A little kitchen updating

I did a small update to my kitchen a couple of weeks ago.  I never liked the color in there but there is not a lot I can do because of the counters and flooring.  Glad the counters have specks of black in them...that helps.  I went with a coffee house type theme - black and tan - and actually decorated above all my cabinets which I had never done before.  Here are some before and afters...and some tips on how to update knobs and things for cheap!
Old light green paint - facing back door

 New - black and tan wall

 Tan with new picture

 Old - hallway with coat pegs

 Tan wall with newly painted black pegs (spray painted)

 Old - above stove

 New above stove - added lights, a couple of vases with some color and a picture - I have added a couple more things since this (hint - orange)!

 Old desk area/microwave cart area

 New - notice microwave cart.  It was an old vintage (probably from the 70s - Brock had it as a kid) brown cart covered in contact paper...now spray painted black.

 Old - view from living room

 New - view from living room

 A couple of new things - clock, vase, picture, and a couple of old things I found in the basement

 Black above cabinets - oversized coffee mug that I got for $5!

 Okay...so did anyone notice the knobs?  In all the before pics they are white and now they are black!  I did NOT replace them - it's black spray paint!  I did some research online and found that if you use a bonding primer, it should work.  I figured if not, I'd replace them then.  So instead of at least $50 in replacement knobs, I paid around $5 for primer and black spray paint (added clear coat which I already had at home).
Here's how I did it.  Took all the knobs off and washed them in soapy water.  Rubbed a little sand paper on them (and I mean like 2 seconds per knob).  Used styrofoam craft pieces that I already had at home and put toothpicks in them.  Put the knobs on top...

 Primed them.  I let them dry for 1/2 hour and then sprayed them black.  Then did the clear coat and let them dry over night.  Super easy...so far (2 weeks in) they paint still looks great.  Based on the shape of mine I would recommend putting them top down first and spraying the bottoms until completion first.  Then hanging them on the toothpicks to do the tops.  (this bottom one was a card board box with the toothpicks - a bit harder to poke through)

I am loving the rich, comforting feel and look of the "new" kitchen.  Down the road I would love to replace the counters and flooring.  I am currently doing research on how to replace counters for cheap (including these paint kits they have now!).  Right now I am settling for some new rugs and enjoying the new decorations.

Organizing kitchen drawers

With the colder temps, I have been cleaning and organizing like crazy.  Got a similiar idea off of pinterest for my measuring cups which were in a drawer.

Used smaller "command" hooks and lined them up inside a cabinet door in my kitchen.  The cabinet I chose is right next to the stove where all my spices are.  You could do the same with table/teaspoons.  I used my label maker to put the sizes next to them.

Dress up station

Reece and Brody love to dress up and have accumulated quite a few dress up items from garage sales, Christmas and birthday.  Halloween has peaked their interest even more.  I had rigged up this shower curtain thing so that we could hang the clothes and used an old cart to put some of the items in.  It was taking up a lot of space and just looked messy.  So I searched online (mainly pinterest) to come up with a new plan for their dress up items.  I found that I had an old white cabinet that I was using in the basement/craft area for party supplies and random things, that would be pefect for a closet-type dress up station.

Here is what it looked like before:

White cabinet with sewing and party items...

 Dress up clothes on shower rod, shoes on the floor, accessories in white cart (MESSY)

 Hats and other things in the orange basket.

Here is what it looks like now:

 I found these tin buckets in my party supplies.  I had the purple paint already.  Bought command hooks and spray painted everything purple.  Used scrapbook stickers to label the buckets.  This smaller one is for dress-up rings...

 This medium sized one is for bracelets, watches, and other things like sunglasses...

 I took all the shelves out of the cabinet but this bottom one.  I took old gift boxes and wrapped them with paper that I already had.  One for purses and one for hats and things...

 Brock installed this wooden pole/doll rod and the shoes are all lined up on the bottom.

 This fairy bucket was something she got for Easter a couple of years ago.  I put the neckelaces, wands, and some wedding flowers in it.

Found a white mirror on clearance for $5 at Meijer and spray painted it with the purple paint. Used command strips to stick it to the side.

The kids can't get all the clothes down or the taller buckets but I wanted it this way. I figured this way she had to either ask to get it down or work for it...which would hopefully make less of a mess!  You could do something similiar using an old dresser and taking the drawers out or making one from scratch.  See pinterest for other ideas!