Mid-Makeover

Phase 1 of this kitchen makeover has lasted way too long.  It involved removing doors, stripping old polyurethane, cleaning, and buying supplies.  Unfortunately each of these also involved days - sometimes many days - of  waiting for my schedule to clear so I could move on to the next step.

Well, today was the day.  With boring - albeit necessary - prep work done, we moved on to Phase 2.  

Here is my lovely assistant working on Coat 1.

Even after one coat, I could see that the white was really going to lighten up the space- a major factor in my decision to go ahead with this crazy idea.

This is what it looks like after two coats.  

I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  It's not as forgiving and wonderful as everyone says.  My brush strokes are very obvious (and, yes, I used the natural bristle brush recommended.  Actually I felt like the brush strokes became less obvious on the small section where I switched to an evil synthetic bristle brush.).  

I watched yet another tutorial on YouTube and this one explained why my brushstrokes are so obvious - I have a harder, non-porous surface to paint on, whereas an untreated board would soak up the paint and make for a smoother surface.  Fair enough, but still kind of disappointing to me after all the glowing praise I've heard for this "miracle" paint.

I'm hoping that a third coat will make everything wonderful.   

The white cabinets definitely are going to transform the look of my dark, little kitchen, and I'm still hopeful that the chalk paint and wax will come through for me and I'll have the updated white cupboards 

I'm hoping for!

Next up: Phase 3 - waxing and waiting