Tales of my furniture makeovers and great DIY projects...

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Islands in the Stream....um, I mean kitchen!

I did this project a while ago, but thought it was time to share considering all of the work I've been doing on my kitchen lately.  When originally deciding what I wanted for the kitchen, I knew I wanted the two colored cabinet look.  I decided an off white/black combo would be nice and still neutral enough.  I started with the island.
 
 
 
Your basic contractor cheapy island, huh?  Well, replacing it was out of the question, too expensive!  I knew painting it would cover that awful particle board on the sides and back, but wanted a bit extra, you know, I wanted it to look like a piece of furniture.  So I added these moldings I bought for about $8 at Lowes.
 
 
As you can see, I already taped around the bottom so I wouldn't paint my ceramic tile!
 
I'm a HUGE fan of the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I now use it for most of my furniture redo's.  I'm also currently using it for the rest of my kitchen cabinets.  However, they don't make black.  The closest they come is a Graphite, which is dark gray.  When topped with the dark wax, it does make it look much darker, but not black.  Then I heard about Maison Blanche Paint Company and their chalk paint.  And, they have a true black! 
 
 
It's just as expensive as ASCP except I couldn't find anywhere near me where they sold it, so I also had to pay shipping.  This paint has the same concept of ASCP, no sanding or priming necessary.  However, I still sanded down the island just to get the gloss off.  When I put the first coat on, I have to admit, I was disappointed.
 
 
See what I mean?  It's hard to tell from the picture but the paint just sort of sat on the cabinet, it didn't soak in or "grab" like I was used to.  It also most certainly wasn't black.  But, I trudged on because I know by now that a lot of times while I'm painting something I have to keep in mind it isn't the finished product.
 
Please keep in mind that I'm not some trained professional with decades of paint training (if there is such a thing!).  However, I know what I like and what works for me, so that is what this is about, just my experience.  Although ultimately happy with the finished look, I was not impressed by the paint at all.  It took 4 coats.  Yup, 4.  It just did not stick they way the Annie Sloan paint does.  After it completely dried, I sanded the way I usually do to lightly distress.  It flaked and peeled, much like latex.  It did not powder off the way ASCP does for a more natural finished look.  I also had to finish with dark wax, which did bring the color to black, kinda an off black, but black nonetheless.  I could have saved myself about $40 and used the MyPaint by Pantone in black that I used for my bathroom cabinets.  And, in the future, that will be my "go to" black. 
 
I won't keep you wating with my complaining any longer, here it is finished:
 
 
 
And, now with the new counter tops:
 
 
Here is a shot that will hopefully show what the finished kitchen will hopefully look like.  I love the black island with the off white cabinets.  And, one day when I finish the cabinets, we will be putting up a backsplash.  I've decided on a white subway tile.  The counter tops are kind of busy so I wanted something very plain next to them.  And, the good news is that I found BOXES of the tile at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for cheap, cheap, cheap!
 
 
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5 comments:

  1. I haven't tried Maison Blanche but your experience sounds kind of like the one I had with CeCe Caldwells. Just not the same as ASCP but I loved the color choices. Cassie loves Lamp Black in General Finishes Milk Paint (hich is a canned paint). We just painted a dresser with General Finishes in Linen and LOVED it! Superrior sticking quality and all we did was wipe down the piece. It says to sand but we tested an area and it stuck so well that we didn't bother!

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  2. what a huge difference it makes!!!! wow! it really grounds the space and updates as well!

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  3. Hi,
    its really nice post. i appreciate for your post. thanks for shearing it with us. keep it up.
    kitchen and bathroom remodeling arlington va

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  4. Hi,

    I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could e-mail me?

    Brian

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  5. You did a wonderful job on redoing your island. It looks so great, more personalized now. I'm glad you "complained" about the paint, it's good to know not to buy something that expensive. I know it's way out of my budget (budget - ha,what budget, lol), but just in case I was going to try it. Thanks for commenting on that paint, it's not complaining, it's advising.

    You have inspired me to do something with our portable island in our kitchen which I've wanted to paint for awhile, still trying to decide what color. I'm still waiting for cupboards to be painted after almost 7 yrs). We have the cheapy pressed wood with the wood look paper on them so they'll be little harder to paint and there are several of them. Our counter top is nothing to get excited about either. The people that ordered our house (mfg. home) didn't spend money on good stuff in kitchen. On top of that it's a horseshoe shaped counter so not easy to cover.
    I saw a blog that used floor covering for a counter top. I think we might go that route. We have 2 boxes of it we've had for long time so think we'll be using that to cover the counters if I can talk my husband into it.
    Your granite top on your island looks very rich, think your choice of white subway tile is perfect. So happy for you to have found enough at Habitat for your back splash, what a fortuitous find.
    Happy days

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