Taking time to really get settled into a new place takes time, doesn’t it? Even when I ‘think’ I’ve got it all settled, I realize that it truly takes years and years to do so. There is still so much to do here on Beatha Fonn – so many seeds to be planted, pastures to be built, animals to raise…

…and laundry rooms to re-decorate. And a killer DIY chalk paint recipe to make.

Naturally.

Even though this should have been on the super, super, super low priority list, eventually I couldn’t stand it any longer.

I kept telling myself: Self, it’s summer. Time to store food, build garden beds, and spent time outside. Self, this is not the time for interior projects. Self, stop it. Stop it, self.

But I was too weak.

Here’s the before (mind you, I’d already removed the cabinet doors at this point):

It was the pipes that showed through behind the washing machine. That’s what really did me in.

As always, there is a fine line to walk with a rental house. We always like to take great care of the homes that we are in and treat them as if they were our own. That being said, it’s not like we are equipped for a huge redesign and overall. It’s just not the way it works when you don’t actually own the home you’re living in. That being said, we love our landlords and with their permission to paint the cabinets and upgrade the hardware, I dove in – as deep as I could in a rental house, anyway.

Alright self, way to not have any self control. I guess let’s do this thing.

The only lay-out difficulty with our house is that every one enters through the laundry room. Even though there is technically a ‘front’ door, no one enters through the front. I thought about putting a sign up in the driveway that would read “Hey people, enter this way (with arrow pointing to the front door)… that way you won’t enter into my laundry room and think I’m a totally schmuck. Please and thank you.”

Alas, people still enter into the laundry room. So even though it’s a room where we spent very little time and even though it should have been (again) super low on the priority list for decorating, it’s the first place I found myself. Such is life.

A few small projects later, I’m loving the results:

The faux-oak cabinets were painted with an amazing DIY chalk paint recipe. A FRACTION of the cost of Annie Sloan (not that I still don’t love her products, but I can’t get it anywhere near here!) and it works just as well. Seriously. What’s that? You’d like the recipe? You got it:

DIY Chalk Paint Recipe

You will need:
– Latex paint of choice (I bought a quart of this delicious goldeny-greeny-yellow)
– Plaster of Paris (purchase HERE) or Potters Plaster (most likely available at your nearest craft store)
– Stir stick
– Bucket

Step One: Add in 1/4 cup of the Plaster of Paris into a bucket. Add a few tablespoons of water a time, stirring to create a smooth paste with the plaster. Add more water of necessary to obtain said smooth paste texture.

Step Two: Add in 3/4 cups of your latex paint. Stir to combine.

Hmm. Welp. I guess that’s it. Pretty easy, huh?

Depending on what you are trying to cover, it will take 1-2 coats. My faux-oat cabinets took two coats. After it dried, I used a sponge (like THIS ONE) to rough up the edges and make them look a little wore. Just cause I like that sort of thing, baby.

Note: If you’d like a thinner paint, simply add a bit of water to the final mixture. This can really help to give that distressed, shabby-chic look.

Some may opt to put a coat or two of wax over the chalk paint to help keep it durable and strong. I didn’t bother to do that on my cabinets because they really don’t take too much abuse. They just hang out up there all day – lookin’ pretty.

Some new hardware from Hobby Lobby….

…and this cute little shade I made from some delicious fabric I found there as well…

Isn’t that cute? I love that it hides the plumbing, as well as adds texture and color to the room.

To complete the makeover, I hit up some local antique stores where I found (perhaps) my favorite little prints of all time:

I die.

I love them so much I want to marry them.

Prints with children and chickens, will you please marry me?

I also picked up this old drawer (for $10!) that I repurposed as a shelf. A few old bottles, my most favorite serving tray, and a nice little fresh green plant helped to complete it.

I used the remaining DIY chalk paint recipe to repaint this sweet little table that I’ve been dragging around with me for lots and lots of years now. A $10 aluminum bowl and one of my favorite towels is all it took to feel complete.

And lastly, I re-purposed a piece of scrap wood that we found laying around down at the shop as a coat/scarf/hat rack. Some mismatched knobs and a wire is all it took to transform it into a functional piece. And the best part is that it covers up an old, ugly electrical panel. Simple enough to remove if we need to access it, but no-one would be the wiser that the box is even there now. Win, win.

And of course, the shoe rack is a re-purposed apple box. I can’t get enough of these. So functional and beautiful and wood-y.

There’s still a few things I’d like to add, but it’s a start. A woman’s work is truly never done, is it? When I get overwhelmed with all that I’d like to accomplish, I try and remind myself to just be productive each day. Even if it’s a little bit. And little by little, small project by small project, things WILL get done. Even though it will take time.

Just time and money.

And everyone just has a TON of that, right? Time? Money?

Ahem. *Please tell me you sense my sarcasm*.

Little by little, friends. Now go paint something!

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