Sunday Southern Days

So when we bought our house eight years ago, we figured *someday* we'd get around to updating the kitchen. Well it finally happened. To let you know what we started with, here is a shot of the hunter green "marble" formica countertops. They make you shudder just like I did, right? Budget was lean for this DIY project, but we had some objectives we really wanted to hit: Update countertops Add backsplash Paint cabinets Add crown moulding Paint Walls So pretty much this could be a few hundred dollars to get into the thousands. This is where I started doing my homework on alternatives to the pricey upgrades of glass tile back splashes and granite countertops. I came across this great blog post from Kara Paslay Designs . She explains how they took a wet bar area of her home and added an applied concrete right onto the existing laminate countertop. We changed up how we used it a bit, but here is what we did to get a pretty cool final product: Gath...

The Kitchen Renovation continues! I am taking this break from sanding/caulking/painting to tell you about my love of FrogTape .  According to their web site, this is how FrogTape works:  FrogTape® is the only painter’s tape treated with PaintBlock® Technology. PaintBlock is a super-absorbent polymer which reacts with latex paint and instantly gels to form a micro-barrier that seals the edges of the tape, preventing paint bleed. In layman's terms, when moister hits the adhesive on the tape, it turns into a gel-like substance that creates a protective barrier along the edges of the tape. Resulting in badass straight lines. Like this: Disclaimer: I was not compensated by FrogTape or a retailer of FrogTape. I just really love FrogTape.

Hold me. Kitchen renovations began this past weekend.   Here is the total list of what we'll be doing over the next 4-6 weeks or so:   - Demo (not drastic, but some) -- remove existing backsplash, remove all cabinet doors, remove all face plates, sand down rough wall patches/areas around face plates, and patch indentations on walls - Add filler to gaps around crown molding and cabinet boxes - Paint kitchen Martha Stewart Canvas - Paint cabinet boxes and doors Glidden Indoor/Outdoor Extra-High Gloss Anitque White - Add hardware to cabinets and drawers - Apply finish to countertops (we're thinking this great multi-tonal concrete finish) - Add backsplash (we're down to two!) - Change light fixtures in main kitchen area - Add lighting above and under cabinets   Of course, we have the "Before" pictures: