DIY Kitchen Renovation on a Budget

(*Thank you Giani Granite and TicTacTiles for sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% my own.)

I believe first impressions are everything! It could be when you meet someone for the first time or even when you walk into a room. One of my cousins said this to me once and its always stuck with me…” I love that your home feels homey.” At first, I looked around and asked is it the toys all over the place or just the mess because the reality is Steven and I both work and we clean as we go. But she responded with “No, it feels like actual humans live here. You can feel the warmth and love, and that’s special.” That moment alone was special!

 

Which brings me to the room in our home that we spend most of our time in, and host our family gatherings in, the one place that feels homey, our kitchen. Before we did the make-over I hated the way it looked. Honestly only because the paint on the cabinets looked like oil stains and the hinges were just gross. I was not a big fan of the brownish counter top either. The kitchen just had no character and it felt so dark once the sun stopped shining in there after 11am. But who knew what a little paint on the cabinets, counter top (yes guys I said paint on the counter top) and faux tile could make a room feel bright and beautiful again.

 

So, let’s get into the fun details of it all. The paint we used on the cabinets and counter top all came from Giani Granite. The first thing that came to mind when I saw the box for the cabinets was, “Will this be enough!?” The Nuevo Black Deco Cabinet Paint Kit contains, two 31 oz. Cans of Nuvo Cabinet Paint, 1 Roller Arm, 2 Roller Covers, 1 Brush, 2 Stir Sticks and the Step-by-Step Illustrated Instruction. And to my surprise it was! We have enough left-over paint to do another coat on it all. The directions are very easy, and the kit is perfect for first time DIY-selfers. Because some of our cabinets were stained with oil, we did sand ours down. We did 3 coats on everything to get it to look just like we wanted too. Once the cabinets and drawers were painted, we worked on the counter top.

For the countertop we used the Giani Marble Countertop Paint Kit. I love the marble look right now but we all know real marble is not cheap and when you’re on a budget you start looking for other resources in order to get that same look right!? But before I invested in this kit, I was pretty skeptical just like you guys! I did do some research and read reviews and I was sold on this product that I had to try it out myself. So, let me start of by saying this, if you are going to paint your countertop please be patient. Consider it a masterpiece that takes times and you want it to come out perfect. You will read the instructions and watch the tutorial video a million times before you even begin, because I know that that’s what I did. It took me all weekend long. It is a process. Everything that you need is in that kit; 31 oz. Marble White Primer, 6 oz. Grey Veining Mineral, 3 oz. White Highlight Mineral, 16 oz. Marble Protective Topcoat, 6″ Giani Roller Arm & 2 Roller Pads, 2″ Softening Brush, 4″ Giani Paint Sponge (half), 2″ Foam Brush, Artist Brush, Misting Bottle, Practice Board, Step-By-Step Instructions.

 

Once you start the process and you see it coming together it’ll be all worth it. My favorite part of the countertop painting was creating those marble lines. If I did not like them, I would erase them and start all over again. Of course, this was done within a certain amount of time because those lines eventually dried up and I could no longer change them. If you have the patience and dedicate a whole weekend trust me, you will be beyond satisfied with the results! I absolutely loved how everything turned out. Here is also a heads up on the countertops! Once you have finished, make sure to let it completely dry up before you start putting heavy appliances on it. This process overall takes about two weeks. Guess why it’s taken me so long to write this now. (insert smiley face here.) I wanted to make sure that it would hold up after the two weeks and so far, so good a month later!

 

The last touches we added were the euro-style handle bars to make it look modern chic and my favorite part, is the backsplash from TicTacTiles! It is the easiest thing to apply and it looks so real! Unless you been keeping up with this kitchen renovation you would never guess by just looking at it. For those of you that aren’t sure what TicTacTiles is, well let me break it down to you. It is basically a self-adhesive 3D wall tile also known as a sticker that is very sticky! Super easy to put on without the mess. If you missed my stories on how we applied it just head over to my ‘kitchen renovation’ highlight and you will find the video there. The TicTacTiles Subway Mono White gave it that final touch it needed to be a very welcoming, homey, and happy kitchen! If you guys have any questions, please feel free to leave them below in the comment section. I hope that this will inspire and help you guys with your future DIY Kitchen project. Also check out the before and after pictures below!