Before she left my wife made the observation that we have stuff everywhere because of the remodeling we're doing. It is driving us both crazy. So I thought if I could get these cabinets painted, we could get the dishes off the dining room table and put away the way they should be. I thought it would make us both feel better.
She had mentioned she would like an antique crackle finish to give the kitchen a "French Country" look. So I thought, I'll go one step further and turn this into an art project as well. So bear with me while explain how, over the next few weeeks (months) there will be some art on this blog worth looking at.
Step One: My oldest son was a great help and painted the frame of the cabinets.
Step two: I painted each door with two coats of oil primer on each side. No fun to work with at all. I also masked off the inside panel. That's going to be mny "canvas" later on.
Step three: I applied the base coat to the outside edge of each door. There is a total of 12. After that dried, I applied the clear "crakle" finish and let it dry until tacky.
Step four: Then I applied the top color (a sage green) and like a miracle, it splits into this really cool antique finish all by itself.
Step five: OK, this is where the art comes in. I have faked it in photoshop to give you an idea of what the finished product will look like, but I plan on doing a still life in oil of various fruits and vegitables on each door.
Below are the reference photos I have taken so far to work from:
And I must give credit where it is due. Duane Kaiser's work gave me the idea. I am so inspired by the work on his site, "A Painting a Day"
12 comments:
Oh my, Chuck, you are an excellent man! What a lucky family you have! It'll be so much fun to see the progress of this. Great, fabulous idea!
Don't you just love the Painting A Day site -- and you kicked the inspiration up a notch and came up with a fantastic idea! Your photographs are amazing in their own right -- be sure to keep us up on the progress of your work.
I am so impressed you are doing this while she is gone-what a wonderful thing to come home to-we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago so I know how you feel.
The cabinets are going to be beautiful-it will be so much fun watching the transformation.
Oh, so healthy! Why not ribs, a t-bone, a pork chop, a burger, rack of lamb, and etc. - you get the idea.
LHR
Harrisonburg, VA
You are a very good husband! Doug has to struggle to not let his eyes glaze over when I mention interior decorating.
Next the sistine chapel in the living room! This could be a blog unto itself... :-)
Hi.. I stumbled onto your blog yesterday. (link hopping) I think your kitchen project is great!
One thought kept popping into my head. "Gee, I open the shadows of the veggies on the cupboards line up with the natural light from the windows." I'm sorry for butting in... but that dang thought wouldn't let go of me. I had to spit it out.
Looking forward to seeing the end product!
Hey Crusty,
Welcome! What a great idea! It hadn't even occurred to me to do that. But now I think I must.
Checked out your blog too. I'd love to ask you more about retirement. I can't wait for that day, but it seems like it is soooo far away.
Please come back often.
I agree with the other ladies here..wow..what a hubby! Can't wait to see how these progress.
Dede
And keep taking the photos as you go along. I love do it yourself projects. And remember: Painting is easy when you don't know how. But very difficult when you do. Edgar Degas
I love your cabinet art! I am struggling to redo my kitchen in French Country and stumbled on your blog. Do you have any more recent pics of the finished work or the whole room? I would appreciate any inspiration!
Kat
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