When my fiancé and I bought our house, it was incredibly outdated. Luckily, paint goes a long way and once we moved in our furniture, it took on a more modern twist. However, there are some things that seem doomed to stay in the 70’s forever. One of those things is our kitchen. A wonderful oak cabinet, brass handled, green minted glorious thing of a kitchen. The space is there to make this kitchen a wonderful place, but the money? Well, tens of thousands of dollars just doesn’t pop out of the air. Because if you’re going to re-do a kitchen, make it your dream kitchen! So, I’m stuck here dealing with this eyesore day-in and day-out, but I’ve an entire box of spray paint and a trip to Wal-Mart to take. Wal-Mart is where my idea to re-do the kitchen, for under $100, came from and is now why I smile whenever I walk in there, instead of groan.
Adhesive ‘Tiles’
These beauties can come in handy for those who don’t have the money or expertise to tile themselves. Annoying as all can be to put up, these ‘stickers’ glammed up my kitchen and took it from minted blah to bright and cheery. I lucked out and was perusing the clearance section (as anyone who is looking for literally anything should do) and happened upon these ‘tiles’ for only 2 bucks a sheet! Compare that with ones that are 7, 9, 15 dollars per sheet and we were in business. I don’t shy away from wallpaper (see: glamorous walk-in closet) and I figured this would be easy. So, I scooped a bunch up and headed home, gleefully excited…except I messed up. These things are harder to use I thought they were going to be. And, I needed more. Three trips later, plus two days and the help from a fiancé and my kitchen – finally – looked bright and cute.
Worth it? Yes. Annoying? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Spray Paint
Seriously, guys, spray paint goes a loooonnnng way. It’s how I made my coffee table look better, my fireplace more modern and my dining room chairs brighter. It’s also how I took my 70’s-style cupboards and turned them into cabin chic. There’s nothing I can do about the oak (yet) without stripping it and staining it, but spray painted hardware made a huge difference. Instead of icky worn-out looking brass staring me in the face every time I open a cabinet, wonderfully matte black is right there; it even makes the wood a little less…oaky. When in doubt, go for black.
