Thanks to True Value, we've added giving our 1980's kitchen a much needed makeover to our DIY list, or at least up a few notches from where it was (near the bottom). SO exciting! Our dream kitchen knocks out walls/etc. so we haven't done much in there since moving in three years ago but I'm ready to make a change. Because the dirty-looking-even-when-clean 20 yr old white linoleum floor (duct taped in places by previous owners) and blue laminate countertops are my biggest embarrassment. Our kitchen is functional but it's butt ugly! We're still saving for the dream kitchen but in the meantime, a tight budget mini makeover is just what it needs. Our first trip to True Value = "wow! Where do we start?" We came home with a few things to get us started and this
and our plans evolved from there.
Here's the wall before (new kitchen paint color coming soon)! It's the skinny wall between the two doorways.
Nothing useful going on there. (you get a peak into the dining room - another mini makeover in progress) There was a Pottery Barn phone hanging on this wall, however we don't have a phone line to the house any longer and there isn't one even there behind the phone. Probably the reason it never rang, huh? Purely decorative and now it resides in the basement junk pile awaiting an ebay debut or yard sale. Oh man. More work!
I filled the nail hole and lightly sanded the wall.
Then using a paintbrush and chalkboard paint, I cut in around all of the trim and used a foam roller on the larger middle section.
AH! Hide your eyes! You can see a peek of linoleum that I NEVER show! Dingy white and country blue flowers! Look Away! I line my paint tray with foil. Easy to cover between coats and keeps paint/roller/brush fresh! Paint clean up is one of my least favorite tasks so I keep it to a minimum!
I let it dry for about 5 hours then added another coat and let that dry. It felt a little rough to me so I lightly sanded again and put on a third coat. Then life got busy and crazy so I let the paint cure for a few days.
Love the sanding attachment for my Dremel Multi Max.
Sanding with the Dremel Multi Max makes the job easy and quick! It fits perfectly in my hand too. I love that it's not awkward. More on that guy in another post.
With the side of a piece of chalk, I rubbed all over the chalkboard area then erased with a chalkboard eraser. I've skipped this step in the past and the writing was difficult to completely erase. This works!
It's little projects like this that get my DIY mojo refueled, spark my creativity and motivate me to want to move forward with the kitchen, tiny budget and all. I love the little chalkboard wall but it looks out of place with it's surroundings. Every time I walk in there, I feel my big 80s poof growing back! Plans to do something about that! Stay tuned! Oh - I conquered my fear of the miter saw monster so there's no stopping me now!
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I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.
