions about how we painted our cabinets, please be sure to ask me in the comments, and I will shoot you an email back. Smile

(Because I feel like I am forgetting something.)

Have a blessed day!

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under husband's handiwork, makeovers, New Home, New Kitchen Makover 34 Comments

A Light for my Kitchen Sink

January 5, 2012 AT 9:12 pm 57 Comments

January 5, 2012 By traci 57 Comments

I cannot write this post without first thanking you for the over 200 amazing comments on yesterday’s post.

I read every single one! I read them to my husband. I forwarded some to my sister. My dad and I were talking about them today. (He read every single one too.) Honestly, if you need encouragement, you may want to go read them too. They were amazing!

Your comments were heart-felt, loving, humbling, praise worthy, gracious, kind, heart-breaking, joyous, compassionate, empathetic, encouraging, and I could go on and on.

I cried as I read the comments too.

I wish I could write every single one of you back. I really, sincerely do. But I just don’t know if time will allow it. Please know that if I could, I would hug each of you. I would invite you to meet me at Panera, and we would talk for hours over soup and salad about life and blogs and everything in between! Wouldn’t that be the best thing ever?!

That post was hard for me to write. I cried as I wrote it. And it took me almost two hours to write.

But I am so glad I did.

God is using YOU and this blog to continue to grow beauty in my broken places.

I praise HIM!

Now let’s talk “kitchen”, want to? Smile

Many of you asked about the lighting in my kitchen.

Truth be told, there’s not much of it.

We have installed recess lighting above the shelves, but that is all the light we have in that room right now.

I do not want to hang lights in the middle of the room or above the table right now, because I am not sure how I want the room to look yet.

We may be creating a new space for the table, and I may or may not be putting an island in the center of the kitchen. Until I make those decisions, I do not want to install anymore lighting.

But I do want a light for above the kitchen sink. Doesn’t the window look bare without my Christmas wreath?

I took the wreath down to try and figure out what type of light I want to put there.

Of course, I could always put in a light above the sink like the one below. I call those “school house” lights, and they are very characteristic of older homes. (I like that island too, don’t you?)

source

Here are some more “school house” lights…

source

I also thought about putting a mini chandelier above the sink to give the kitchen a little “bling.” Isn’t this one gorgeous?…

Source

Here is the look of a lantern above the sink. I like it too!

source

These are probably my favorite. I would only want one over my sink, but oh my goodness! Aren’t they gorgeous?! I would love to wash dishes under those beauties!!

Source

And I love these mercury glass pendant lights! I found this picture on a site where it is just a list of emails talking about a subject, so I couldn’t find a source. Someone called this pendant light an Argento pendant light. I googled it, and these babies are hundreds of dollars!

But I think it would look AMAZING over my kitchen sink!! I’m wondering if I could find a cheaper version somewhere else?

This last picture is just a glass pendant light. It is simple and beautiful, so maybe I should go with something like this?

source

Decisions, decisions!

What type of light do you think

I should put above my kitchen sink?

(Inspiration pictures in the comments are welcome!)

Smile

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, kitchen makeover, laundry room, lighting, makeovers, My Kitchen, New Home, New Kitchen Makover 57 Comments

Decorating Open Shelves

January 3, 2012 AT 1:43 pm 40 Comments

January 3, 2012 By traci 40 Comments

I will be honest that when I began putting items on my open shelves in the kitchen, I was a little nervous.

Mainly because I have seen so many pictures of beautiful open shelves in blogland, that I knew mine would never look that good.

source

http://jonesdesigncompany.com/decorate/our-kitchen-2/

But two days before Christmas, I went to work putting items that I already had on my shelves.

And to my surprise, it wasn’t as hard as I thought.

Now, they may not be arrange perfectly (as far as a “designer” may be concerned.) But for me, they work!

Most of the things on my shelves are hand-me-downs or Goodwill finds. The only “expensive” dishes I have are my Willow House dishes. (Most of which I got free for hosting parties or I bought them when they were severely on sale.)

I wanted a wreath for my window, so Cy went to Lowe’s on Christmas Eve day and picked up this real one on clearance. It was a little dry, but it was just what I wanted!

I just added some ribbon that I already had to hang it in front of the window.

The only part of the shelving that I did not like was above the microwave. It was Christmas Eve, I was tired, and I just threw what I had left up there.

I tried to space the pops of red and green dishes throughout my shelves.

Like I said, I know that someone else could probably do a better job styling my shelves (like my buddy, Layla), but for me, I love the way it looks.

Some of you (like my sister) said you would not like open shelves because you would always worry about it not looking “right”. Or it would stress you out when things were out of place.

I totally get that. I mean I REALLY get that.

I worry about that too sometimes.

But it was so easy putting this dishes out, that I think I will be okay.

I will let you know how I like my shelves throughout the year. It’s going to be fun to “grow” with this kitchen.

Do you worry about styling open shelves?

Also, winners of the

Jeanne Oliver Designs Ecourse are:

1. kelly (cooperkelly4)

I would love to win this!!! I need all the crafting help I can get. =0) Your Winner

2. Misti (sabinecreek)

This sounds wonderful!

3. Kim (ckaasa)
This looks so fun and like a great way to start the new year!! Happy New Year to you!! :)

4. Connie Wuske

This would be AWESOME! Thanks!

5. Cindy Burke

What a perfect giveaway for the beginning of a new year!! I would love to participate ..what a blessing! thanks, cindy

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under makeover, makeovers, My Kitchen, New Home, New Kitchen Makover, open shelves 40 Comments

IKEA Butcher Block Countertop {Answers to your questions}

January 2, 2012 AT 4:08 pm 40 Comments

January 2, 2012 By traci 40 Comments

Happy 2012!!

I am so excited about this New Year! And I am so excited to share it with you.

The holiday rush is now over, and I am in the mood to get things in order. Are you?

One of the things I wanted to do is try to share a few posts with some more details about my kitchen. I had a lot of you ask questions about the specifics of our makeover like paint colors, stain color, etc.

So I am going to try and answer those questions. (Hope you are not getting sick of my kitchen. Smile )

Here is some information that I wanted to share about our IKEA butcher block counter tops:

Here is the link to the exact butcher block that we purchased…http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20057397/#/60057395

They come in different types of wood, lengths, and depths.

Cy cut the pieces of butcher block so that there would be a seam right under the faucet, and two 45 degree seams in each corner.

Cy wanted me to make sure that I told you that he used PL Adhesive to adhere the seams together.

This stuff is the bomb! When it dries, it is actually stronger than the wood that it is holding together. By using this adhesive, it eliminates the chance of the seams splitting or shifting over time.

He also attached a 1×2 underneath the seams with screws for extra strength.

After the butcher block was attached to the cabinets, we needed to fill in any gaps in the seams with wood filler.

Here is a little trick:

When sawing the butcher block, be sure to save some of the saw dust from the floor.

Then mix some of the saw dust with the wood filler before filling the seams.

This will help the wood filler blend more evenly with the wood and help the seam to accept the stain the same as the rest of the countertop.

Next, just press the wood filler mixture into the seam with your finger.

Once the filler is dry, you can sand it smooth with a sander.

Once the seams were all filled, Cy then sanded the whole countertop really well and then applied ONE coat of this stain…

You can see that the stain gave the wood just a little bit of a deeper color.

Then we applied 4 coats of Satin Polyurethane, sanding lightly between each coat.

Perfection! I love the way it turned out!

In the video below, you can see how Cy made the rounded corners in the wood around the sink. We applied a bead of caulk between the wood and the sink to keep the moisture out.

I’ve had my countertops finished for a couple of weeks now, and I can honestly say that I am thrilled with them. They are extremely durable and easy to clean.

Here is a little video I made of some footage of Cy working on the counters.

If I didn’t answer one of your questions in this post, please let me know in the comments, and I will get back to you. Smile

Have a blessed day!

Share on Tumblr

Filed Under husband's handiwork, kitchen makeover, makeover, makeovers, My Kitchen, New Home, New Kitchen Makover 40 Comments

Before and After Pictures of our Kitchen Makeover {without mouse over effect!}

December 28, 2011 AT 2:30 pm 65 Comments

December 28, 2011 By traci 65 Comments

I know these pictures are a repeat, but I wanted to share the before and after pictures of our kitchen for those of you who cannot use the mouse over effect on your computer.

It was just too many pictures to put in yesterday’s post.

So here they are!

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

We have a few more things left to do, and I will share those with you soon.

I will also answer a bunch of your questions about our counters, lighting, floors, etc. in a future post too.

THANK YOU so much for all of your sweet comments! Sharing this kitchen renovation with you made it so much more bearable during the difficult days.