What a crazy last few months it has been. Aside from our regular workload we participated in two show houses, bought a house that wasn’t for sale, sold our house without a realtor, moved, remodeled the kitchen, hosted Thanksgiving for thirteen at the new house, and have actively been updating several rooms. Whew! Time for a deep breath.
I was going to wait to tell this story until we got the kitchen completed, but with our current work load, (thank you Jesus!) I don’t think it’s going to be anytime soon. So, I thought I would go ahead and share a few of the details and projects with you. So, here goes…
Last year, one of my very best friends bought a house on 4 1/2 acres. I visited her often over the last year and every time I was there I would tell her how much I wanted to move to her new neighborhood. I knew every house that was for sale, the square footage, the acreage, the sales price. I had made it my mission to find us a place out there. After many months with no such luck, she suggested that I leave notes in people’s mailboxes to see if they would like to sell their houses. On a whim, one Friday afternoon, I did just that. I rode through the neighborhood and left notes for about 8 people. Secretly, I had one house in my heart.
About two weeks passed and I got a call from a guy who said he had gotten my note and was interested in talking to me. He owned the house next door to my friend. The one I had secretly longed for. He was very skeptical at first. I know he thought I was crazy. Long story short, we reached an agreement on price, I listed my house with a flat fee MLS service and sold it in 30 days.
So, this new house has a great layout, beautiful property and gorgeous floors. It did, however, need some cosmetic updating. Our first project was the kitchen. Here is a before shot.
I hated the soffits hanging from the ceiling.
Since we had a shoestring budget, my vision was to tear out the soffits and build the cabinets up to the ceiling.
Cabinet Painting
Since Brooks paints cabinets for a living, I knew that we could unify the cabinets with a couple of coats of paint. With our crazy hectic schedule, we have only had time to put on one coat of paint, so the paint finish is still a work in progress.
We need to add another coat of paint, and some protective wax. And add some new hardware. This is a custom color we mixed with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. It is 50% Pure White and 50% French Linen. We painted the island in Graphite.
We also removed the original wall oven, removed the cook top and the cabinet underneath it and dropped in a double oven range. We built the additional cabinetry around the refrigerator and added storage above.
Now that we had ripped out the soffits we had to deal with the ceilings.
Rather than patching the holes with drywall, removing the popcorn texture and painting the ceiling, we opted for something a little different. I found these (affiliate link) faux tin ceiling tiles that were made out of Styrofoam.
You cut them to size with an exacto knife and glue them right to the popcorn ceiling. It took about a day and a half to install, but I could not be happier with the way it turned out.
I also have to mention the walls.
Brooks applied an aluminum metallic paint with a roller and let it drip and drag in a random pattern. I love it!
While we had the ceiling torn out we also upgraded the lighting. We added 10 can lights in a grid pattern around the room. We removed the original ceiling fan and centered the new chandelier over the table. We also installed these two pendant shades over the island and added a lantern over the sink.
Resources:
Click on the image to go to the product page for more details. If you make a purchase, I make a small commission but it never costs you a penny extra.
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Hope you enjoyed the kitchen makeover preview. The total project cost was about $4000 not including the new refrigerator and oven. I bought those at the Sears Outlet for $2500 total. The ceiling tiles are from Decorative Ceiling Tiles The pendant lights and the lantern came from Overstock. The Capiz shell chandelier came from West Elm. The bar stools came from World Market. If you would like to makeover your kitchen, we would love to talk to you. You can check out our Cabinet Painting page on our website or you can schedule a consultation by contacting us by filling out the form below or calling us at 615-500-1517.
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Want to see how the Ceiling Tiles have held up after 5 years?
Next up, I’ll take you on a tour of the new den and the fireplace makeover.
This is simply awesome, Dana! What an amazing transformation – I know you have got to be thrilled out of your mind!!! Great work by you and your hubby 🙂
Thanks so much Kristie! We love it!!
Great ideas! I especially love the faux tin ceiling! I’m sure I won’t be the first person to wonder about taking it down. Is it worse than taking down the popcorn by itself? If if it’s damaged, can one tile be replaced? At my house, sooner or later someone is going to poke that ceiling with a broom handle or something else. I’d love to do that, but don’t want to dig myself a deeper hole.
Ellen, thanks for your comment. The beauty of the ceiling is that each tile is placed individually. If it gets damaged you can just pull it down and pop another one in it’s place. They cost under $4 per tile, so it would be an easy fix.
love the chalk board on the side of the fridge!! great idea! Looks terrific.
Thanks Kathy! We are having fun with the chalk board. As you can see in the photo, my daughter is too. That is her note to remind me to get some chocolate milk. 🙂
LOVE this transformation!!! Like, every aspect!
Dana, that looks awesome. The French Linen mix is perfect. I love all the changes you made. I sure wish I had known about those tiles a few years ago.
Good news about the ease of replacing tiles. Thanks!
If anyone else is looking for those tiles, I found them on Amazon for $3.19. Not eligible for Amazon Prime shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/Decorative-Styrofoam-Ceiling-Popcorn-Paintable/dp/B00319I21G
You are an inspiration. Gorgeous! Congratulations!
Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I appreciate you stopping by and checking out our project 🙂
I love what you’ve done. It’s all gorgeous! But I’m wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling me where you got those barstools. I love the industrial look of them!
Sabrina, thanks for the comment. I got the stools at Southeastern Salvage. If they don’t have one where you are, you can get something similar at World Market. Good luck.
Hello Donna,
I am the owner of the company where you got your tiles from. I LUV the way you have remodeled that kitchen.. What a transformation of the oak cabinets with paint..I have done few kitchens that way myself in the past. It is very rewarding… 🙂 Anyhow, thanks for sharing that. I am inspired by your project and will go now and share it with our fans and my friends.
Milan
P.S: Someone left the link above to another tiles. Here is a link to the ones you have used : http://www.decorativeceilingtiles.net/products/R%252d74–Ceiling-Tile.html
Beautiful job! I really like it!!!
As a colleague of Milan I can wholeheartedly confirm that his products and service are first class.
Apologies if this sounds promotional but believe me this man is an ace at customer relations.
Great job with the before and after pictures. The aluminum wall paint pictures turn out very well. Found your post on G+ by the way.
John
http://www.shearerpainting.com/Faux%20finish%20page.php
Stunning, absolutely stunning!!
Thanks so much for the comments. I really appreciate you guys!!!
Excellext job!!! I’m about to do the same thing with the soffit. What did you use to build up the cabinets? Is that plywood or wallboard? Did you do anything special to secure it?
What a beautiful kitchen! I’m wanting to chalk paint my oak cabinets and want them sort of an almond color. In some photos that is how yours look and in some photos they have a yellow cast. In person, do they have that yellow cast to them? I’m trying to decide on which paints to mix. Also, did you use clear wax and did you do any sanding to distress? Love the ceiling too!
Patti, thanks for the comment. They do not have a yellow cast at all. They are a true grey and we LOVE the color. It would depend on the lighting in your kitchen though. I’m embarrassed to say that we haven’t had time yet to finish them. We will soon be adding another coat of paint and the clear wax to complete and protect them. Thanks again for stopping by.
dana
Michael, thank you! The carpenter used plywood. As far as I could tell he used screws and wood glue to fasten it together. Since the material is light weight I don’t think we will have any problems. Thanks for the comment and good luck with your project!
Job well done. I am going to do the same thing this summer. BUT, I will replace 12″ high cabinet above the original cab. So that I will have more storage. I just don’t like soffits, I will not take them off then put a new soffit back.
Love the tin ceiling idea. Great thinking on that part.
thanks so much for the comment. Good luck with your kitchen renovation.
I just found your makeover- love it! Is that a sofa you use for the kitchen table or is it a special dining bench?
thanks Kelly! It is a banquette dining bench from Ballard designs. We have had it for about 7 years and two different houses and we still LOVE it!
I love what you did with the Anne Sloan paint! Do you have any experience with, or knowledge of using it on rough T 1 – 11 paneling ? The house we purchased has it inside as paneling. I would like to white wash the walls. Any help or tips you could give me would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Thanks Sue! Annie Sloan paint is fantastic and will paint over any surface. I’d recommend painting with Pure White and using a dry brush technique where you just get a little paint on the brush and spread it vertically as far as it will go and feather it out in light even coats. You could wipe off the excess paint. That should bive you the white wash look you are going for. Good luck.
Great transformation!
Thanks so much!
Love your new kitchen! I am very interested in the use of the chalk paint for your kitchen cabinets. My kitchen is about the same size so I was wondering how much paint and clear stain you used. Any chance you work in Austin, Texas?
Thanks so much! We used about 6 quarts of paint. Three of each color mixed in batches. We used about three containers of wax. We do actually travel to Austin, TX. Brooks’ parents live in Wimberely. Let us know if you’d like to talk about your project. He will be there in December. Thanks for the comment.
Love how you used the Annie Sloan paint. Have just started using it myself and was thinking of attemping the kitchen cabinets also. I was interested in the color of the paint you have used on the outside of the bar area. It looks like a blue or is it the graphite and just looks blue from the lighting? Thank you.
Thanks so much for the comment. The bar was done in ASCP graphite. Good luck.
LOVE the kitchen! We did a DIY kitchen transformation years ago but never could figure out what to do with the old popcorn ceiling so we patched it and it has bothered me ever since, especially since the kitchen is open to another room with a nice new flat ceiling. My questions: did you paint the tiles, and how did you manage a seamless transition to the crown moulding on the cabinets? Did you add another trim piece after the fact? THANKS!
Jenn, thanks so much for the comment. We did not paint our tiles, but the tiles are paintable. This is the white color that they come in. The tiles are very easy to trim with an exacto knife, so we were able to trim them beautifully to make a seamless transition with the tile place right up next to the cabinet crown molding. You will love this product.
Absolutely stunning! One of the prettiest kitchens I’ve ever seen!!
Deborah, thanks so much for the nice compliment. We are so glad you like it. 🙂
Your kitchen is beautiful. Are you still happy with using the chalk paint and wax finish for your kitchen cabinets? Did you sand your cabinets first?
Yes, we are still very happy with the chalk painted cabinets. Thanks for stopping by!
I love this transformation! I was wondering are your ceilings 8 foot high or do you have 9 foot ceilings or higher? I love all of what you have done and am about to start our kitchen and would love to use the tiles and the lighting which I am not sure how it would work on our ceilings, thanks!
Our ceilings are 9ft. Thanks so much for the compliments and for reading the post 🙂
Thank you so very much for submitting the information about the popcorn ceiling and the beautiful transformation of your kitchen. I needed and do need all of the info you have shared with us. Hopefully I will send pictures when I have finished my kitchen and other rooms as well.
Thanks so much for the comment. I hope it helps your remodel. Popcorn is a royal PAIN. I’d love to see photos when you are done 🙂
Did you cut through that popcorn ceiling when you took out the upper cabinets? If your home was built 1970’s or before, that popcorn has asbestos fiber in it. Very very dangerous if you deal with it dry because of the dust it creates, and leaves in your house. If you’re going that route, you really should have an asbestos co. remove it. On the other hand, if you want a really inexpensive and healthier way to deal with it, spray the ceiling with water then scrape. Its like soggy paper and as long as its soaked no worry about asbestos. My friend and I did a 1200 sq foot house in maybe 2 hours. He sprayed the ceiling with an industrial sized sprayer that he used at work, I followed with a ladder and used a paint scraper. We kept the old carpet as a drop cloth, rolled it up and put it outside. Our contractor took care of it the next day. We were naive and didn’t know about the dust until we had already tried a small patch dry. The next day he went in and was violently sick. That’s when we learned what to do. Your house looks lovely, just a tip if you’re not putting up another ceiling, and it was free except for the labor!
Wow! Sorry about the trouble with your project. Our house was built in 1987, so we didn’t have any asbestos concerns. Thanks!
Glad to hear it 🙂 I’m just glad we figured it out before we did too much, a very simple process and just a few hours time. Didn’t know you could glue those things up the only ones I recalled you had to use brads or something similar. Good luck with the rest of the house, looks great!
Love the faux ceiling tiles. Would love to see them in my living room
!
Thanks Sandy!
I love the kitchen ceiling tiles…Where can I purchase them? I have popcorn ceilings and I very much dislike them. Help!!!
Beautiful. Wish you lived closer to Arizona. I love the ceiling.
On the order page for the beautiful tile you used in your kitchen it gives choices of ‘white’? I read in your comments you reference regular white. At the very bottom of the order page is plain white. Do you happen to recall if that is it? Beautiful kitchen! Thank you for sharing!
Sorry, I don’t remember. I didn’t know there was more than one white. 🙂 Thanks for the comment.
I’m wanting to redo the kitchen cabinets . The problem is I painted these around 12 yrs. or so ago over a dark stain . Painted them in a pretty color of off white . I’m wanting to know if one can paint over these with the Sloan paint . I’m not familiar with the Annie Sloan paint at all .
With seeing your pictures of pictures I know for sure I would love having my cabinets the same color . But, as I said I’m not familiar with any of these paints you use .
Would you please let me know which way to go with this ?
Thank you so much .
You should be fine to paint over them. Annie Sloan is great for exactly this application. Best of luck to you!