The Cover Up

 

 

 

I found this sweet shelf last week at a garage sale for $1.50.  Although she is lovely with her little hearts, these little hearts aren’t really my thing.  There are so many shelves like this around in thrift stores and at garage sales, or you may even have some around your house.  (I know when I was little we had a ton around our home.) Maybe you still dig the hearts, and if you do that is fabulous!  But if not,  here is one easy way to update them with a custom new look. 

When I did my kitchen backsplash I had quite a few scrap peices left over.  You can check the back splash out HERE, but for those who remember, I said I would put those scraps to use. So here you go!  These are plastic tiles made to look like tin, so they are very easy to work with.  I bought mine from Lowe’s. I simply measured the parts of the shelf I wanted to cover, traced it and then cut them out.  Easy breezy!  Before I attached the pieces with epoxy, I spray painted the wood with ORB and then roughly painted over it for a aged appearance.  I even dry brushed a little over the tiles to blend them a little.

 

On the little doors I added a copper upholstery tack with a little piece of jute to hook on the existing screw.  And she was complete!  Quite a transformation, don’t you think?

    

Finding existing pieces like this and adding your own touch, is a great way to get one of a kind decor in your home.  That is unless you have mad wood working skills and can bust out little wood creations yourself.  But in most cases you couldn’t even buy the materials for that cheap, right?  Not to mention reusing, reducing and recycling!…Yeah, I’m just trying to do my part.;)

I’m entering this in the CSI Project Challenge this week. Check it out!

Linking up…

Kitchen Backsplash Makeover

I love my kitchen, but it did not have a back splash. That is something I always wanted to change. I really like tin tiles and I had looked into a couple different places to purchase them and they were kind of pricey and I would have to hire someone to install them. I found these faux tin tiles at Lowe's and they are awesome! At $18 per panel, you can't beat it! I bought them seriously about 9 months ago and they have been sitting ever since. (Gotta love it!) Well, I said I was now ready to do some updating, so here you go. Oh, and this won't be the last of it!

Before.

Before.

And... AFTER!

These were way easy to work with. The hardest part was the measuring and making sure the lines matched up. (I will say, measure twice, cut once ;) ) They come in 18"x 24" sheets and I just used utility scissors to cut them. You could use a utility knife as well. They really look so much like real tin! Everyone who I have shown can't believe they aren't.

I used liquid nails to attach them to the wall. It didn't take much because the tension between the cabinets and the granite helps to hold them in place. Easy breezy! :)

The color and design adds so much warmth and character to our kitchen. I am sooooo excited with how it turned out! And even more that I did it all by myself...woo hoo :) Also, don't be afraid to mix finishes and types of wood. You might feel like everything needs to be the same. I'm not a huge fan of matchy matchy. In our kitchen, I have two different stains on my cabinets along with black painted pieces. As well as stainless steel and oil rubbed bronze finishes. Mixing different finishes just adds interest and gives your home it's own unique feel. Do want feels good to you!

I had some scraps left over so the bread box could not escape my embellishing! Don't you worry there will be more projects to come with the other trimmings. ;) I hope this ispires ya'll to get going with things you have always wanted to change or update in your home. I'm not gonna lie, I was intimidated to take on this project, but the end result is worth it for sure!