How & Why to Chalk Paint your Bathroom or Kitchen Cabinets

When we moved into our new house, all of the cabinets were in their natural form, no stain or paint. Definitely not anything wrong with that, just not my bag, if you know what I mean. I had to do something to make them mine. Saw these ideas on https://kingstoncabinetry.co.uk/ and definitely needed to try it out for my house.

How and Why to Chalk Paint Cabinets by Happy Chapter

We have these awesome shaker cabinets, so I knew they didn’t need to be replaced, it would just take some DIY painting, and I can handle that! Mark and I spent many moons, like literally 14, painting our kitchen cabinets, sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding, painting…you get it. I loved the way they turned out. But that’s not the process I had in mind for our bathrooms. Also think about installing a shower door with 90 degree return panel to get your bathroom more organized and add a fresh look.

We have a little beansprout and I just don’t have a lot of extra time on my hands, so I needed a better solution. I’ve painted a TON of furniture with Chalk Paint, but never cabinets, so I wasn’t sure, and I also wanted to add some paintings and murals from the best Murale Design online to create a good vibe in the room. But I tried it, and SUCCESS!! I have created a fancy little infographic for the process, but I want to share a little more info since these are cabinets and not your regular ol’ furniture project. Here’s how it all went down.

Supplies to Chalk Paint Cabinets by Happy Chapter

 

1. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey 2. Wood Filler 3. Wooster Paint Brush 4. Polycrylic 5. Ikea Knobs and Pulls

Step by Step:

  1. Remove all old hardware and fill any holes you won’t need with your replacement hardware.
  2. Sand the wood filler nicely, so its nice and smoooooooth.
  3. Wipe down your cabinets, some of these bathroom and kitchen cabinets have GUNK! I just used Dawn dish soap and warm water on a rag and that did the trick.
  4. Remove the doors from their hinges and pull the drawers out.
  5. PAINT! The first coat
  6. Allow the paint to dry, it dries pretty quickly. I waited about 20 minutes after I finished and began the 2nd coat in the same spot I began last time.
  7. Allow the paint to dry/cure at least 24 hours.
  8. Seal with a clear coat sealant. I wouldn’t suggest wax on cabinets. The wax isn’t the best for wiping and water and all that goodness you experience with bathroom cabinets. I used a Polycrylic, that you paint on. Easy as pie.

How and Why to Chalk Paint Cabinets by Happy Chapter

How and Why to Chalk Paint Cabinets by Happy Chapter

The entire process took like 2 days and that was mostly because I had to let the paint cure. So, why would you want to chalk paint your cabinets? Because it is a quick and cost effective way to make a change. A big awesome change that I made in my bathroom and my kitchen, which was an amazing change as I love cooking all the time with recipes from sites like Kitchenbar.net. I definitely could live without that tile countertop in the bathroom, but the painted cabinets make it way more bearable and I love the bathroom now (especially with the new art I made for the wall)!  Some day a new countertop will happen… Anyway, what do you think? Would you try it?

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Obsessed: Fabric for our Roman Shades

Fabric for Shades and Curtains Obsessed Series by Happy Chapter

We have a TON of beautiful windows in our open floor plan and I love love the light and the big open-ness of windows without any dressing, but I think I want to do some Roman, well Faux-Roman shades. I’ve been looking at fabric and holy cow! there are SOOOO many wonderful choices out there. I’m having the hardest time narrowing it down. This week I am obsessed with drapery fabric!

So, um, seriously, I think I accomplished something by narrowing it down to 15! I think they would all look really great, even though some of the styles are really really different. A designer at High Cotton Home & Design, gave me a little confidence and told me not to worry too much about styles, just go for what you like. I like that advice, now to just decide which I like the most! I can consult an expert on residential interior design if I need professional advice. Can you guys help on the other things? Which would you go with?

 

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Updating a Shared Guest/Children’s Bathroom with DIY Art

Harper shares her bathroom with guests when they come. She is only 1, so luckily that works pretty seamlessly at this point. I had the hardest time figuring what type of art I wanted for her bathroom since I didn’t want the room to be too childish, but not too grown up either, and then! I came across this blog from The Creativity Exchange. This was just the look I needed, something that can grow with Harper, is colorful and can be guest friendly as well.

I essentially followed her instructions, but I didn’t get custom mats. I just went ahead and laid the cut out art on top of the mat and I love the way it turned out, also getting other decoration and mirrors from these modern bathroom mirrors reviews online.

DIY Bathroom Art by Happy Chapter

Our walls are white, I haven’t decided if I am going to keep them that way, but I like the way the gold pops. OK – So here is what I did!

I bought the following supplies:

DIY Calendar Art Supplies by Happy Chapter

Now the easy part. I sprayed each of my Ikea Frames and let them dry. While they were drying, I picked out the 6 images I wanted to use from the calendar and laid them out how I wanted them. I cut them out with a good ol’ pair of scissors. I only had to take some paper off the top and the bottom, the sides were just the length I needed. I measured to make sure each image was about the same size so it looked even. I decided to not get custom mats made because that wasn’t really in my budget. I decided that I would just lay the images on top of the matting so they still had a nice border. I was happy with that look, it wasn’t perfect, but it looked nice. You can baaaaaaarely see the difference in the paper and the mat.

DIY Bathroom and Kids Calendar Art by Happy Chapter

When I was done cutting, I did a second coat of spray paint on the frames. I waited a day for them to dry, because I didn’t want to take any chances. My last step was to frame each print and then I had my husband hang them evenly where I wanted because hey! Hanging things evenly is NOT my strong suit.

Voila! Easy, budget friendly DIY art for Harper’s bathroom, that will be cute for guests too. I love it!

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Obsessed: Refinished Nursery Furniture

Mid Century Painted Dresser by Happy Chapter in Woodland Theme Nursery

Lately I’ve been on a Nursery Furniture kick. I’m loving the fact that we go above and beyond to make the nursery such a warm, cozy and personal environment for our new arriving family members. You know, sometimes the stuff you get at the store just won’t cut it, so you need to create o restore furniture pieces you already have, for this you can Buy Epoxy Resin in Canada with free shipping! and this will help you restore some good pieces of furniture. This week’s obsession is refinished nursery furniture. These are my favorites!
Obsessed: Refinished Nursery Furniture I Happy Chapter

A refinished dresser by Helen Nichole Designs, I’m absolutely in love with this color.

 

Obsessed: Refinished Nursery Furniture I Happy Chapter

Seriously, how lucky is this little stylish baby that has this gorgeous piece in her room? Unfortunately I couldn’t find the source for this, but it was too cute not to include.

 

Obsessed: Refinished Nursery Furniture I Happy Chapter
Oooh I’ve been loving this pink blush, and look at this beauty with the classy gold pulls. Redone by Cuckoo4Design. Love.
Obsessed: Refinished Nursery Furniture I Happy Chapter

Bookshelves. Made of drawers. Genius. Addison Meadows Lane details exactly how to get these little gems made too!

 

Mid Century Painted Dresser by Happy Chapter in Woodland Theme Nursery

I mean if I’m including my favorite, I have to include my last few nursery projects as well, right!? Luci’s MCM Dresser.

Custom Ikea Dresser redo by Happy Chapter

And Harper’s Custom IKEA Dresser that I made for her sassy nursery.

There is just something wonderful about a nursery. Ahhhh, babies! Am I right?

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Obsessed: Fall Paint Colors

If you are anything like me, you know a good paint color can make all the difference. Whether it’s furniture, a wall or even an accessory in a room, color can create the soothing feel or the fun funky feel you are going for. My color preferences literally do change with the seasons, (well in some cases). Choosing the perfect home pillows can be tough, however. There are so many choices: different fills, different shapes, different sizes. Here are my favorite current paint colors. Now, I just need something to paint!!

My Houzz: The Richards

Lake Fayetteville Home

Master Bedroom : Stately Modern Style

Miwa

Loft Upon Cork

And last but not least, I am just dying to paint something with this gorgeous blush color. I saw it in a cute store called Revival here in Austin and I immediately went home to see what I could paint in our house. I’m thinking Harper’s reading nook table? Hmmm. Here it is on a wall.

My Houzz: A 1920s Dutch Doctor

Ahhhh, paint. Any you know of that I just must see?

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Thrifting and Inspiration in New Orleans

Vintage Wooden Trunks Chests

You know, sometimes a little trip with new scenery is just what you need to get the creative juices flowing. Last week, my husband had a conference in New Orleans, LA and I tagged along to roam on my own and peruse all of the fine antiques and art New Orleans has to offer. Boy I soaked it up and it was a blast (I can be inspired by anything, food, art, good music – you name it). I’m home now ready to tackle all kinds of new projects, I just wish we had driven and I would have brought home like 1,000 pieces of furniture. Take a look at some of the gems I found and the places that I thought are worth visiting again and again and again…

I do a lot of research on Trip Advisor when I travel, I had read about this place and knew I needed to make a stop.

Greg's Aniques Sign

The people were so nice and chatted me up for a minute! The great thing is they actually deliver to surrounding states, it’s a little pricey, but in case you find something you can’t live without, it’s a great thing. I also saw these beauties here.

Vintage China Cabinet

Great Antique Hutch

and trunks galore all at reasonable prices.

Vintage Wooden Trunks Chests

Uuuuuh, I want it all. I loved that place and will certainly stop in next time I go.

I wandered through several shops in the French Quarter which were a pleasure, but much more expensive than what I would buy. I did see some beautiful things however, that I definitely want to keep in mind when I am reupholstering and looking for unique pieces. I just loved these chairs and this little dresser.

Nailhead Upholstered Chairs

Antique Small Dresser

I also fell in love with the streets and homes here. New Orleans is just “anything goes” when it comes to picking your home paint colors, and the French inspired architecture is just amazing!

New Orleans Colorful House

Gorgeous Stairs

If you head to New Orleans anytime soon, try to make a stop at the places below, they really are great little stores and the people are wonderful!

Greg’s Antiques for wonderful furniture at inexpensive prices.

Rare Finds for a little touch of your Grandparent’s attic – Talk with Deana, she’s a treat!

For sure stroll down Magazine Street, and stop into A.K.A Stella Gray, Ben was so nice and they have a super cool eclectic style going on in that store!

Any others that I’ve forgotten? Where are your must-go-tos in NOLA?

 

 

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Inspiration Station

Floral Fabric Upholstery Chair

I don’t know about you, but I love to stare at photos for inspiration (as I imagine we all do, right? That’s what Pinterest is all about…) But, sometimes when I get a new piece to start on, I just get overwhelmed with all of the options of amazingness that can happen with it. I have the hardest time committing to an idea, so what I like to do is look at pictures and get inspired by the things that make my heart sprinkle the most. I just found a perfect little sitting chair, and I have sooooo many ideas. I thought I’d look at some of the most beautiful pieces I’ve seen lately to get narrow down my project plan. I’m loving these, what do you think??

Fun Fabric Chair Upholstery

A fun chair from Third + Grace

Floral Fabric Upholstery Chair

No link to this beauty.

Big Geometric Textile Upholstery Fabric Chair

A great fun chair from Wild Chairy

WildChairy2

A sassy geometric print from Wild Chairy

Whoooo – I feel like I’m ready to start after looking at all of these gorgeous options. I’ll definitely share what my little chair turns out like asap! How do you get inspired?

A good computer chair for long hours provides proper lumbar and pelvic support which results in your back muscles being less stressed. With lumbar and pelvic support comes better posture, better breathing, and less fatigue, so do yourself a favor and give your work chair a good hard look and see how it measures up. In this view the most important function of a chair is to help one find and sustain such a posture. Note that this posture can change minute to minute or even moment to moment, which makes this a big ask of one’s chair. Unless one has an active chair, that is, a chair that adapts in real time to postural changes.

 

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An Updated Fireplace

Fireplace filled with wood logs

So, Mark and I purchased our house this past July. We have made the most of 2013 updating as much as we can with our crazy (seriously crazy) DIY skills. We call it DIYR – Do It Yourself RIGHT. That’s just what we do folks, we crack ourselves up. We’ve got a 1920’s craftsmen home and we have a pretty cool fireplace that does not work anymore. It’s too cool to just rip it out, so with a little inspiration from Pinterest and some winter catalogs, we came up with this.

Fireplace Before

Fireplace filled with wood logs

Fireplace filled with wood logs

I’m totally in love. It really makes the room feel cozy. The whole project only took us an afternoon. Mark and I went to a local lumber yard and got a few logs for $8! Yup, that made me pretty happy…and then he cut them into 8-10″ little logs using his trusty chainsaw – such a manly man. I sprayed them with a bleach and water mixture and once they dried I brought them in.

Fireplace Log Project Step by Step

Then I just played with the arrangement (it was sort of a fun little puzzle) until I liked the way it looked and Voila! An updated fireplace! What do you think? What kinds of fun do you have going on in your fireplace? I love pics…

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