Adventures at Home Depot

Hubby and I’s new house is amazing but it needs some TLC. Of course, we don’t have a “total home renovation” built into our budget so I’m doing what I do best: DIYing it. It is amazing what you can find if you start trolling blogs about home renovations. 

**Disclosures** 

I am not a a carpenter, a masonry specialist, or a handy-man. I’m just a 20-something with a crafty gene, a supportive hubby and a bit of confidence. 

I have never done any major home repairs.

I went into this whole plan with no clue what I was doing….And I’m still trudging through. 

Here is my To Do list: (so far!) 

• New floors – (This will be largly hubby and family assisted)
• New cabinets (kitchen, laundry room, and bathrooms)
• New kitchen countertop
• Tile backsplash in the kitchen
• Paint entire house
• Install crown molding
• Make a window seat for the master bedroom
• Install new lighting fixtures
• Install ceiling fans
• Convert completely useless coat closet (we live in the desert- we don’t own coats!) into a much needed linen closet 

One thing at a time, right? Well….

Today I took a class at our local Home Depot on the new Rust-oleum “Cabinet Transformation” product. The beauty of this product is you can completely redo the look of your cabinets for a fraction of the cost it would take to replace your cabinets. Custom cabinetry cost upwards of $20,000… this product is $69.99. The box comes with just about everything you will need… except paint brushes, rags, drop clothes.. the “extras.” The class was awesome and the biggest thing I learned was that the color you choose is a base— it comes with a glaze that you can apply as liberally or lightly as you desire to completely change the look of the cabinets. My kitchen looks like this right now: 

Take note of the LOVELY pink counter tops… (we will get to those later). And the okay cabinets. There is really nothing particularly wrong with the cabinet, but I’ve always wanted dark cabinets in my kitchen. So, Cabinet Transformation: enter stage right…

 I chose the “Espresso” color. Home Depot paint department tints the can of base right there for me, and I was sent on my merry way. I am SO excited about starting this project.. I cannot begin to describe it. 

 

While I was there I figured I’d go ahead and order our floors… why not!? We chose Pergo XP- Highland Hickory.

They only had one pallet in stock and we need 5.5 pallets.

Wait… WHAT?! 5.5… pallets?!? Uhm.. That’s a bit overwhelming. 

After a few frantic calls to the hubby, we went for it. The remaining 4.5 pallets should arrive sometime next week. Which works out okay timing-wise because we have carpet and tile to rip up before we can even being laying this stuff. 

After some creative googling and obsessive trolling of Pinterest, my mom came across an amazing find. The ability to paint ugly laminate counter tops. 

After a bit more obsessive trolling on Pinterest (on my part this time) I found a blog that gives wonderful details and step by step instructions on how to accomplish this miracle feat. [creativekristi.com]

http://www.creativekristi.com/video-tutorial-how-to-paint-your-countertops-to-look-like-granite/

I read all three of her posts about 5 times and watched her video equally insanely. I also read through the comments on her posts to learn where other people had snafus and questions. I asked around and decided on the products I liked best (more on that later) and decided.. I need to do this. 

I went to my local home improvement store, got some granite samples and chose my favorite: Baltic Brown… 

 

 

While I wandering the aisles of my local Home Depot, I stumbled across these amazing tiles for my back splash. I love the colors, the different colors of glass and stone.. I think it just pops. 

Now… we have the floors, the Rust-oleum “Cabinet Transformation,” and the tile backsplash… What’s next? Did I say “One thing at a time” earlier? I meant “Let’s dive on in and tackle it all at once!” 

 

Stay tuned for details on each project and lots and lots of “before and after” shots. And please … comment! I promise I’ll respond!