It Had to Happen Eventually

Hello friends...well I knew it would happen sooner or later. I have finally caught a bug from someone..yes folks I officially have a cold. I have not been sick since June 08 and I am feeling a little like Jerry Seinfeld in the episode where he eats a bad black & white cookie and breaks his 4 year non vomiting streak. I decided that since I don't have the energy needed to come up with something funny and new, I would show off a little furniture redo I tackled a while back. I have this secretary type area between my kitchen and family room that I wanted to transform into more of a separate piece of furniture This is where I have my computer and printer. The cabinets are the same as the attached kitchen and I didn't care for that. I envisioned a more unique division between the kitchen and family area. This is what I came up with.....

This is the secretary with the top doors removed (please excuse all the cabinet clutter). My dinette table and chairs are just opposite this. To begin my transformation I started by priming all the wood with a  product called Gripper by Glidden. It is made to specifically adhere to slick surfaces and since I did not want to be bothered sanding and tacking, I figured this was the product for me. I was also going to be painting over the Formica counter top and thought this product would be perfect. I'm happy to say it worked like a charm and was very easy to apply. After priming I applied two coats of a cream colored interior paint. I am going to be antiquing my cabinets so the shade of cream was not too terribly important and you can do a little spot test on a paint stick if you want.

After I painted the doors I added a simple decorative design of leaves and berries. I tried to mimic the old world German painted furniture pieces I have seen.

                                

You might be thinking the colors look too crisp and bright, but just wait until you add the antiquing, it will all come together. I always go a little brighter to compensate for the final finish.

Here are the top cabinets after I applied a coat of gel stain in a soft brown using a sponge brush as my applicator.  I brushed the stain on and immediately wiped it off using an old cotton tee shirt. I love how it grabbed in certain areas and not in others. I think it gives it a more aged look. You need to work fast and don't try to go back over an already stained area until it is completely dry and cured.

 

After priming and painting the Formica, I taped off a diamond pattern(so classic) and painted the diamonds black. If you look closely at the doors you will see I edged the trim in black to give the doors more definition. Here is a Janet Metzger painting secret ( I shouldn't be telling you this) rather than trying paint a precise 1/4 inch line, I used my handy dandy Sharpie black marker.....their, my secrets out...I feel so much better, I've been keeping that secret since 1987 ;-) Hey, anyway to ease the process is my motto.

After my wonderful hubby cut a piece of bead board for the backwall, I painted and stained it and added inexpensive black door pulls. The final addition was a piece of beveled glass to help protect the counter surface. I think it came out pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself!

Upon standing back and gazing at all my hard work, my darling hubby turned , looked into the kitchen and said " now you know Janet, you have to do the whole kitchen" UGH!!!!!!!! What have I gotten myself into????????

Until next time, be kind and stay creative.