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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I cheated at Lowe's

I confess, I cheated at Lowe's.
Not with a man, but in the lumber area. :)
I have been thinking that my island looks a little rough; thats not the look I wanted..

This started out as a thrift store cabinet( it is a Kraftsmaid though, cost 24.99)
You can see the whole kitchen redo HERE.

Anyways, back to my story.
We used a thin wood known as lauan (it is also used as an underlayment) on the sides since they were all open.
The stain went on darker than the stain used on the cabinets( even though the salesman at Lowe's said it was the same wood AND we had same application time).
Every time I looked at it, I knew I wanted to do something more with it.

Went to Lowe's to look at corbels.
My thinking was they would make it more the center of the room and look more finished.
Well, corbels are not cheap!!
kept looking at them and looking.....
then headed to the lumber dept. ..........
well, lumber was cheaper, alot cheaper!!!!
but SO( significant other) said we didn't have a template to make our own corbels
the light bulb came on (or off) in my head.
I told him to head back to the other dept. and grab me one of them corbels; while I grabbed up a 2x8x6 board.
Of course, I didn't have a pen in my purse. :(
I headed to the closest counter ; SO is looking horrified- he knows what I am going to do. lol
The wonderful, cute, cashier handed me a pen and I drew a template of the corbel ON TO the piece of wood that I was going to buy(he even told me it was good idea).
We took the template corbel back to its area and paid for our piece of wood.
Original corbel 15.00 EACH (I needed six). Total would be 90.00!!!
My cost for piece of wood to make my own - $6.51 !!!!
$6.51 !!!!

Brought it home. Cut out the one I drew in the store and then used it as a template to make the rest.

sanded, primed and attached to island.
All painted and distressed. I love the look!!!!!

view from the couch

I think it was worth cheating.........................

26 comments:

  1. holy cow yes it was!!!!! I never would have thought of that..that is genious!! I love how your island looks now..really looks old and antique..you did a great job..and thanks for the tip too.:)

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  2. Wow! Definitely worth cheating!! What a brilliant idea, it looks great!!

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  3. great transformation and definitely worth cheating. Looks great.

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  4. OMW.... I love it!! Totally LOVE the transformation.

    Awesome job!!!

    WOLFIE

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  5. GENIUS...PURE GENIUS!!!
    Heck I would do the same thing, just don't know if I would be smart enough to think of it on the fly!
    Someday, when I have an island, I think I will steal this idea and use it.
    Anything to save our hard earned $$$!
    Have a great weekend :)

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  6. I don't see a cheater here. I see a genius. What a fabulous transformation. Perfect use of good brainpower. Love it.
    AMY

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  7. Smarty pants!! It looks great and the light color brightens to room! You did good girl!

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  8. LOL! Too funny! Not cheating...just usin' the old noggin! :0)
    Great job!

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  9. Love your island and the corbels are just the right touch. This so sounds like something I would do! I also take pics with my cel phone if I see something clever. Very creative of you!

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  10. Totally fabulous! If you're a cheater, than I am too. I do the same thing all the time. ;)

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  11. Wow! That looks great! Makes me want to go to Lowes and d some cheating too!:)

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  12. WOW that looks awesome. You know those saying Mother of invention and blah blah of ingenuity. Copying is a form of flatery. Lowes should know that.

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  13. I LOVE This!! Great idea for a fraction of the cost and you really don't see a difference! I love the way you distressed it. it reall has become the focal point in your kitchen!! You did great!!:0)

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  14. Holey corbel you have motzy!! LOL!! What a fabulous turnout you got with those hand done corbels! I love how time worn your island looks now. Fabulous outcome!

    Donna

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  15. What a great cheat! I like the new look and distressed finish.

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  16. Genius! I like your thinking :) It turned out so good and you did a great job distressing the whole thing.

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  17. I just saw your idea on Better After and I am in LOVE with it! Cheers to you, I would have done the same thing if I thought about it!

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  18. Great job... found you over at Better After blog... I love what you did and the distressing is perfect for the piece, you brought it to life.

    Love your genius idea... I might just have to take a trip to Lowes now, I have been looking for "cheap" corbels forever. Thanks for sharing.

    Deb

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  19. So creative, way to think on the spot! I also am looking for corbels for some shelves and didn't even find any at salvage shops. This might be what I'll do!

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  20. Here from Better After ~ great job ~ and smart thinking!! It looks great :)

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  21. I'm stopping by from Better After...I love your style and guts!

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  22. Also from Better After. You are my kind of woman.

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  23. Genius! My husband would pretend not to know me if I did that (which I totally would). Love the way it turned out!

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  24. Now why didn't I think of that? Because I am not the genius that you are!!! I am so impressed. I love everything about it.

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  25. Great money saving idea! Love how it looks with the corbels!

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