Cabinet Makeover

The husband has been home all week and we did a little spontaneous bathroom remodel.  It was a twenty-nine year old bathroom with all original fixtures.  Today I am going to show you the makeover of the vanity cabinet.   Here is the before.  It is bad isn't it.  Most homeowners would probably pitch it.  But, we didn't plan any budget for this so we painted it.

I started with paint I already owned and this was Georgian Green a Benjamin Moore color.  It just was too yellow, maybe for another project.  I would love a chair this color. 

I started to mix my own paint with gesso.  You can read more about that here.  This color was too dark for what I was wanting.

This is what I was wanting.  This is a gray mixed with the above color. 

Here is the finished cabinet.   I distressed it a little and glazed it with a Valspar mocha glaze.  I spray painted the hardware oil rubbed bronze.  I'll put the paste wax on it later this week.  It is still a little tacky since I put three coats on it. 

 This is the only picture I have of the cabinet in place for a before comparison.  We have raised three boys and this was the one room that really took a beating.

So, it is looking much nicer.  We are still caulking and painting trim.  I will wait and show you the rest later.  We did all of the work, including the drywall with a knockdown finish.  

Thanks for stopping by.  

 Sherry

I will link to:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Home Sweet Home #23

Welcome to Home Sweet Home!   I am mixing paint this week with gesso and I thought I would give you an update on how this has been going.  This is the inspiration picture, on the right, of a antique cupboard in a beautiful bathroom.  I have got the color on my cabinet here on the left.  

 But, before I arrived at that color I mixed paint awhile.  Here I mixed gloss Hunter Green by Valspar with Gesso.  All of these are too bright.  

I painted the cabinet with one of the above paint mixes and I realized it was much brighter when dry than when I mixed it.  So, back to the drawing board.  This color is what I would call teal.  It is just the hunter green mixed with gesso and there is more Gesso than paint in the mix.  How was working with Gesso?  I loved it!  It goes on smooth and covers great.  Across the room my husband was using our trim paint and painting the door for the bathroom and the old color bled through and he will need 2 coats.  This is not the case with this gesso mix.  It has great coverage and all I needed was to lightly sand and give it one coat.  It is chalky!  

 So, I finally realized I would have to break down and get a gray to mix with this to achieve this muted shade I was aiming for.  I went to Walmart and got a basic gray.  I mixed some more and this gray was the key to the color.  The gray (it was semi-gloss latex interior) was Time Worn Stone.

So, if you just want to paint with a normal paint it would save time to find a sample of the color you want and get it scanned and have the paint mixed.  But, if you want to use gesso to get that chalky finish you will have to mix paint.  What I learned was that when mixing paint start with the palest color first, for example the gesso and add the color slowly to get the desired tint.  You have to stop, all the while, when doing this and paint on something and let it dry to see how dark it gets when dry.  And, that was the other thing I noticed the wet paint is much paler than it will be dry.  So the sampling process I did above on the white cardboard is very useful.  Do I want to use gesso again?  Yes!  I am going to paint some chairs and a chest with it.  I also can't wait to sand it and see how it ages.  

Thanks for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
Now, I would like to feature some wonderful post from last week's Home Sweet Home.

First, Desire Empire got my attention with a beautiful Orange cake and a roasted chicken.  Click the link to view.

Next, The Tablescaper had the most romantic tablescape under lights.  Click the link to view.

The Pear Tree Cottage had the most gorgeous after dining room when she rearranged some walls.  Click link to view.

And last, The Precious Little Things in Life shows you how to create these book covers as well as many other links to DIY book covers that will have your bookcase looking chic.  Click the link to view.

Now onto today.

I will join these ladies today:

Open House Thursday at No Minimalist Here

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Feathered Nest Fridayat French Country Cottage

Treasure Hunt Thursday at Blue Creek Home 
Pearls and Lace Thursday  at Faith, Grace, Crafts

Guidelines for Home Sweet Home Party:

Attention: To link up with inlinkz you must have a permalink back to this party in your post or they will not allow you to link.  If you find your link deleted, add the link, and then try again.  (I have been deleting a few links.  Inlinkz sets the rules.)

My button is on my sidebar for the party, if you want to use it.   If you are new here I hope you will become a follower.  No Etsy link ups or direct advertising, please.  Please visit some of the other blogs and get some great inspiration.  Thanks.:)

Now let's see your beautiful homes!

Mixing Your Own Paint Colors

Excuse the mess around here.  Hubby is off for a week and being very spontaneous, he starts peeling the wallpaper off of one of the bathrooms.  I am given the challenge of redecorating this bathroom with mostly the supplies we have on hand because, being an unplanned remodel we will buy only what has to be replaced.  We discovered if you buy a new vanity cabinet they are at least 4 inches taller than what we already have.  Well right away that means a plumber to redo the plumbing and that won't do, so we are going to paint the vanity cabinet.

That means starting with the paint I already have.  The color scheme for the house is set.  We have paint for the walls and trim, so, we are good there.  But, the vanity, that should be an accent color, something different.  I start with the paint I already have.  This is Benjamin Moore's Georgian Green.  I saw it on Kim's blog Savvy Southern Style.  Not being at a Benjamin Moore paint dealer the day I purchased this, they matched it on the computer and mixed it at the Pittsburgh Paint counter.

Here is a trick I saw on Pintrest.  Isn't that smart.  You don't get such a messy paint can when you wipe your paint brush on this.

So , my sample of Georgian Green matches the swatch I painted really well.  I just sanded my oak cabinets lightly and went to painting.  This color was just too yellow. 

So, using what I have on hand I pull out some cans and bottles.  To the left is a standard Valspar Hunter Green they stock on the shelves.  The Georgian Green, center.  I am still not done with it.  And, on the right a bottle of Gesso.   Rosemary at Villabarnes introduced me to using Gesso beyond the canvas.  Visit her and learn all kinds of uses with Gesso.

So, finally, I am mixing paint.  The one on the left is hunter green with gesso.  Gesso has a chalky texture and it mixes and looks beautiful with any paint.  The next is the Georgian green.  Then I mixed the first color (in this sample board)  with the second, this is the third color.  The last color is the third mixed with a yellowish white (Brandied Pear by Pittsburgh Paint) that will be on the wall.  *Note: The first sample on left is very blue based by mixing it with the very yellow Georgian Green we get more warm tones in the sea green I am creating that will work well with the golden hues that will be on the wall and the trim.

So, since hubby threw this project on me I have done everything backwards. Ha.  Now that I have a color I like on the left here (it was the third sample above), I have found an inspiration picture to take me in the direction of how I would like to see the colors turn out.  I have a mocha Valspar glaze and a dark wood paste wax to finish the cabinets.  It should look pretty similar to the cabinet in this picture.  I'll let you be the judge.  The bathroom will look nothing like this picture, I am just using the color inspiration.  Stay tuned to see more of the spontaneous bathroom remodel.  You should get a really good laugh out of the before pictures, remember I have raised three boys!

Sherry

I will link this to:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style