Painted Backsplash

There are two things I know about the previous owner of our home. One: she loved to study the bible, two: she loved to cook. This last statement is evident from the some 200 canned goods we found in our kitchen and the grease splattered wood paneling in our kitchen.

There is probably about 70 years worth of goo on the paneling. I cleaned it when we moved in and one of the walls I painted. When I primed the wall I noticed immediately that the wall looked yellow. I was using Kilz acrylic primer. After some googling I read to use oil based primer. So, I went out and bought that.

When I painted the cabinets I decided to leave the backsplash how it was because I didn’t want to do extra work. Well, It’s been a few months and I don’t think I’m getting my subway tile anytime soon. We have to get countertops first, then we can tile. I couldn’t take it any longer, so this weekend I decided to paint. It took two coats of oil based primer and two coats of paint. It could use another, but since it’s a temporary fix I opted not to. Oh, I decided to paint it the color of the cabinets, so I could kinda get a feel of what it would look like with white subway tile.

Here is the before:

Also notice the nasty brown backsplash behind the stove. Ewww…why did people love brown stuff so much? Brown floors, brown walls, brown vents, brown fans, brown sinks, brown backsplashes. Thank goodness the times have moved past the brown stage. Here is the backsplash now. (remember this will all be tiled and there will be a stainless microwave where the vent is, in the future).

I taped off the whole area and used garbage bags to make sure I didn’t get paint anywhere but where I wanted. I primed the area twice and then spray painted it hammered silver. I think it looks much better. Beware of fumes, between the spray paint and the oil primer….I almost died….twice.

Sooooo much better, in my opinion. I haven’t added handles to the drawers, because the ones I ordered are way too big. Not sure what I’m going to do yet. Also, we are going to replace the cabinet doors on the top row of cabinets. Underneath I would love to have open storage. I plan on painting the backs of the cabinets a dark blue green so my white dishes will pop. On the left (which is now our pantry) will have all my antique kitchen thingys. We actually have a pantry but we need to put up drywall in there.

Here is a close up of some of my favorite things in my kitchen.

Vintage canisters. I scored these babies for $10 at a yard sale!

That grease container was my Maw-Maws. I love it. Old blue mason jar from goodwill. $3. Old kitchen doohickies I’ve collected over the years.

Glass container collection. I’m probably going to store candies and treats in these. Maybe some rosemary olive oil in the glass container on the far left. It has a name, but my mind is blank. It’s actually an old wine bottle. I know this because it had the label on it when I bought it at a thrift store.

I’m getting so low on Guyana sugar. : ( It’s called Demerara Gold, if you were curious. We brought home 40lbs from Guyana, South America when we went on a mission trip back in 2010.

And lastly, my new best friend:

An electric water-heater, tea pitcher. Can you tell that it’s been a while since I’ve blogged? I can’t figure out the right words for anything! Anyways this little guy, I think his name is Bodum, came from Hudson’s Dirt Cheap. His ticket said $40, which is typical for electric kettles (?) but you know I NEVER pay ticket price. I got him for a whopping $8! He’s supposed to be my x-mas gift, but I begged The Jeffrey to let me have him early! Wow, is tea making a jiffy! He heats water so quick. I love it!

So, there you have a few of my favorite things. Kinda like Oprah, but not.

Cheers!