When I moved to Philly over a year and a half ago, all I brought with me was what I could fit in my car- clothes, shoes, and some small decorative items that I had been collecting. I was the last one to move into my apartment (2 roomies moved in before me), so it was already furnished when I arrived. On a good day, the furniture was horrible. And that was on a good day. It sort of reminded me of a guy's college dorm room. The couch was bright green (think 1970s neon). There was a white, pink and purple plain armchair, which sat next to the couch (talk about good color combos). The former tenants left it here. I wonder why. All of the furniture was mismatched and outdated (and not in a cool, vintage-looking way). It really made me excited to invite my friends over to show them the place.
Among the ugly pieces of furniture was a brown cupboard that stood in the kitchen. Granted, it was convenient to have the extra storage space, especially since I was the one who kept my food inside, but it was an eye sore. I've slowly been acquiring and replacing furniture through amazing finds at garage sales, thrift stores, antique malls and craigslist ($50 for an amazing couch set!). And when my roommate (who had provided all the lovely furniture) got married and moved out in June, I took advantage of the opportunity to change as much around the house as possible. Most of her furniture went with her, but she decided to leave the kitchen cupboard. Initially, I wasn't thrilled about the idea of keeping it in my kitchen, but then my creative juices started flowing, and I decided that it would make for the perfect art project.
So I took a field trip to Home Depot (one of my favorite stores) and picked up a gallon of some lovely green paint. I dedicated a Saturday to transforming this unsightly cupboard into a gem. Total project cost: $26 and some change. Plus, I still have half a gallon of paint left. I'm saving it for my next inspiration. Here it is: before and after.
After just one coat:
After 3 coats:
1930s bowls I picked up at an antique store in Shelby Township, Michigan. $20 for the set.
Kitchen scale from an antique mall in Seattle, Washington. $20.
Set of 3 mason jars- $12 from a flea market in Malvern, PA. The 1950s set of pyrex bowls on top of the cupboard are also from the flea market.
White kitchen shelf. $6 at a garage sale in Media, PA. Antique yellow tin, $1 at a flea market in Ardmore, PA. Antique kitchen utensils- $5 from flea market in Malvern. Matryoshka measuring cups- $10.95 from World Market in Seattle. Green saucer and sugar bowl from my grandmother. Can't put a price on that.
Now if only my landlord would replace our kitchen floor and lights.....
*I forgot to mention that the shelf was hung by my most kind, skillful, talented and muscular manfriend, AJR.
