In 2008, I started my kitchen transformation. This is what the kitchen looked like when we bought the house in May 2007. The cabinets were original to the house and still in good condition, but they made the kitchen feel dark. The cream tile countertop had just been installed by the previous owner. The fridge was on its way out. The peel and stick linoleum floors were in good shape but looked off with the cabinets. And there were these hideous wicker circles screwed into the bulkhead.

Since we had just bought the house, I didn’t have the budget to do a real kitchen makeover, so I decided to paint the cabinets and see what happened.

The facelift

I soaked the original copper pulls and hinges in soapy water to clean away years of kitchen grime. The water turned black. I wasn’t sure if they were solid copper or plated, so instead of using copper polish, I gently scrubbed each one with more soap and water, and let air dry.

I used two coats of primer and two coats of paint on the doors, drawers, and surrounds. To avoid emptying the cabinets, I used a no-sand primer on the cabinet structure, and took the doors and drawers outside to sand and paint them. I used Wallies to create the look of a custom tile backsplash.

We found a new stainless steel refrigerator on clearance at Lowes. I’m insanely fortunate to have a licensed electrician in the family, and he put in recessed lighting for the cost of materials. Finally, we picked up a new dining set at a mass furniture store.

After

Our new, bright kitchen with recessed lighting, a rustic style dining set, stainless-front fridge, and the same linoleum flooring, which with some Mop and Glo looks brand new. (Pardon the clutter.)

Secondly, I can’t take any decorating credit for this room. Chris did it all by himself. It’s definitely a man’s bathroom.

When we bought our house in 2006, Chris’s only request was that we have a lime green bathroom. We’re lucky to have two full bathrooms, so we decided to each decorate one.

Before: Your standard, boring bathroom with a shower stall.

After: Chris puts his special decorative touch on the bathroom. It features lime-green walls, a stainless steel toilet seat, diamond plate inserts on the cabinet doors, a black Pergo floor, hand-painted trim, and dirt-bike themed stickers everywhere.

Before

After!

My sister had a printed canvas she’d picked up for $5, which had a bold tropical flower print. She was going to toss it, but I said I’d take it, prime the canvas, and start anew. I decided to make a painting for Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, once I got past the sea star, things went downhill. I wanted to paint over everything but the sea star and start over, but Boyfriend thinks the painting is great and won’t let me touch it. I am very sad about this but felt it was worth sharing for posterity.

Happy update! My good friend Macy decided she would like this painting for her guest bedroom. Yay! (6/24/10)

My favorite, favorite pair of round-toed brown Steve Madden heels (with pink stitching – sigh!) finally got to the point where wearing them in public was akin to wearing ripped sweatpants, so I stashed them in the back of the closet. After seeing so many articles about revitalizing old furniture with a can of spray paint, I asked Boyfriend if he thought I could get away with painting my shoes. He said no. But he didn’t say anything about using a different color shoe scuff polish to transform them. While he was away on Saturday, I took it upon myself to coat my shoes in two coats of black shoe polish. The result is a pair of shiny black heels, no scuffs to be seen!

Materials: old pair of leather shoes, shoe polish (preferably a darker color – I used an extra coverage scuff polish)

Cost: $0 (I already owned the polish)

You might ask, “Couldn’t you have just bought brown shoe polish?” Yes, but then they’d look the same. I like having a new pair of shoes! Next time I am trying red polish.

Glass votive holders are a common favor at weddings, and I often have mismatched ones around the house, sporting ribbon in someone else’s wedding colors. They look great in the scheme of a table setting but not so much in my living room.

After taking off the ribbon and stickers (and in one case getting a half-melted candle out of the thing), I used mosaic tile glue to affix glass and small ceramic tiles. I worked in small sections because tile doesn’t always adhere well to a curved surface. When all tiles were in place and the glue had dried for a good day, I used a no-sand grout. Finally, I used a mosaic tile sealer to protect them from water and dust.  Voila!

In-progress pictures

I gave the one pictured below, which was from my cousin’s wedding, a quick makeover by wrapping it in textured brown wrapping paper and securing with tape.

I was in luck one day when I went shopping and was given my items in a pretty black and white damask shopping bag. I decided to cut the bag up into squares and attach them to cardboard pieces cut to fit the back of my TV stand.

Cost: $0

Materials: pretty paper, cardboard, tape or glue, scissors

Time: 15 minutes

The damask pattern distracts visitors from looking at the PlayStation2!

Ow.

I’ve been thinking about replacing the table, but I decided to see how it would look covered. I used a tablecloth handed down from someone to cover the table, and instantly, it looks appropriate in the living room – a little more grown up. And it cost me $0!