It has been a long time coming. I have dreamed of the day to spruce up my kitchen and give it a new, updated look. Back in september 2010, my dream came true.... well my dream on a budget came true :)
Now don't get me wrong I have had a lovely kitchen and I have enjoyed my "fruited" kitchen for many years but I am ready for a change and redecorating is cheaper than moving.... hence DREAM ON A BUDGET.
So lets take a little trip down memory lane before I show you the transformation.
Zito Kitchen 2002.... gotta love the white washed cabinets and plum counter tops... this lovely color scheme was chosen by the previous owners. Since this wasn't what I would do, I embraced the pinks & purples and welcomed my Fruit Garden and my walls were painted Mother Earth green.
Then I decided to all a darker green stripe along the bottom half of the room. I loved this improvement
In 2003, I added this perfect red cabinet to add room for my canned goods since my pantry is ridiculously small. It has been a great little piece of furniture. It is a KEEPER for sure.
So I began the kitchen makeover by "DE-FRUITING" my very fruitful kitchen. I searched high and low for new decor... I got some awesome stuff this past summer in utah... remember?? time to give it all a new home. I was liking the simplified version of my kitchen but the PINKish CUPBOARDS just had to go!
*** PS*** I will be having a HUGE Garage Sale in the near future. Stay Posted ;) ******
They are very 90's! ,OAKY, & Southwestern... my really my cup of tea
I thought long and hard about tackling this project of painting the kitchen cupboards myself, but then I realized how silly that would be. I love projects, but painting cupboards are NOT my fav. I would rather pay some one else and LOVE them, than suffer through the pain of weeks and maybe months and hate my life and maybe hate the outcome and then have to pay to fix them.... remember I have a budget ;)
So I gave DAVE MAHAFFEY a call, 480-626-3691. He came right over, gave me a quote to paint, the kitchen cabinets, exterior of my house and my bathroom cabinets, hall cabinet & I had him toss in painting my old entertainment center too!
We had a DEAL! and I asked, "When can you start? tomorrow??" I was very anxious! He put me in the books for the next week, which was great cuz, holy cow! I had TONS of pre-work to do... so off to work I go and I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!
The first step in the kitchen makeover was adding some crown molding. Making it fancy and custom :)
OOOH!!! It's gonna be awesome!
And in a blink....well 2 days and breathing in some heavy fumes later!!! VOILA!!!
I chose white, with an aged brown glazed finish. They sprayed them with a lacquer paint. It dries harder and won't chip. It is exactly what I wanted!!!
So So so so much better!
Ooooh Aaaahh! Beautiful hu?
On THE LIST is to upgrade the plum laminate countertops to maybe granite??? and get new flooring, but I think I really don't mind my counter tops at all. It would save me some $$$ to be happy with what i have and I enjoy being happy. So I think
will enjoy my plum countertops for a while longer :) it will be put on the back burner for now.
Next on the list is KNOBS & PULLS for the doors & drawers to give them a finishing touch.
Man oh Man! I LOVE IT!!! how about you?
Knobs from Home Depot. The value pack - Even better :)
~oil rubbed bronze~
The Pulls were NOT in a value pack, but I only needed 8. :)
I am so impressed with the outcome! It's so gorgeous! I feel like I moved! I kinda did in a way. Even though I physically did not paint them, still had to clear out the entire kitchen. wipe down the inside of the cupboards before and after painting. I ended up having to rewash ALL MY DISHES too. But the good part of that is I de-junked each cupboard and kept only what I really needed.
I need to now figure out what to put on the plant shelves. Still playing with ideas. :) And I can't wait to make some valances. Still thinking about that too. ooh And I am gonna spray paint all my lighting fixtures oiled rubbed bronze. They are currently pewter colored. I have experimented with one and it gonna look good... pics to come :)
Next on the Makeover is this.... my lovely pine entertainment center.
We bought this cabinet in 2001 and it has been great! We were ready for an upgrade.... The BIG SCREEN and New Entertainment center.
We replaced the honey pine with this TO DIE FOR Shabby Chic Bramble piece! I had been shopping for the perfect replacement to hold the new flat screen TV..... the only upgrade Leonard was thrilled about.... :) We got a sweet deal at Best buy over Labor Day Weekend. To be specific and to the Tech geeks, they would appreciate to know the TV is a 52 inch Samsung Plasmsa with 3D!
It really is pretty sweet and Leonard twisted my arm and we got Direct TV again. it was 3 years of no TV and we now are sucked back in. Leonard HAD to watch football in HD!!! But i can say I have enjoyed getting comfy on the couch and wasting away watching ICE ROAD TRUCKERS in HD.... no joke the first day we connected the cable. I was flipping stations and the picture quality had me mesmerized! I really did watch a marathon session of ICE ROAD TRUCKERS in HD for several hours. I was in the same place on the couch when Leonard left to work and was still there when he got home. Now, can't believe I actually admitted that. After that brain numbing, but kinda fun day. We had a family meeting to put some RULES on the TV watching. We are doing pretty good to sticking to them.
I found this piece at CROWDED HOUSE furniture store in Mesa, AZ! I walked into this store and fell in love! It was the Perfect Match for me. My sweet Lenny happened to be with me this trip... I frequently visited here in my search :) and we bought it there & then. We loaded it in the truck & brought it home sweet home. I was tickled pink!
Welcome Home new favorite piece of furniture! I have more fun plans in the family room. stay tuned :)
So what did I do with the OLD HONEY PINE LOVELY???? I thought about selling it but changed my mind and had Dave paint it for me. I knew right where I was gonna put it.
After Painting it a sleek Black, I moved into the hallway nook upstairs. It has been empty for 10 years and now finally has a custom cabinet making the space look finished. I still can't believe how perfectly it fits there! It holds my scrapbooks and I am still working on the decor that will live there. still playing :)
This is the Armoire/old honey TV cabinet. Mahaffey's painters painted it black and I dolled it up. I gave it an age look. A little Gold Rub goes a long way!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! It fits perfectly in my room! I will not be putting a TV in the cabinet. It will be a storage cabinet.
Good Ole' Hobby Lobby had these lovely knobs. They were brown iron. I painted it black and rubbed a little gold on them too :)
So what was in my room before??? This Cherry Wood Armoire. Which I am selling by the way. Let me know if you are interested :) I am going to ask $200 ;)
See my cute picture frame on top of the cherry cabinet? I moved it to the little round table by the red couch. Looks good there :)
Aaaah! It was worth salvaging this pretty cabinet. I love it's new home :)
The frame is still a favorite piece too!
Oh and I put new knobs on the pine dresser in my room too... here is BEFORE
and AFTER!! not so country any more :)
Hobby Lobby is my friend :)
NEXT.......
Remember this ugly pinkish oakyness???
The hall cabinet also got a make over :) Black is fresh and happy :)
And MORE PINKish OAKYNESS in my bathroom.... but not for long.
They got painted black too
It was a good base. Now let me get my hands on those cabinets and I need to beautify them :)
ooooh aaaah!!! I golded them too and added these knobs from guess where... Hobby Lobby :)
please ignore the dirty mirror... oops ;)
Yes, they will always be oak but Oak in disguise :) I love the new look. Although the flash from the camera, doesn't do the makeover justice :) It is still a HUGE improvement and I am happy to report my house is FREE FROM PINK WHITEWASHED OAK!!!! Hooray! That is a reason to celebrate :)
In my knob frenzy, I also added some to the girls bathroom. Remember this?
Now the finished look!
I think that is an improvement :)
WOW, that was MAKEOVER OVERLOAD HU??? There is MORE???? Heaven's to Besty!
We had the House Painted too! This is Before! It is faded and sad :(
Ugly garage door
peeling & sun damaged trim
faded, faded & faded.... original paint is 12 years old.
AFTER!!! Isn't she Lovely?? So Fresh and Clean! ;) happy
Side view, Can't really see the house. The bushes and tree is SO OVERGROWN. Needs a major trimming!!! That is next :)
Bricks by the gate even got painted, it is mandatory from the HOA to be painted by Dec 2010. CHECK!
No more Peeling and Sun damaged garage door trim. Fresh coat of paint on the front door! Looking sharp.
Aaah, now that is a FRESH OF BREATH of Air! Notice we got the tree trimmed the the bushed chopped down. you can notice the new painted house. LOVE IT!!!
I love how the trim just pops!
Side View.... now that is better. What a beautiful home. the Nicest one on the block :) YES!!! I feel like I moved!
The Base color is called Trail Dust from Dunn Edwards
The Trim color is called Quicksand from Dunn Edwards
For a finishing touch, we replaced the porch light with this fancy little number
I like the change :)
So There you have it! Zito Home Makeover... inside & out. So now I have an excuse of my lack of blogging the past 6-7 weeks! Right? :)
If you are in AZ - phoenix metro area & are interested in painting your home or giving your kitchen cabinets a makeover, I would recommend Dave Mahaffey & crew.
Call Dave at 480-626-3691
PS... click on older post for some cute pics of my kiddos school picture day and Blake our IMAGINEER ;)
