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This weekend project was not only easy, but an affordable way to give my kitchen a makeover. I honestly spent less than $10 on this project. I used items I already had, so it made it super affordable.

The older I get

The older I get the more I come to understand that life is not about having everything perfect, but more about learning to deal with what you have.

I have long been a skeptic of the lifestyle that social media oozes for people my age. I see photos of gorgeous apartments, stately houses and overly put together homes.

I am here to give my honest opinion on the matter, ALL OF IT IS BULL! As I write this, I am 24 years old, I work long hours, bring home what feels like next to nada in my paycheck, and all the while don’t have a SINGLE thing finished in my life. My house is pieced together with what I had/could find in the moment, my wardrobe is pieced together with a mix of high school items that should have long been thrown away and clearance finds. This idea that everything is perfect all the time is so irritating. Sometimes we need the crappy apartment, ugly house, unfinished mess to make us appreciate the final result. And man oh man am I practicing to appreciate the final result!

We were on the way home from Mr. Rodeo and I’s honeymoon when I started to have a real pity party for myself. The idea of coming back to our unfinished mess made me cranky. I Pinterested all the way home from Denver, sulking in the passenger seat, not understanding why I had to live in a house with a crap brown kitchen that was falling apart.

After making it home from our honeymoon, and a good nights sleep later, and then one day of food poisoning, I decided that I was going to take things into my own hands. I couldn’t pay for a full kitchen remodel, I couldn’t afford a partial remodel, but I could do what I do best, make it still look pretty.

The Crap Brown Kitchen:

Now, in full disclosure, this makeover didn’t fix any of the underlying issues with our kitchen. We are still missing back-splash, the counter-top really is falling off, and the weirdly damp/mousey smell still lingers under the kitchen sink (yes, I have cleaned it a million times). But, this makeover was a band aid, a cover, something to keep me happy until I can afford a kitchen remodel, or a new house.

That’s what life is about right? Learning to deal with the unfinished, imperfect and still enjoy.

So, a bright Saturday morning I got started. I took inventory of what I had available. Did i mention that I had just returned from my honeymoon and had a whole zero dollars to spend on a kitchen makeover?

Kitchen Makeover Steps

Step One:

Inventory what I had available.

• One Can of KILZ oil based paint (White)
• One Gallon (about 1/2 full) of Gray Paint
• One Paint Brush
• One Foam Brush
• One roll of stone printed contact paper
• One sample pot of Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan

Step Two:

Update the kitchen counter with contact paper. This particular contact paper is printed to look like stone counter tops. I purchased mine at Home Depot, but you can buy it here too.

• Clean the kitchen counters. (I was going to finish a project I has embarrassingly started months before and never completed. I was going to cover my ugly green counter tops with contact paper.)
• I used this tutorial to update the counter tops.

Step Three:

Get to painting!

I honestly was so sick and tired of our ugly brown walls and green back splash (where the back splash still existed) that I just started painting the KILZ EVERYWHERE. I painted the walls, I painted the tile, I painted the unfinished drywall by the sink.

The KILZ dried VERY quickly. I would say that about 15 minutes later the first coat was dry. It was extremely streaky, but was starting to cover.

I decided to just layer it on as thick as I could, sponging it in places, stroking it in others, just trying to get a nice base/cover that horrible brown/green combo.

Rather quickly my crap brown kitchen was turning into a white streaked, slightly less terrible space.

Step Four:

After letting the white KILZ layer 2 dry completely (yes, I used a blow dryer) I started with the Grey paint. Surprisingly it covered the KILZ very nicely. I actually started to look like it was suppose to appear that way.

I worked my way about 3 feet, used the blow dryer to fully dry the paint, and then slapped on another coat. Working my way in small sections gave a more clean finish to the tile.

Before noon, my kitchen (at least the part with cabinets) was painted.

Step Five:

Take a lunch break.

By this point Mr. Rodeo came home for lunch and was very surprised to see the kitchen. He didn’t complain, only saying it “looked nice” before scurrying away to the shop. He admitted later that anything that saved him from having to pay for a full kitchen remodel made him happy, and that the grey kitchen looked much less crappy…yes, he was referring to the crap brown…

Step Six:

Adding a pop of color.

 

After finishing with the grey, adding the white/stoney contact paper to the counters, plus our already white cabinets, our kitchen was looking extra light. I decided to add a pop of color in the space above the microwave. I still haven’t figured out what this space is used for, it’s too small for spices? I don’t know, but I decided it needed to be a POP.

I used the sample pot of Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan to paint the backing. It was SOOO Fast and simple, and added just a bit of visual interest to the kitchen.

Step Seven:

Add some decorations.

I don’t have a ton of decorations to go places, and to be honest, this isn’t something I would want my FOREVER kitchen to be decorated like, but it is a nice pop for now.

I used the adorable bottles of wine my Sister in Law gave us for our engagement party, a cute canvas a friend gave my for my bridal shower, and a vase I purchased in collage with some silk flowers in it. The living plant up top is just a bonus.

I bought an inexpensive tension rod at target and cut down a shower curtain I had and hung it up with a set of old (but super cool) shower curtain rings.

The rug is one I had had under my couch/coffee table for awhile, but no longer was working. I think it fits nicely into my colorful kitchen makeover.

Step Eight:

Sit back and relax. Open a bottle of wine, and breath a sigh of relief. Although not a perfect, designer kitchen, it works perfectly for us for right now.

I keep thinking that someday, when life is different, more complicated and more busy, I will think back to when my life was so simple that two old cans of paint, an old paint brush and some contact paper could make me the happiest girl in the Valley. After all, it’s all about dealing with what you’ve got and enjoying it in the process.

I would love hear what you think of my super budget friendly kitchen makeover. Is this something you could try in your home?

 

 

 

 

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