Kitchen Update on a Budget.

We moved into our farmhouse about 6 months ago, and instantly I knew I would change up the kitchen.

THIS was just not doing it for me.  A girl has got to have some colour in her life!!!!

However, I knew we had a tiny, tiny budget.  The beautiful farmhouse sink with a bronze faucet would have to wait. So would the hanging barn style lights.  The floor, as much as it is not my favourite, is perfectly functional and in good shape so I knew it needed to stay.  But that didn’t mean I had to wait to do anything.

I decided to go with chalk paint.  Depending on where you go on the internet, you’ll read about people who love it and about people who hate it.  Being the rebel that I am I decided to ignore the negative and try it anyways.  I was going for a matte type look.  I knew it may be harder to wash, but I didn’t want my kitchen to be too shiny. 🙂

You may wonder how chalk paint fits into a frugal budget.  While it is true that that chalk paint has a larger price tag, I was amazed at how far it stretched.  One small can did my whole kitchen.  I do have a smaller kitchen, and I bought a second can just in case, but boy does this stuff stretch.  You do need to buy a wax for the top, but you don’t need to buy a primer.  So it basically cancels eachother out in the way of extra expenses.  Also, for those wondering, I did NOT buy an expensive special waxing brush.  While those brushes are beyond beautiful, an old ripped up t-shirt and normal paint brush did the job just fine.

I wasn’t feeling the stainglass window and wanted to replace it with something rustic.  Luckily for me, the last owners left a bunch of extra chicken wire laying around.  I washed that wire right up and put it to good use.

I sewed some curtains for underneath the sink to give it that country feel.  And I shuffled around some furniture so I could move a shelf next to the stove.  The empty space looked so odd, I had to do something.  Our fridge wouldn’t fit in there, so we had to put our fridge across the room.  Our home was built with an in-law type suite, which is now our main kitchen, hence the small spot for an apartment sized fridge and stove.  My stove range still looks a bit odd over the stove since it is small, but what can you do on a limited budget?

Nothing but to stop worrying over something as small as a stove top range and be thankful for all that you have, am I right?!

On the other side of the kitchen I have shelves that hold all my spices, teas, and most importantly, ridiculously cute aprons.  Because every day on the homestead requires an adorable apron.

Also, is this not the cutest little knob you ever saw on a cupboard?

I searched and searched for the perfect knob for this cupboard my husband built for me.  He thought I was a little crazy for putting so much time and effort into a knob, but I know that every time he looks at it he is secretly thankful I found the perfect little bird to match my cupboard. That, or I may have heard him mutter something about “happy wife, happy life…”

Anyways, there is still work to do.  We need to build a rustic box to hide my mountain of recycling bins that I clearly made sure was out of the camera angle for this photo shoot.  I am also swooning over some of my fellow bloggers’ kitchens that have added an old French European farmhouse flavour and now I am on the hunt for some good thrift store bargains of copper pots, old french wine bottles, and vintage pictures.

But for now, I am can be found in my new happy place.  And all it took was some paint, some chicken wire, and a curtain.