National Folk Farmhouse Kitchen - Making A Beadboard Backsplash

Back in February, we dressed up our dark brown painted kitchen cabinets with some nice creamy white paint (called String of Pearls).  We added some beadboard panels to the sides of the cabinets to match the beadboard that was already on each side of the island.  We were very pleased with the results!  It really lightened and brightened up the orginal kitchen in this little old National Folk Farmhouse.  

Here is a blog post of that project:

https://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/2020/02/beadboard-and-beetle-bug.html

The kitchen was very nice, but I really didn't care for the horizontal glass block tiles that were put in as a backsplash.  It was a fad about 10 years ago, and I never cared for that style even back then.  The previous owner said it was his first time laying tile, and the project was a little crooked as well. It kind of kept the kitchen "dark" looking and too many contrasting patterns.

We were watching an HGTV show a few weeks ago, and I saw a cute farmhouse kitchen with beadboard backsplash. It caught my eye.... Yes! That is what I wanted! 

For under $20, we could transform the kitchen backsplash!  

So last week when we were picking up the windows for the motorhome, we called ahead to Home Depot and arranged a curbside pick-up. I brought along an extra scrap piece to be sure the beadboard was the same as what we had before (they had 2 kinds on the website).  Steve brought along a battery operated saw to buzz the 8 foot long piece into two smaller pieces to fit in the back of the Saturn.  Home Depot will also cut your panels to size for free inside of the store if you wish. 

We put the beadboard sheets into the basement on sawhorses with a tarp underneath to catch any drips.  It's too cold now out to paint in the garage anymore this year.  See my 4 little window boxes of coleus plants?  They winter over in the basement, in windows that face the south for sun exposure. I can water them and not worry about runoff from the drainage holes in the bottom of the window boxes.  It just goes on the floor and down the channel to the sump pump.  I painted two coats onto the panels and the trim pieces we would need for the edges.

On Tuesday, Steve said it was a good day to get started.  He gathered the tools and started to measure up to be sure what we were going to get cut out correctly. Of course, with an old house, the walls and cabinets are crooked, so it took careful measuring and scribing to get it just right.

Steve loves this heavy duty adhesive

from Loc-Tite that holds panels tight really well.

We cut the first panel to size, and it takes two of us on the table saw to cut the sheets safely. I found this table saw at a rummage sale one day, on a bargain of a bargain of a bargain, and the guy even delivered it for me! $50.  It was a nice surprise for Steveio, and we have gotten a lot of use out of it. 

Steve dry fit the piece of beadboard, and marked out the sections for notches around the cabinetry, and the opening for the outlet.  He measures three times before he cuts it out, just to be sure. 

For the first piece, he spread the adhesive right onto the clean glass block tiles.  It clung nicely and we were able to press the panel right into place. 

Look at that... 

Now to add the next piece and the trim,

and a bit of caulk along the bottom edge.

A while back I saw these really pretty little beadboard style outlet covers.  They are made from some kind of stone resin, not flexible cheap plastic. They looked kind of old fashioned.  I remembered the old black bakelite ones in our house in Chilton that had ridges like this too.  Soooooo  I splurged, and bought two for the countertop area and two more for the sides of the island.  Sometimes we need a little "luxury".  

The outlet covers helped hold the beadboard into place while the adhesive dried.  I used tiny pushpins on the edges to hold it as well.  Steve carefully ran a bead of caulk along the edges, and in the corner.  Once the white caulk cures and dries, I will touch it up with some paint to match. 

Wow.. it really brightened up in that corner of the kitchen!  I like how clean it looks and less distracting of the other patterned brown/grey/silver glass block tiles.  I think it looks more old fashioned and stylistic to the era. 

So here is the right half of the kitchen backsplash done.  It sure looks different to us. I am glad we are making the changes. 

That was enough for one day...  I am slipping back under the weather again, and I think I needed to soak in the tub and get some hot steamy air into my lungs.  When is this stuff ever going to go away?  This has been hanging on since Sept 15, and seems to keep relapsing every time I feel better? 

We both got a good night's sleep, so this morning, we decided to tackle the other half of the counter backsplash. Right after coffee, Steve started measuring up and scribing a new piece of beadboard. I wasn't even out of my jammies yet!  What a go go go guy! 

This time, he decided to put the Power Grab adhesive on the back of the panels of each piece before sliding them into place.  Either way works fine, but he wanted to try it out to see if there was a difference.  I think the most important part is that the surface you are adhering to must be clean and free from any grease or dampness.  

Now he got the corner pieces set.   I was surprised to learn there was one more strip of undercounter LED lighting that we never knew was there before!!! It was by the microwave, and we never saw it over the last year that we have owned the house! LOL I was also able to stick up the transformer box for the undercounter lighting again.  I know it's hanging down in the pic, because we wanted to find the brand of this style.  We want to buy one more strip to put over on the angled corner on the right side of cabinets too.   

Now we just had to stick on the trim piece. Don't ya know, that tube of Power Grab ran out, so he had to go open up a new tube, for this one last piece of trim. ACK! 

There... all smoothed out and caulked and set into place.  Now the backsplash matches the ends of the upper cabinets, and the sides and drawer fronts on the island.

It really makes the kitchen much brighter and cleaner and cripser.  It's not a glaring white, it's a soft creamy pearl color.  With the stainless steel appliances and hood vent, complemented by the cabinet and drawer pulls, I think it all coordinates together.

I put the microwave back into the corner, and the little things here and there on the countertop. I have a big red nesting chicken I got while shopping at a thrift shop years ago with my friend Vicky.  She talked me into it.  Now I keep treats in there for the grandkids when they visit.  

(see? it needs a bit more light by the chicken)

I have a little red chicken coffee mug, left behind by the sellers that I keep my dish washing vegetable scrubbing brush in.  I have a little ceramic pot and dish from our grandkids in Green Bay for pot scrubbers, sink plug and some odds and ends that seem to accumulate in the kitchen. I like a clear countertop and not any clutter.  Then when I start a baking or cooking project, I don't have to clear things away first.

Steve also made a little addition to my new Sink Of My Dreams... It came with a wooden cutting board. But he said we should also have a nylon/plastic one for cutting meats on.  Never a good idea to cut raw meat on a wooden board, even if it is sealed with mineral oil.  So he took my big white one and cut it down on the saw, sanded the edges smooth and it fits on the sink too! 

"So there you have it" 

as Steve is known to say...  

my Farmhouse Kitchen is now finished!  

Today, we heard the city crews come up to the front corner of our yard. Just Monday afternoon Steve had set out the branches from the hunk of tree that he had Gary cut down for us.  Our city takes note of where branches are on the edges of the streets, and comes back and chips them up with the chipping truck.  Then we can go to the city lot and get free wood chips! 

(oops it was windy and the front porch flag

flipped up and over the pole)

Tonight, I think we are going to curl up and watch tv.

Maybe it will be another HGTV show, 

and we will get more ideas for another project? 

Wait and see. 

Beadboard Doors - HCE - and Chandelier Facelift

I think my National Folk Farmhouse Kitchen is done?

Now that all of the ends of the cabinets are covered with the beadboard panels, there was a little bit left.  From the remaining sheet of beadboard, Steve was able to cut out five more smaller panels. He had to really carefully plan the cuts, so the beadboard pattern would be equally balanced and centered on each side where it sets into the door. These were then glued to each cabinet door of the island, using contact cement. 

He utilized my rolling pin to help make sure that each piece of beadboard was firmly pressed down onto the door panel.

Once they were in place, he went around the edges with a bead of caulk to finish in the joint all around.  After the caulk was dry, I gave each of the cabinet doors two coats of paint. I was very pleased with the final result. It looks like they were originally made that way with beadboard.

The first thing this morning, before he even had his second cup of coffee, Steve got the doors all mounted back onto the island. He made sure they were level and each one shut perfectly and was correctly lined up.

These two smaller ones were just regular cabinet doors on each side of the island stove. A while back, we added pull out Rev-A-Shelf kits to make one a trash bin and the other one a recycling bin.

This is the back side of the island that faces the sink.

I'm really glad we did this. It was a lot of work. I wasn't sure if I wanted a white kitchen, because this was Steve's idea.  But now it looks so bright and cheery, I smile when I walk into the room. 

My Oh My, 

this really dressed up our 

National Folk Farmhouse Kitchen!  

I also repotted a couple clumps of ivy that I had rooting in water. I found the perfect shade of red flower pots in our newest store in Oconto, a Dollar Tree. So for a dollar apiece I got these pretty little flower pots that look so nice in the window over the kitchen sink.

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Tuesday was pretty busy for me. Since we've moved back to Oconto, I rejoined with my HCE Homemakers group. HCE stands for Home and Community Education. I jokingly say it's kind of like 4-H for Old Farm ladies! LOL

Various times throughout the year we meet with other HCE groups from around the county and work on volunteer projects. We call it "Stitches of Love". 

The two main projects we worked on this time were making fleece tied blankets that go to cancer chemo patients and other hospice related recipients. Also we sew little fabric book bags for a program called Books R4U that gives four-year-old Head Start children in our county story books, coloring books, crayons, pencils etc and a nice little fabric book bag to keep them in.

The day was filled with laughter and fun, and especially a nice feeling because we were doing something for someone else. Donors furnish us with the funds for the nicer quality fleece fabric as well as donations and sponsors for the supplies and fabric for the book bags. It's so nice to be back with my familiar ladies again. I had been a member of this group for 13 years before we moved away in 2012.

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We spent the rest of the evening assisting a family member in the hospital. It was a long evening and we didn't get home until after 11 p.m. Prayers are still greatly appreciated!

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This afternoon I had a little project of my own to work on. While Steve is still finishing up some of the electrical ceiling boxes with the new wiring, I felt it was time to give a little face-lift to the beautiful crystal chandelier that hangs in our bathroom. Today was the day, because he was going to be putting it back up soon. So if I was going to do anything to it, I better get my own butt in gear.

The chandelier is beautiful, and it's actually newer, but it is made to look old. I did not care for the aged distressed look on the surface of the metal. So my plan was to dress it up with a spray can of chrome metallic paint.

Before I started removing any of the crystals, I took very close photographs of which ones were located from which little hole in what part of the light fixture. There are six different configurations and shapes of crystals... some had three beads above the main crystal and other ones only had one bead above the main crystal. The crystals were three different shapes and three different sizes as well. I wanted to be sure that I was going to put it back together the same way that it came apart.

(wow... those crystals were dirty!)

There were 25 various strands hanging from the framework, and if you count even each little crystal bead of each strand, that means that there were 75 individual crystals in total. I didn't want to mess anything up.

My plan was to remove the crystals and then paint the frameworks silver. Everything else in our bathroom is silver and chrome. The legs on the clawfoot tub, the faucets on the sink, the other light fixture over the sink and the metal trim on the shower are all silver.

One hint I learned long ago, is that after you remove any of the glass shades (or crystals in this case), cover up the light sockets with pieces of tin foil crumpled up around them to make sure that none of the spray paint gets down inside of the light socket.

It didn't take me long to spritz spritz spritz and I had it covered from all directions with silver paint. I did that work down in the basement, away from anything that could get overspray on it.

While that was drying, I was able to clean all of the crystals in a vinegar and water solution and rinse them off after a little soak in Dawn dish soap as well. They came out gleaming, and I wiped each one to a pretty glistening finish.

The other part of the face-lift that I performed was on these 4 yellowish plastic faux candle sleeves that go over the sockets. They were an interesting vintagey looking color, but they were more yellow than what all of the trim in the bathroom. So out came my little paintbrush and dip-dab-dip-dab I had them all spruced up as well. Now they will harmonize a little better and look good against the silvery light fixture and glittery crystals.

Steve was working hard to finish installing the last few ceiling fixture boxes so the lights could be securely attached in proper fashion according to code. Of course, the old wiring was just two old wires stuck through the plaster ceiling. That is all non-functioning and safely removed.

Once the main chandelier fixture frame was dry, I carefully put back each little strand of crystals. Following my photographs from earlier, I was able to put everything back in place. Each little strand of crystals is attached by a thin fine keyring type circular metal band. They're very fine and tiny and you cannot pull too hard or they would bend out of shape. Soon the fixture was back together and Steve was on standby, anxiously waiting for me to hand it to him. As I held the chandelier up from below, he was up on the ladder above doing the proper connections. Soon it was back to its former glory, but with a nice face lift of glittering silver instead of the rusty and vintage distressed frame of before.

I think it made a nice improvement and looks much more feminine and elegant for my master bathroom!

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We are due for more snow again tonight. It started to snow right before supper. We made up a nice hot supper of chicken vegetable soup and crackers. Perfect for a snowy evening. It is even sticking to the windows. 

It's starting to get blustery and blowing and really coming down out there. They said only a few inches, but we will see what is what by morning.

Time now to settle in while he watches an old western or two, and I am going to sew on my quilt...  or soak in my tub and gaze up at my face-lifted chandelier!