Treading in Color

I usually get asked daily about 2 things- 1. Grays 2. Painting Cabinets Grays I've touched on in a past post but if you're thinking of painting your cabinets, have a seat, we have a lot to go over. It's a process that requires a lot of work but if you do it right, you should only have to do it once. In a lot of scenarios people are dealing with well built oak cabinets that are in great shape but the finish has gotten orange or yellow over the years due to the aging top coat. New kitchen cabinets can cost you thousands of dollars but painting them and maybe changing the hardware to update them, may only cost you a couple hundred. First I suggest "scuff sanding" the doors. Not to remove the finish but to open up the pores of the existing top coat in order to take something new, your primer! But before we go on to adding the primer I recommend giving them a good cleaning. I would use TSP which is an inexpensive powder cleaner you add to water or simple ...

Cottage Paint 101- So we've all heard of chalk paint right? Cottage Paint is similar but is actually clay based. Instead of coming from overseas it's actually a Minneapolis MN company based out of Canada. This means it's less expensive and in my opinion a little easier to use. To distress or antique with this paint all you need is a wet rag. The glorious thing about this paint is that it doesn't have to be distressed it can also be used for solid color if that's what you prefer. This paint is intended for existing surfaces without SANDING or PRIMING!! You heard that right, all that is needed is a good cleaning with TSP or dawn dish soap just to remove those pesky fingerprint oils that are invisible to the eye. TSP is an inexpensive powder cleaner that is mixed with water and can usually be found at your local craft or hardware store. This paint is clay based so what that means for you is that water is it's friend! Adding water to the paint 1 tbsp. at ...

So it all started at home with some ugly flesh colored tile. It was in my front entry and planked on both sides with hardwood. I always just covered it with a rug but then I had an A-HA moment! As a family we hardly use the front door because our garage is in the back of the house, so it's not a high traffic area. I could't afford nor did I have the time to rip it all up and retile so I thought why not paint it? What's the worst that can happen? I researched it online a bit and then just committed! With my day job I sell a product called Cottage Paint (I'll do a whole other post on that later, but in the mean time you can check it out here www.cottagepaint.com ) It was perfect for the situation at hand-less expensive, DIY and (near) instant gratification! Step 1- Clean the tile Step 2- Base Coat (Charcoal color) Step 3- Second coat of Base Coat Step 4- Stencil (white color) Step 5-Top coat (polyurethane)     I must reiterate how important the top coat is!!! T...