I have a confession to make—I’m just a tiny bit relieved by the downturn in the economy.
For the first time since the design show craze went full-tilt boogie, I feel like I can decorate my
home without taking on a second mortgage. I’ve allowed myself to reuse, repurpose and
reinvent, guilt-free. Being thrifty is, frankly, very liberating. The collective dip in our financial spreadsheets has given us permission to “make the most of what we have.”
This is our kitchen, above, circa 2003—that is, pre-HGTV and before I took the plunge to become a student of interior decorating. I wish I could say that the kitchen became radically different well before Christmas 2008 but I would be lying. Apart from purging the plants, adding cork flooring and purchasing a few odds and ends over the years, we lived with the louvered pine cabinets and a teal green countertop for 10 years! Not the kitchen of someone who should know better.
With my new mandate of frugality, I made very few purchases for my kitchen facelift. I bought paint, a new laminate countertop, a paint sprayer (to be used for other home projects), hardware, new electrical outlets/covers, a tea kettle and tea towels. That’s it.
My husband painted the walls and I took care of the rest . . .
The result is a kitchen that reflects rather than swallows light, is less oppressively rustic (we live on a two-acre wooded lot but, hey, let’s not overdo it), and feels much cleaner and more current. I still love the coziness of the tongue-and-groove ceiling (fluorescent fixture to be revamped later), but now the visual weight is better distributed throughout the space.
We will be replacing the cabinet doors in two or three years, but at least now I can have people over without yellow caution tape barring the kitchen entrance.
March 20th, 2009 at 7:46 am
WOW what a difference! It’s amazing what paint can do. Congrats on your fabulous and frugal makeover!
March 20th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Yes, congrats indeed. Welcome aboard Jackie! At the end of the day we’re all “students” of interior decorating and I’m sure we’ll learn lots from your posts.
March 20th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Thanks so much for the compliment and warm welcome. I’m looking forward to sharing what’s going on here in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
March 20th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Very curious to hear about your experience with the paint sprayer. How much did the gadget cost? Was it messier, more toxic than painting with a brush?
March 20th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Awesome job Jackie, what a difference! Great to be writing with you!
March 20th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
stainless, much messier! However, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Once I streamlined my assembly line and perfected my technique, I was unstoppable. Priming and painting 20 louvered doors by hand, both sides, would have taken forever.
I bought a Black & Decker Pro 5.5 paint sprayer from Home Depot for $89. I used a latex paint, wore a respirator mask and goggles. I rigged an old TV cabinet with hooks and a plastic drop sheet to act as a painting center, my drying center was my old kitchen counter top (with rows of hooks) perched on two chairs (great suggestion from my husband). I also protected the area with 5 plastic drop sheets ceiling to floor.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:31 am
Thanks, Lindsay. Glad to be aboard.
March 28th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Looks great!