Update your kitchen for under $100!

I know, I know, sounds crazy right? It's true, you guys know from my I quit my day job post that we were super blessed to have our first starter home be the house my grand father built. How many people can say that?

We were also blessed with his 1960's kitchen.

Stunning right? Who doesn't love yellow formica countertops? 

Personally I prefer this kitchen. Don't you?


The first thing you need to do is take off all of the cabinet doors and hardware. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the process. We did this update over a year ago and I wanted to give an honest review of all of these products. 

The first thing you need to pick up is one of these bad boys. It will save you a lot of hair pulling later trust me. A  foam roller and a tray will cost you a bout $9. 

Second: 

Rust-Oleum Counter top coating $30, we only needed one can to do our whole kitchen. I can't praise this stuff enough. You can tint it any color you want, and it is insanely durable! We have had our painted countertops a year and we abuse them. We cut on them (they are entirely food safe), put hot plates on them; heck we cooked our first family thanksgiving in this kitchen.

There is one down side to this coating. It STINKS. It smells like a can of epoxy exploded in your kitchen. Wear a mask  (you can find them in any hardware store for around $10) and open as many windows and doors as possible. Unfortunately, this requires planning this makeover around the weather. 

 I used Behr Exterior paint ($30) on the cabinets. At the time it was the most durable and again we have no scuffs or scratches on our cabinets almost a year later. In hindsight I would paint them a little darker. It's hard to keep pure white cabinets clean when the nephews come to visit, but everything wipes clean with a little soap and water. 

Finally the hardware! I loved our existing hardware. It was rustic and vintage, right up my alley. It was also easily 40 something years old. Again Rust-Oleum about $12 for this can It had a beautiful texture and has held up to anything we could possibly put it through. 

My best recommendation take all of your hardware outside and spray them on a sheet of cardboard. Be sure to spray the hinges flat, wait for them to dry completely then bend them closed so they are on an angle and spray them again.

 This will be worth it when you open your cabinets you won't have missed any spots and the old color wont show through. We found this out the hard way and had to take the hinges off and do them again. Don't make our rookie mistake.

We already had drop cloths and painters tape from previous projects. 

I was terrified to paint our counter tops and cabinets, I was worried it wouldn't look right and I'd be stuck with a painted mess. In hindsight I would have done this as soon as we moved in. It was worth it, one weekend, less than $100, I'd definitely do it all over again. 

Until next week,
Mary