YOU GUYS.  Total dream come true happened in our house this summer and I am so excited to share it with you today!

Since we moved into this house 13 years ago, we have always kind of given our kitchen cabinets the side-eye.  They are a cheap, wood/laminate combo in a light shade that is very dated.  When we had the whole flooding saga 3 years ago, we thought insurance was going to help us get a new kitchen (hahahahaha), but then God provided for us and it was just what we needed.

Fast forward to this summer and we had the itch for a project (actually I was the only itchy person and my hubby graciously went along with it because he knows that when I get an idea in my head, I get a little crazy stuck on it until it is finished).

We don’t have the money for brand new cabinets and having them professionally refinished would cost almost as much as new ones, so the idea of painting them seemed easy enough to get the results we were looking for without spending a ton!

I did some research and I can tell you something about myself – I am a LAZY DIY-er.  I read lots of tutorials about painting cabinets that involved sanding and priming and they made me want to crawl in bed and go to sleep.

But then I read about something miraculous – CHALK PAINT.

Chalk paint is a decorative paint that goes on with very little prep work.  Plus it can go on almost any type of surface quickly and easily and end up looking really great.

SOLD.

But chalk paint can be very expensive and also hard to find.  So I did a little more research and ended up discovering a local store in Boca Raton, Florida called She’s So Shabby where the owner of the shop (Jodi – love her so much) specializes in making her own chalk paint.

I called her up and she agreed to help Mr. B. and I tackle this project.  I love to DIY, but I did N-O-T trust myself with a project this big.  Kitchen cabinets are a bit different than a good old fashioned preschool craft.  I wanted the cabinets to look good and not like Jethro got a hold of some white paint and made the kitchen his canvas. 🙂

Jodi was amazing and we finished the whole kitchen in TWO DAYS.

Check out these before photos…

And now the transformation…

I am just SO in love with our kitchen now!  Every time we walk in there we can’t help but make happy exclamations about how fresh the cabinets look!  How bright!  How proud Joanna Gaines would be! 🙂

If you look super close, you will find that they are not perfect.  But honestly, what on earth is?!  So thankful for Jesus.  And you know, sometimes you just have to DO SOMETHING instead of just thinking about doing something.  I am so glad we took the risk and made this happen.

Also, you should know that I went to Homegoods for the sole purpose of buying a bunch of pretty things to style the countertops with money we don’t have so I would have super awesome reveal photos, but then I was like NO.  I want to share real life on this blog, so here are what my countertops look like all the time.  Bill organizers, blenders, and old bananas.  You’re welcome.  There’s beauty in the mess – right?!

A couple of thoughts about the process…

• We removed the cabinet doors and set up a painting space for them outside on our porch.
• My mom and I worked on the doors while Jodi did the cabinet boxes.
• Everything needed about 3 coats.
• We painted the inside of the doors, but not the inside shelves.  That would have been cray.
• Chalk paint dries SUPER FAST, so you have to be quick, use straight, even strokes, and watch for drips.
• Jodi applied a final coat of a special sealer to help everything stay put.
• We bought super inexpensive black cabinet knobs in bulk at Home Depot to finish the look.

If you want more information on how to paint cabinets using chalk paint, I loved THIS POST.

If you are debating between chalk paint and latex, THIS POST is helpful.

And if you live in South Florida, I HIGHLY recommend Jodi, from She’s So Shabby.  She will bring all of the paint and supplies and y’all can just hang out for 48 hours making magic happen!

What do you think?!  Are you inspired to tackle your own kitchen cabinets?!  Now… does anyone know how to do concrete countertops? 😉

Joyfully,

Julie

*Make sure to follow She’s So Shabby on Facebook HERE and Instagram HERE.  Tell Jodi that the Fairy sent you!*