painting

I spent the long weekend painting my 70s not-so-chic dark wood panel patterned laminate cabinets. In case you have the same problem and either have your landlord's permission or own your home, this is a quick and cheap way to make them look much better. Because laminate is glossy you'll either need to prime or sand them first. If you decide to prime, get the kind of primer that says it sticks to glossy surfaces without sanding. Otherwise it'll direct you to sand AND prime which is just too much work. So I cleaned, primed, and did coat one on Saturday and finished with a second coat Sunday. I chose a nice black-brown/espresso color that turned out really nice. Now I just have to put in my brushed metal knobs ($2 for 6) from IKEA (yay for their tax free sale this weekend). Hmm actually I think I do have a before picture. Here are the cabinets in all their 70s glory.I want to throw up a bit just looking at them. I'll post some after pics soon.