I love making our home pretty on a budget! Now that my daughter has moved to her own place, I have the opportunity to do makeovers for her home as well! If I only had more time…But, I do accomplish things little by little.
Finding the Perfect Shelf
I enjoyed making over this little shelf for my daughter’s kitchen. Grampy and I found it at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It was originally part of a set and came with a bathroom vanity. I think it was priced at $120 or $125 for both. It’s been several months, so I don’t remember the exact amount. I asked the manager if they would sell the shelf separately and she said they would, for $40. I checked with my daughter, and she said $40 was out of her budget. I told the manager, and she brought the price down to $20, which was great! So, we brought it home.
It was not beautiful in the beginning. It had a very dated, orangey finish and some scuffs and scratches, and so I set about making it beautiful on a budget.
Using leftover paint to keep this a budget-friendly project!
First, I removed the doors and gave it a good cleaning and filled in a couple of nail holes. We decided to keep the hardware, so that was a savings. My daughter’s kitchen walls are painted a cheery yellow. She bought the wall paint at the Habitat Store as well. For the shelf, we chose the color “Picket Fence” in an eggshell finish. We buy it at Walmart, and we just used what we had left over from painting the sunroom and the grandkids’ bedroom. It’s a white that I think goes well with lots of colors.
It took a few coats of paint to get a good finish. I used a foam roller for the larger areas and a brush where that wouldn’t reach.
What a difference a few coats of paint can make! I like the little curved detail at the bottom of the shelf.
While the shelf was drying, I cleaned the knobs and hinges and took them outside to spray paint them. I used Rustoleum spray paint in the color “Oil-Rubbed Bronze.” I have a can that I’ve used for several projects. Spray painting is such an easy and inexpensive way to update hardware. I usually seal the hardware with a coat of clear spray sealer for extra durability.
The only thing we purchased were some small hooks to go along the bottom of the shelf. They were around $4 for a package of two at WalMart.
The Completed Project: A cute and useful shelf for $28.00
When everything was dry, I put it all back together and we took it to my daughter’s new place to hang in her kitchen. It provides some great storage (which always seems to be lacking in mobile home kitchens). And it fills in a big empty spot and gives the kitchen some charm. We think it’s prefect!
This was a fun project, and I loved being able to make something useful and pretty (on a budget!) for my daughter’s new place.
See you later!
