Inexpensive DIY Cabinet Refinishing

If you have been wanting to refinish your cabinets, but don't want to spend a fortune and don't mind DIY then this is for you!




Cabinet Transformation by Rustoleum! No sanding, stripping or priming, so it saves you tons of time! It can be used on wood, laminate or melamine cabinets and it costs $80 per kit. They have several colors you can choose from and when you buy the kit it comes with instructional dvd to give you step by step instructions. I also found the website very helpful. They have instructional videos on there.

If you are curious take a look: http://cabinets.rustoleumtransformations.com/videos.php

If you are to scared to dive right into the kitchen then maybe you have a bathroom or laundry room cabinets that you would feel more comfortable tackling first. It can never hurt to practice on a small space first.

Ok, so the only thing is the website says one box does 80 lnft of cabinets, but I am almost positive when I was looking at a box at The Home Depot it said that one box does 40lnft. I personally haven't had a customer try it yet, but I am dying to get feed back. The price is just so hard to beat and it is less labor intensive then most cabinet refinishing.

If you are interested in getting cabinets refinished, but don't want to do it yourself I know that Home Depot offers a free in home consultation on cabinet refacing and I would be really shocked if Lowes didn't do the same. I personally can give you no feed back on pricing because I am not sure how much they charge for labor, but I know it will be less expensive then refacing cabinets(refacing is when you replace your old doors with brand new doors)

Hope this is helpful, like I said, no feed back yet from customers, but the price is definitely right!

Here is the link to Rustoleum's home page... lots of great tools on there for you!

http://cabinets.rustoleumtransformations.com/

Nursery Ideas

Looking at nursery ideas can be fun, whether you are expecting or not.

Along with the trend of clean lines also comes a trend of white furniture, and you really can't go wrong with white when purchasing a crib that you plan on using more then once. Although this particular sleigh style crib pictured above does seem more feminine then some.

Green and white is a fun trend. I think this nursery pictured above has just the right amount of color contrast for a very classy looking nursery. Oh, and lets not look over the fun shaped crib!

I love the simple patterns used in this nursery that really gives it some pops of interest.

Oddly enough the wall decor in this room really works well despite the fact that there are an even number of pictures hanging on the wall. Usually odd numbers work best, but this doesn't bother me.

Nursery themes are always fun, just look at all the little frog stuff!

Black and white is always a timeless option and I love how that adding a bright color of paint can give this nursery some personality.

Again we see an interesting crib and white furniture.

Clean lines and organic shapes create such a refreshing space.

I think the giant diaper pin is cute! Also love just using pops of bright colors with subdued ones. Also love the small splashes of pattern on the window treatment and various pillows!

Sometimes finding the right nursery style can be difficult. One of the easiest things you can do is find an inspirational picture and let that help you get started on designing and planning your nursery!

Making an Entrance

What to do with your Foyer...

For starters some general suggestions (but of course doesn't mean that you HAVE to do this or that your foyer will not look AMAZING if you don't)

Area rugs can make a large foyer feel more intimate.

The picture above shows a foyer with durable stone tile. Now although I LOVE stone, I realize that not everyone has the budget for stone tile, but do be sure to select something that is durable and easy to clean in the winter months.



Bright happy colors like orange and yellow families suggest a joyful welcome. Remember this is the last room you see upon exiting and first room you see upon entering. Often bright colors feel more welcoming and less formal to guests.

You can never go wrong with a mirror in an entry way. Not only is it convenient for that last look at yourself as you run out to work, but depending on the space and the size of the mirror it can help make the room feel larger. (side note... that mirror is way to big for the wall it is on)

Remember, no more then 2 pieces of furniture are recommended for your foyer area.


Now, I completely understand that orange and yellow are not for everyone so why not use them as accents on throw pillows that compliment YOUR STYLE.



Now lets face it here people, as much as I love looking at pictures of grand foyers I understand that not all of us (myself included) have a grand foyer to decorate and that depending on your living conditions we often need small spaces to fulfill multiple purposes. Sometimes just having a shelf on the wall with cute decor, or recent family pictures is all you have space for in your entry way.

For the rest of us, maybe your entry area also becomes a space that encompasses mail, children's back packs and out door toys. The rest of these pictures are ideas for organizing your entryway for its multipurpose needs.

First of all can I just say how much I LOVE THIS IDEA! Seriously, how stinking cute? Using shutters to hold mail and greeting cards!

Love this last one because not only does it give you storage for the shoes, but it also gives you a place to sit while you take your shoes off and of course the fabric gives you more opportunities to bring in color and design!

Images retrieved from google.com

What to do with your Amoire

Have you been looking for a beautiful piece of furniture that could also help with your storage problems?

Why not try an Amoire?! Although, I will admit it is more fitting to certain decorating preferences. Nevertheless, still very flexible piece of furniture!

Here is a list of uses per room that will hopefully inspire you:

Bedroom: used to store clothes, shoes, blankets, or even house a tv.

Office: store office supplies, books, and give you a space to store and organize otherwise visible clutter that might typically gather on bookshelf or on work surface. Add a custom file hanger if you are handy...

Children's room/nursery:clothes, baby diapers and wipes and toys

Dining room: can be used to store extra linens, maybe kitchen items you don't use on a daily basis, maybe some cooking supplies?

Family room: tv, board games and toys

Bathroom: towels, makeup, hair stuff, children's tub toys

The possibilities are pretty much endless, and not only are you adding more storage to a room, but you are also adding a beautiful piece of furniture with endless decor possibilities!

(check out that snazzy bathtub too!!! beautiful...)

All images pulled from image search on google.com

Quick tips for selecting paint color

Paint is a quick and relatively inexpensive way to give a new look to a room.

Here are a few pointers if you are considering painting a room in your home.

1. Don't be color shy: It is hard not to be afraid of color, but white and neutral wall colors don't always do the trick when decorating. If you are scared of to much color then select one of the walls in your room to be your accent wall and paint your bold color there and select a complimenting neutral color to paint on the remaining three.

2. Take a sample home and pin it/paint it on your wall: It is so important to not walk into a store and select a paint color there and never take it home to see what the color looks like in your home. Lighting (artificial and natural) have an impact on how the color looks. You might like one of the color samples at the store and then find out when you bring it home that it may be too light or dark for your preference.

3. After painting a room: if you removed all your furniture to paint the room a bright new color be sure to put all the furniture back in place before you make up your mind whether the color is too bright or not. A bright color in an empty room is of course overpowering!

I have only ever used Behr paint (sold at The Home Depot) because I love it. However they don't always have the color I am looking for so I have taken in a Sherman Williams color samples before and had it color matched.

Lastly keep in mind that there are recommendations of colors not to use in specific rooms:

Bathrooms: Yellows and greens are typically a big NO due to the fact that they change the color of your skin and if you are applying makeup it could make you apply too much/too little or the wrong colors.

Kitchens: Reds, greens, and yellows tend to be very popular choice for kitchens. I have heard that you are more likely to get in an argument in a yellow kitchen then any other color... odd
Blues and purples are typically not used in kitchens because those colors decrease appetite, but personally I think that isn't necessarily a bad thing for someone like me that loves food way too much!

Bedrooms: relaxing colors like blues, browns and purples but I have seen some more bold colors used. It depends on what you find relaxing.

Children's bedrooms: Studies show that children not only like primary colors, but any bright color, so don't feel limited. Also keep in mind that if the child has a separate play room and the bedroom is only used for bedtime, maybe a less stimulating color would be best and use the bright colors in the play room.

Those are just a few general tips, hope they help! HAPPY PAINTING!