Washing it White
Ali Raisman. A dream budget. The Leaning Tower of Pisa. A good boob job. What do these have in common? Balance.
And balance is exactly what we wanted to add to our kitchen. One of the biggest (and smallest) things we talked about doing in our kitchen was adding shelves on the other side of the window to balance out the cabinet. This has been the plan since day one because we didn’t want to add another cabinet on that side and fully obstruct our windows. There was no other solution in our minds. I guess a large piece of artwork would have worked…but I love open shelving and since the existing cabinet next to the window has glass panel doors, I figured this would mimic that same feel.
As you recall, the previous tile only came up so high…
I liked the idea of having our beautiful tile in the background, so I planned for our tile to go high.
During the great shelving debate of 2012, I was convinced that I didn’t need three shelves…that two would balance things out just fine. Also, I concluded that floating shelves would not be the way to go in our kitchen…that corbels would be my kitchen’s BFF. Sometimes it helps to hear advice and sometimes it doesn’t…in this case, it totally helped to hear it all discussed up down and sideways.
So today’s post is not about us drilling into the tile (and almost passing out from the stress!) or hanging the shelves with Jeremy’s weight limit requirements met…this is about how we prepped the shelves.
First of all, we bought four corbels from a local company called Osborne Wood Products. I found this company during my hunt for wood corbels (we wanted something chunky and simple and our local Home Depot and Lowes didn’t have anything that fit the bill…so I went a hunting online). The best part is that they make the corbels from a ton of different types of wood – so they can be stained to match cabinets exactly…or be made from more paint-grade woods which cuts down on the cost. They don’t know me or give me anything for free….I just really am thrilled to be a customer after experiencing their great customer service. Oh and the best part?! I got matching corbels for our island that are the exact same profile – just bigger!
The shelf part was actually a scrap of wood that we cut off our old bathroom countertops. Making the shelf part FREE! Raise the roof for hoarders!
So now that you got the nitty gritty on why and what we were working with, here’s how we prepped them. I really wanted the shelf part to be a little different than a plain matte white…I loved the butcherblock and hated to cover it up completely. I decided in order to keep some of that wood grain, I could white wash the shelf till it was white enough to blend in but still slightly transparent so that I could see some of that lovely material underneath.
There are a million point three ways of white washing…there is probably a different method for each generation, each culture, each geographic location, each menstrual cycle, etc. This is a REALLY simple way to white wash. First you wanna gather your materials. I got our shelves out (Jeremy sanded them down till they were super smooth), and I needed a mixing bowl, a brush, water, paper towels and white paint.
Cute baby optional.
I used a 1 to 1 mix of paint to water. You wanna mix it REALLY well.
Then brush it on your wood (it’s gonna be really really soupy so be careful of drips). I let mine sit for a couple minutes. The wood is gonna suck it up like a toddler and fruit snacks. After your couple minutes of sucking is done, take your paper towels and wipe off any excess. This is what it looked like after one coat…
And here it is after two…
See how I can still tell that wood underneath is fabulous but it’s white?!
We painted the corbels plain white…so they are definitely more substantial. From far away you can barely tell that the shelves are white washed…
But up close, the texture lends itself to a really subtle and soft shelf. I love how it looks with the tile. It’s like they are cousins 
And because I know I’m gonna get a thousand questions about them…the bowls are from TJMaxx. When The Tile Shop folks came to our house to photograph the kitchen, they took me shopping for styling props and I picked these out. They are my new loves. They are rubbing my feet and feeding me bon-bons as we speak.
I hopefully will be able to wrap up all our kitchen update posts this week. YAY! Just be prepared for an onslaught of kitchen posts. You be the monestery, my kitchen will be the Vikings….be prepared for a beat down. By the time we are done, you will be so sick of this space that you will wanna strangle me. Although…monks don’t do that.
p.s. Who else is obsessed with the History Channel lately?! We are so hooked on the Bible series and Vikings. yes. that’s contradictory. we get the irony.
I read all the time and never comment but I HAVE to this time! That baby is sooo cute! I will give him the fourth cutest baby EVER only b/c I have to give *mine* props too.
Beautiful kitchen, I hope to one day have the same vision for my kitchen, it just hasn’t gotten there yet!
Wow! What a transformation! Can’t wait to read more.
Did you ever think about adding one more shelf just above the tile line? Once full, it would balance out the height of the window and the cabinets on the other side. (I like it very much the way you did it, but I am totally OCD about things like that.)
Yes I did! That was the original plan but in real life, it definitely would have looked awkward because it would be over eight feet high.
xo – kb
Got it! I’m a shorty, so I’d hate to have to decorate and then dust something that high! (Of course, you are brave and climb all over stuff even when pregnant…)
WESTON IS SOOOOO CUTE! AAAAAH! Need to cuddle him! (Ok, I don’t even live in the same country ATM, not to mention that we’re not friends, but ACK! he is adorable!)
The tile looks very familiar……..yhl
I believe that John & Sherry have gray penny tile and I have 2″ marble hex…they could be cousins, I guess
xo – kb
Weston is ridiculous. I want to smooch his cheeks. And I LOVE your shelves and all the pretty things on them! I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now and enjoy every bit of it. Thanks for letting us peek into your life via the internet
I live about 10 minutes from Osborne Wood – so cool to see a local (to me) product going into KB’s house. =)
1. Yes, LOVING the new shelves and the white wash looks fantastic.
2. Vikings is amazing and I try my best not to feel bad about it when watching it on the History channel. I talk myself into it… “Its on History… this is historically accurate… sure”
3. Watch The Bible AFTER Vikings… it always makes me feel better… like going to church after a rough weekend to be forgiven
haha..your number three is hilarious
xo – kb
I want your kitchen! So impressed with everything and love the tile.
It looks amazing! I love it. we have dark granite countertops in our kitchen and will be painting our cabinets white. I love your choice of cabinet hardware. I love everything!
So now I really want to attack my kitchen and replace it with open shelves!
I LOVE the way the shelves turned out! I am using them as inspiration for the new shelves I hope to put up in my kitchen.
I am so happy for you and the success of your blog! You deserve it. I’m a long time reader and I think you are just wonderful! You deserve all of this success, you work hard for it!
xoxo
Oh my gosh, I bet you never get tired of that smile on Weston! I know your readers don’t! He is too much.
Katie, your kitchen looks great. I’m loving the tile and the shelves. Your boys are precious, thanks for sharing all the cute photos. I give you credit for handling such ridiculous comments the way you do.
I love the open shelves. It definately looks modern, clean and bright. I just bought the same honeycomb vase at Target and love it!
Helpful mama reminder! Keep the bumbo only on the floor. There was a massive recall due to children falling off of tables/chairs/raised surfaces.
Yes! I meant to say it in the post itself but he didn’t sit up there without Jeremy right off camera spotting him. Jer was on baby patrol and pulled him down just as soon as my camera clicked
Thanks though – I should have said it before!
xo – kb
Congrats on putting an end to the ‘great shelving debate’ and getting them mounted. I think this shows that even with careful planning there are always unexpected design changes that pop up during a kitchen remodel. You handled it like a pro – well done.
Bring on more kitchen posts!
LOVE that shot of Weston! He really looks like Jeremy there too. Happy babies are the best!
Also, I read your laid off post the day I found out I may be losing my job in the next few weeks, so good timing and encouragement. Thanks! I’m so happy Jeremy has a new job. Praying for your whole fam to adjust well. Subsequently, I had a weird dream that we had to sell our house and move into an apartment. You guys had just moved into a temporary apt, so we visited you to ask your advice and see if it was a good place for us too. Our 2 1/2 yo son enjoyed playing with Will. Thought you should know.
I love how your kitchen is turning out! The shelves are perfect with just two. Good choice!!
PS – Please don’t let all the negative comments get you down! It’s obvious you are a great mom and would never do anything to put your children in harms way!! How kind of you to explain yourself to all the people who commented otherwise.
Gorgeous! I have to know where you got that white canister with the clover cut outs! I’m obsessed with it!
It’s from Michaels! It’s kinda new and probably still available! RUN GO!
xo – kb
Oh I just love your kitchen now! It’s so gorgeous! It makes me anxious to paint our cabinets and redo our back splash!
Great tutorial! I plan to use this for the shelves in our bathroom
Also, love the vase on the island holding the limes. Great style. Target?
Pier 1
xo – kb
Weston is sooooo adorable! What a little sweetie!
I think I can actually do that white washing! (We’re not as DIY gifted as you guys at this house.)
Weston is very, very cute! That adorable photo with him smiling is just too much!