Condo renovation/love to decorate!

Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

Condo renovation/love to decorate!

We bought a weekend place in New Orleans to use privately (not for ABB at this point). I had a single week to decorate and get some things set up between all of our guest stays, day job and small side business. Sharing some pics of the kitchen (first is "before" and the rest are "after")  as I am pretty darn proud of the results. We did all the work ourselves and "shoestring" doesn't really apply as much as "dental floss" in terms of budget (or maybe "old thread you pulled off a shirt that had started to unravel.) I have more pics of the space I can share as well. It was built in 1850 and is an old mansion with an amazing street facing balcony.

 

If you have renovation/decoration projects and tips I would love to see what you are working on!kitchenbeforeNOLA.jpgkitchenNOLA2.jpgkitchenNOLA3.jpgkitchenNOLA4.jpgkitchenNOLA1.jpgkitchenNOLA5.jpg

19 Replies 19
Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

Very nice @Laura2592 !. I love the pops of color against the neutral back ground. Well done on that 'old thread' budget, lol. I actually think that makes it more interesting, fun and challenging, when you have a super limited budget.

@Colleen253thanks! Its still very much a work in progress. I will do a real backsplash when I have more time and my contractor is building me some custom shelves for the awkward area where the cabinets end before the window. And I miscounted handles so I have a few more to install. Plus we need more cute accents. But I was pretty excited about how it turned out so far. These are pics of the balcony and the house. Just gorgeous! Needs no help looking good. I only wish they had given the interior as much love.neworleansbalcony.jpgneworleanshouse.jpg

@Laura2592 Wow, yeah that's something! Doesn't look like any of the condos in my neck of the woods, lol.

Patricia2156
Level 10
Barcelona, Spain

@Laura2592 Great! A really loved the changes you did make til now! And I mad about the renovate/organize process in the listing! It's hard but pleasure to the view after all!

Patricia de Castro

@Patricia2156 thanks! I would love to see some of the projects you are working on. 

@Laura2592Its Really Amazing  yeah that's something! Doesn't look like any of the condos in my neck of the woods, lol.

@Rob8013 yes that is one thing I really love about New Orleans-- the architecture. I am an old house buff and the city just has its own style that immediately tells you where you are. 

J-Renato0
Level 10
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

It is beautiful. Congrats.

Thanks! I would love to see some other projects too. I know we all work hard on our spaces.

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Laura2592  Nice!  Are those new or refinished cabinets?  If refinished what did you use on them?  

Painted. I used chalk paint in a beige color and finished with light and dark wax to make it look a little distressed. It was super easy. I had chalk painted a vanity at our cottage (and need an updated picture) and several pieces of furniture and a pirch swing at our main house.  You don't need to prime for chalk paint.  Milk paint either.  Super matte finish but the look was good for this kitchen.  Lasts forever. 

@Laura2592  Interesting.  I always thought chalk paint was really fragile.  I'll check it out as we have on our long term plan to do something with the cabinet doors, either replace, restain or paint.  I also really like the dark beige, more forgiving than bright white but still classic.  Thanks!

@Mark116its actually pretty tough once its "cured." Water based, so easy to get off as you are painting, but when it sets its pretty indestructible.

 

I used Retique It/Renaissance (available on Amazon) in French Beige for this project, but have used Valspar from Lowe's on others. Both are great. There are a lot of good blogs on painting kitchen cabinets with chalk paint.

 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Mark116 @John5097 

 

The beauty of chalk paint is that you do not need to strip, sand and prime. In most cases (except for woods where there is a dark stain, e.g. mahogany, where you might need a stain block primer to prevent bleeding) you can slap the paint straight on.

 

The elbow grease comes when you have to cure it, as @Laura2592 mentioned. This is most commonly done with finishing wax. You can either just use clear wax or a combination of clear and dark or other tinted waxes to get the finish you want. You have to rub it in all over the surface, then leave for 24 hours ideally, and then you buff it. So, that does take a bit of work, but it's much less effort that stripping and sanding and priming.

 

You can also buy matt varnishes to use instead of the wax, if you want a more durable finish. The important thing is that you do use a finishing product because otherwise the paint isn't durable and is easily stained or can just start to rub off, especially in high traffic surfaces such as kitchen cabinets or kitchen tables etc.