Open Shelves on a Whim...for the Win!

THIS JUST IN: I AM SUPER IMPULSIVE! Ha. That's quite the joke if you know me at all. Yes, I am incredibly impulsive, especially when it comes to DIY projects, but let's just be honest: this isn't news to ANYONE. So a project on a whim isn't all that big of a surprise. And this one happened like most of the others.

There I was, minding my own business and organizing my cabinets, when a DIY basically plopped itself right in my lap. In this case, I don't have anyone to worry about explaining myself to, because this project was 100% FREE. IT COST ME ZERO DOLLARS. Husband, just go ahead and reread that last sentence and remember how amazing I am at not spending money.

In all seriousness, this project really was free, and it only took a couple of hours out of my day to complete. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this might seriously be one of my favorite projects to date. So, here's the deal: I have been wanting open shelving in my kitchen for a while now. I even had a big ole plan to remove one of our cabinets and put open shelves in. But then it came to me (through oodles and oodles of Instagram inspiration): I don't need to remove the cabinet at all. I could avoid completely destroying a beautiful cabinet and ruining our wall but just using what we already had. This is kind of my mantra, and this one turned out pretty decently, if I do say so myself.

Materials

220 grit sand paper

Cabinet paint: I use the Behr Alkyd Satin Enamel from Home Depot

Wood filler

Foam roller

Well, clearly a 'materials' list probably wasn't necessary, but including it shows you just how easy this project is. So, first things first. I had to clean out my disaster of a cabinet. It was one of those cabinets. The ones where everything gets thrown that doesn't make it to its appropriate home. And it was full of over 5 years of those everythings, so it was a MESS. But, organization was the word of the day for me, so I threw out a lot, organized a lot, and before I knew it, I had an empty cabinet that was just staring at me, begging to be painted and converted to open shelving.

So without wasting any time, I pulled out the paint that I had previously used on my bathroom vanity and got to work. I 100% recommend using the Behr Alkyd Satin Enamel from Home Depot. It's geared for cabinet and trim painting and is pretty strong when it hardens. You can check it out here.

Once the shelves were removed and sanded, and the cabinet door was removed, I was left with a cabinet with quite a few holes up the side walls (meant for the shelf brackets). I didn't want these visible, so I filled them with wood filler. A word to the wise: always over fill when using wood filler! You will be able to sand the dried filler down, and won't even notice the previous holes. You guys know that I am all about cutting corners when I can, but in this case, cutting corners on sanding wasn't an option. The "wood" on the inside of our cabinets isn't really wood. It's particle board, and paint doesn't love to stick to its shiny finish. So sanding with a 220 grit sand paper is a necessary evil, but trust me: it will save you way more time in the end.

Once the cabinet was sanded, I did the same as I had done to the shelves and applied the paint using a foam roller. I love the foam roller on furniture and cabinetry because it doesn't leave those pesky lines behind. Two coats was all I needed with this hearty cabinet paint. I let it dry and styled. BOOM. Open shelving.

This really was one of the easiest projects to date, and it brings such character to my kitchen! Cleaning out a cabinet and acquiring open shelves in the same day, without spending any money? I'm going to go ahead and call that a win... on a whim.