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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

My Very Own Private Island

I own my very own island...really.  Until last weekend it looked like this



Well I hope that wasn't too disappointing.  It's not the most beautiful island for sure.  But it has some good points.  It has a nice granite surface.  It has a Dacor five burner gas range.  Woohoo!  It has some blingy hardware we installed as another step in the kitchen improvements.  And it has some great storage.

But the wood color - not so wonderful.  Like all the cabinets in our kitchen, we have that wonderful BORING golden oak tone that was so popular 25 years ago. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.

I mentioned before that my kitchen is a work in progress.  This is partly because making over the kitchen totally would require a lot of work and a lot of money all at once.  But it's also because I like to look at things for a while and decide what to do next.

One of the things on my "next" list for the kitchen was a little paint on the island and the cabinet trim.  I wasn't planning to do this project in August, but after painting my dresser a couple weeks ago I had a lot of leftover homemade black chalk paint and a little leftover energy.  So I started painting the island....because once I start I have to finish and committing to the project is sometimes the most difficult part.

After painting the island I am SO pleased, it turned out just like I hoped.  Well, maybe better.  Because after I painted, distressed and waxed the door and drawer side of the island I decided the back side needed a little upgrading.  So with the help of my very own handyman, SuperDave, we added some new trim to the back corners and around the base.

Now my island looks like this


and like this


The tile on our floor was put down around all the trim so the quarter round in the first picture was embedded in the grout making it appear even smaller than it actually was.  The back corners had only a small corner trim (which we left in place) the center of the back had a narrow strip of trim to cover the seam.  We added the grooved trim to the corners and the center of the back and the wide trim around the base.  Not a lot of work or expense but a big improvement in the look.  (Seriously, scroll back up and look at the trim on the BEFORE picture)


The distressing turned out great and the new hardware looks better than ever!


I discovered it is very difficult to photograph a large black surface with my camera in the auto mode. I guess it's time to learn how to use all the settings on my camera.


Our cat, Obi, apparently found the whole process boring.





Based on some cabinets at Lowe's that inspired me to take the plunge and add some black, I knew I wanted to paint the crown moulding at the top of the cabinets black too, so I did that also.


I am very pleased with the black trim and the black island.  My daughter says I should paint them all black.  I guess that's a compliment.  I'm not sure that would be a good idea, it would be pretty dark with all black cabinets.  The built in china cabinet is probably the next project and then we'll just wait and see for a while.

If you are interested in the specific details, I mixed 1/2 cup plaster of paris with 1/2 cup of water and mixed well, then added 2 cups of Sherwin Williams Low Sheen Black paint.  After applying one coat of this chalk paint I used the Sherwin Williams right out of the can for the second coat.  I used Minwax for the wax coat.  I have found the best way to buff the wax is to wear a disposable painter's glove and stick my hand in an old cotton sock.

Much Love & Laughter,

Laura

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5 comments:

ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...

Awesome transformation!!

the cape on the corner said...

this looks great, i love it with the dark granite and the dark paint color, it totally works! and kitty yawning, lol, that's cute!

vikki said...

YOu have inspired me to finally paint my "very own" island black as well. Love the look.

Gail @Purple Hues and Me said...

Your kitchen island really looks amazing black. What a difference that makes in the overall appearance.I'm thinking about trying my hand with chalk paint but I haven't gotten my nerve up yet. Thanks for visiting my blog. I look forward to reading more about your transformations.

Number Fifty-Three said...

The island came out awesome! And you were right...our cabinets are similar. It is great to see what they would look like if I painted them. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Angela