A Cabinet Update, and a Project That's Actually Finished

You may be wondering how we're coming on the cabinets. Well, we're getting there, very slowly, but getting there. The upper cabinets and cabinet frame are painted, they got a coat of polycrylic this morning, and they are currently spread all around the kitchen drying.

Are we having fun yet?

I'm really pleased with the paint so far. The finish isn't perfect by any means, and if you want a super-smooth factory finish, this is not the project for you. But I don't mind the little blemishes. In fact, to make it look a bit more intentional, I lightly sanded the beveled edges of the cabinets to give them a bit of a rustic look.

Intentionally crappy!

Now, I'll be the first to say, rustic is just about done to death, so that may wind up being the thing that makes them look dated more quickly. But for now, it's a good way to work with the problems that chalk paint presents. And hey, maybe by the time I'm sick of them, we'll be able to afford to pay someone to do them properly!

So while I'm still toiling away on the cabinets, I figured I'd share a project that's actually complete! If you read my post about the Peaches to the Beaches yard sale, you already know that it was a total bust, and I only bought one thing- a mantel. I'd been looking for one for our master bedroom to go under our ridiculously huge tv that I publicly disdain but secretly love. We had a long bookshelf there, but I wasn't loving it. And I love mantels- so many decorating possibilities!!!

Minivan full of mantel!

I was really excited when I found this one because even though it wasn't antique, it was literally the PERFECT size, it was in decent shape, and it was only $40! But we did have to figure out a way to fill the huge fireplace opening. And we were dealing with the added challenge of an air vent behind it. I found an idea on Pinterest of framing it out with tin tiles, and filling the center with a mirror. Loved the tiles, but I find mirrors kind of creepy (Is that weird?), plus, it would block the aforementioned air vent. So we decided to go with decorative sheet metal screens.

We cut out a plywood frame that we stapled to the back of the surround. I glued the tiles on that. Then, we stapled the decorative screen (spray painted white) to the back of the plywood. It wasn't quite opaque enough, so we added another screen with a smaller pattern behind it.I made a hearth by staining a 6' length of 1x12. I had to fill a few holes in the mantel with wood putty, gave it a fresh coat of white paint, and painted the three panels the same color as our walls (Copen Blue by Sherwin Williams)

We attached it to the wall, slid the "hearth" underneath it, and began disguising all the cords. Luckily the columns of the surround are hollow, so there was plenty of cord-stashing room. And I used the leftover decorative metal screen to create a handy-dandy disguise for our cable box. A strategically placed framed picture hides the tv power cord until we eventually run it behind the wall, and I finally have a place to display my awesome ginger jars that I scored at an estate sale.
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Cable box disguise!

I'm thrilled with the way it turned out. I think it adds some fun architectural interest to the room, and I love any additional display space. Plus, it's really romantic looking, and that's never a bad thing in a master bedroom!