Kitchen Cabinets Fresh Facelift Reveal

Hello again everyone!!  So far, December has been a crazy on-the-go and always something to do month for me.  If you remember a past post of mine, I had shared with you my uttermost dislike for my kitchen.  I hated the cabinets, hated the island counter shape, the countertops, the stained sink, I've grown tired of the paint on my walls.. the list goes on.  Unfortunately, "The Budgetkeeper" aka Mr. Smitten informed me that there was no room in the budget for a complete kitchen renovation.  Did I let my small budget bring my spirits down??  Heck no!!  I figured, no room for the ENTIRE kitchen?  Well, I'll start small - with one kitchen project at a time in equally spread out intervals.  That way, it won't affect the cash flow too much.  The hubby also agreed, but with one condition: my idea, my project, my sweat.  He did help me more than he planned to, but he didn't complain once!  I love you, Mr. Smitten!

FAIL!

The easiest way I was going to make a HUGE impact to this kitchen was to give my cabinets a facelift... with paint!  So I prepped the area and gathered my arsenal of tools: Paintbrush, Paint Roller, Roller Pan, Gripper Primer, Paint.

All ready for the craziness to follow!

Awesome primer for those high traffic areas.

This is my favorite type of brush.  A little pricier than the others, but worth the couple extra bucks.

 Here's a warning:  If you're going to take on a project in a daily used area, prepare yourself.  It gets frustrating to try to get used to.  I am a 5'... okay I'm lying, I am a 4'11" asian girl with short legs.  It's hard maneuvering around wet cabinet doors lying on the floor.

After two weeks straight of painting after work and on the weekends and treasure hunting for the new kitchen look... Here it is...  Major improvement.  Flows better, don't cha think?  

A little bit of paint goes a long way.

The new cabinet look even allows me to hate the countertops a little less!

Don't worry, I'm going to give those barstools a makeover sometime soon.

Looks roomier too!

 Check out these knobs I found at Lowes for only $1.02 a piece!  (Just a side note...  I think it's dumb how stores add a couple cents to an item.  I don't get it.)

These drawer handles were also bought from Lowes for about $3.47 (There it is again!  Why not just $3.45??  It's madness, I tell you!!)

You want to know what my favorite find is?  These awesome vintage handle pulls that I found on Etsy.  I heart Etsy!  It gives a touch of industrial to my kitchen that I didn't know I even wanted until I saw them online.  I kept the original aged paper labels and turned them over to give them an extra function: to keep me from searching through the wrong drawers when I'm about to cook.

Do you love them?  I am totally claiming bragging rights for this idea!

AWE....SOME!

Now for the small details that "make" a room what it is.  This was the super fun part.  I love shopping and finding odds and ends.  Almost everything was found at the DI or Homegoods.  

Check out the humungous concrete garlic head at the end.  I think it's a veggie garden decoration, because it was caked in dirt when I found it for $2.00.

Actually, I think this is the only Homegoods purchase I made for this kitchen.

Added a touch of country with these milk cans.  So excited that I found three.

Favorite veggie to snack on.

Yes, I arranged all of these on top of the cabinets.  I am extremely afraid of heights and this was no easy task for me!

Cute piggy bank to put our loose change in.  Better than just throwing them in the kitchen cabinets or to be forever lost underneath couch cushions.

 Does anyone know where I can get a super cute soap dispenser that spits out foam?  This bottle isn't cutting it for me.  But this fabulous french chic plate kinda makes up for it.

Yes, another $1.00 find at the DI.

I adore how light shines through these bottles.

 I have already mentioned that I'm asian and in a past post do not enjoy cooking (because I don't know many dish recipes), but I do know how to whip me up tons of stir fry dishes and this jar that I found was perfect for holding all my wooden spoons.  Wooden spoons are the easiest to use!

Beef and Broccoli, anyone?

Had Mr. Smitten hang up my cheese board for an extra touch of charming.

Let's take another look, shall we? 

From all sorts of wrong...

... to fresh and new (even though it really isn't!)

Stay tuned for my next post:

The Horrific Story of Ocean Blue Countertops in a Master Bathroom

~*Abigail*~