House Tour Series: Kitchen & DIY Prepping Station

Happy Friday Fabulous Lovelies!

This week has been dragging, like seriously, so now that the weekend is almost here, my motivation is through the roof.

Since we have so many visitors and family headed our way in the next couple weeks and most who have never been to Florida, or have ever seen our house. So to prepare for the reveal we have been doing projects non-stop.
We purchased our house in 2011 as a short sale. The couple who owned it had completely let it go, because, well they knew they were going to lose it. We got it for a incredible steal but we were also left to pick up the pieces of their laziness. Our house was also built in 1989, so it's about 24 years old, which means outdated is it's middle name.

When we first moved in to our house the kitchen was my least favorite part. The tile floors were dirty, and they are white so they didn't even hide it well. The cupboards are bland, the counter tops look like granite, but don't let it fool you, it's just painted wood.  It has a huge blank area which I assumed was supposed to be for a table, so that is what I put there.

A cheap, old college, Ikea table.
Could it get any classier?

For almost two years I have been on the prowl for the perfect edition to turn my kitchen from crap to chic. Butcher blocks, buffets, high top tables, bars. Nothing seem to fit right in my vision. Everything just wasn't the right size, color, make. I had finally given up.

Until last week...My grandmother called me over to tell me her neighbor was gutting his kitchen and was throwing out all his expensive, and nice old cupboards. She told me she was hoarding them in her garage and would save them for me until I was ready to come check them out.

I thought she was crazy and knew that there was nothing I could do with these cupboards but she was refusing to let them go to waste so I though I would ease her mind and take them home, the garbage was coming the next day anyway.

They were completely not the color of anything that would match the interior of our house. We decided to cut our loses and throw 'um away.

and than I had a grand idea....

DIY Food Prep Station

 

-Old Cupboards/Storage Station

-Paint

-Counter top (Ikea butcher block- 6 foot - $129.99)

- Food grade mineral oil

 

 

I love red, and have alot of it accented through out my entire house, and it just so happened that we had some left over red paint sitting in our garage from our DIY back yard corn hole board project earlier this winter.

 

I asked P if it was possible to paint the cupboards.  He thought about it for a second and stated since they were real wood, that it shouldn't be a problem. We discussed painting the a set of the cupboards red, and he agreed and believed it was a great idea.

 

So paint production went underway:

 

 

-remove all hardware/drawers etc.

-place 2 coats of paint (we used oil based)

we wanted more of a rustic look so if you want the full color use about 3-4 coats.

 

 

After the paint has dried replace hinges and doors. Do not replace any shelves or drawers as you will need those out to install the counter top.

 

 

We brought our cupboards in to see how long we wanted the counter to run on each side. This is totally up to you and how much counter top space you want. We choose about 1/2 over the length of the cupboards.

 

-Cut your board

-Do the install

(I cannot tell you how to do this as my handsome hubby and our generous neighbor were the masterminds, I do know it involved screws, and lots of drilling) ;)

-After your counter top is installed rub a small amount of food grade mineral oil in through out the entire counter top, allow to dry overnight and remove any excess oil with a paper towel.

 

 

For the first time in 2 years I am honestly in LOVE with my kitchen and my new prepping station. It was the perfect edition to our space, and everything I was looking for.

 

The BEST part: it cost us about 135.00 after supplies. When quality and attractive furniture starts at around $500.00, and we got to customize it exactly to our liking!

 

Here is the first in the house tour series, My kitchen and the final DIY reveal: