A Fresh Start for the Kitchen- BWF April 2017

Welcome to Blog with Friends the "Fresh" edition!

I seem to tire of the color of my kitchen cabinets every five years.

When we bought the house (double-wide) new in 2007, this was the kitchen.

It wasn't bad, just a little bland. I ordered the walls that cream color on purpose. I intended to paint them eventually. Sadly, we've been here almost ten years and the only thing that has been painted was the cabinets.

I painted the cabinets in 2012:

While it looked pretty when it was first done, I quickly grew disgusted with the color. I started painting another section of the kitchen a cream color, but that was worse because of the cream-colored walls. Then, a while later, Bob and I stripped the top section of cabinets above the stove...to this day, I don't remember what the reasoning was on this.

In the end, I had 3 different colored cabinets in my kitchen! I wanted to paint them last year, but I was convinced not to because we planned to rip it all out anyway. To do that, and put in new is way more money than we have right now. I know it'll be at least two years before we can even think about doing new cabinets, so I decided to move forward with my plans.

I started by painting the cabinets, yet again, black. I used about two quarts, about $20 worth of paint. Here, I'll tell you to learn from my mistake. I bought Rustoleum paint from Walmart and the stuff bubbled as it dried! I've never seen paint do that! I now have "textured" cabinets and I'm not thrilled with it. If you look from a distance you can't see it, so I just need to stay out of the kitchen. Maybe I'll lose weight.

I kept my original hardware (knobs) because that stuff is expensive! I'll replace it when we put in new cabinets.

I bought contact paper to use as a backsplash. I bought mine from the Dollar Tree. While I only spent $5 on it, it wasn't the greatest choice because you cannot match up the pattern from roll to roll. This is the obvious reason it was at the Dollar Tree. However, it's temporary for me, so I'll live with it.

To apply the contact paper, I used a razor, scissors, and a damp cloth (for smoothing).

Before applying the contact paper, make sure that the walls are clean and smooth. Remove outlet covers and other objects on the walls. I have seams like the one in the pic above due to the fact that I have a manufactured home. Not everyone will have to deal with those things. 

Carefully, and slowly apply the contact paper to the wall, keeping it even and bubble-free. Use your razor around the outlets to cut out the holes for the outlets and smooth in place.

I'm pleased with the results, and I might just leave this kitchen alone until we can completely gut it. I still have to paint the rest of the walls, but the bulk of the work is finished for very little money!

I probably spent less than $50, but I could have gone higher if I had bought the "diamond plate" self-sticking foil that I had originally intended to put in as a backsplash. However, Clone of Bob convinced me to put that on his furniture in his bedroom, so I decided it would be too much if I used it in the kitchen, as well.

Now take a look at all of these other great posts! There is a big group of us this month!

Karen at Baking in a Tornado made Springtime Waffles; Celebration waffles for a special occasion to celebrate Spring or just for fun.

Melissa at My Heartfelt Sentiments shows us how to make a Handmade Gift Bag.

Kia at Think in English gives us Seven Fresh Ideas Straight from the 2017 TESOL Convention in Seattle.

Tamara at Confessions of a part-time working Mom posted about Cutting Calories: losing pounds while keeping sane.

Kristin at Little Mama Jama writes about How to Start Fresh each day with your autistic child.

Minette at Southern Belle Charm made a Dollar Tree Wreath for Spring.

Dawn at Spatulas on Parade posted about Life Lessons-Starting Fresh and give us a recipe for Garlic Honey Rubbed Pork Tenderloin. 

Rabia at The Lieber Family gives us Starting Fresh: Tips and Thoughts on Moving.

Lydia at Cluttered Genius shows us an app for Daily Devotions to Start Your Day.