Farmhouse Sink and DIY Kitchen Art

A big thank you to ATG Stores for bringing us today's post.

ATG Stores have provided our sink, lighting, faucet and more for our kitchen makeover.

All opinions are my own.

Come check out our new farmhouse sink and DIY Kitchen Art.

They're the perfect additions to our home makeover.

From the moment I started looking at this house we now live in on its MLS listing, I started thinking about the kitchen. It was dated...but not unmanageable. When I envision these kinds of things, I only let my brain wander as far as my ability to achieve a certain look on my own. I'm all for hiring out when needed (which we did in several instances in here), but for the most part, I've always been a DIYer. One thing we decided on fairly quickly was an apron-front sink (which is often called a farmhouse sink). Check out our new sink and the homemade artwork I made for it below (and some fun before pics!). 

Oh hey, 1983, your kitchen has been all kinds of fun to tackle. I'm saying this with a large amount of chagrin here, y'all. This makeover has had its ups and downs all over the place. From non-code-passing outlets installed horizontally (HORIZONTALLY, y'all...as in laying flat down on the cabinet bottom) directly under the sink drain (what on earth?) to that crazy blue stripe on the edge of the countertops...this kitchen has been quite the ride. We're almost to the end, y'all. Next week, I'm sharing our breakfast area and then the week after, the whole entire kitchen from top to bottom will be here on the blog (including how I resurfaced the countertops on my own for less than $100). Be sure to check out all our vintage hardware in last week's post here.

I'm pretty sure my favorite thing in the new kitchen is the new apron-front sink (although the large bar/peninsula is a close second). I knew this installation was something I wanted to hire out. I think that's the thing about staying on a budget in a makeover...sometimes you have to know when to hire out and not attempt a DIY. The chances of me messing this up were kind of up there, y'all...I may have had to hire out a more costly fix than just an installation.

Here's a closer up picture of that crazy blue trim on the counter. Once we removed the switch plates in here to paint the walls (apparently removing switch plates for painting had never been done before...BLARGH!), we discovered that the walls in this kitchen had also once been this blue color. Yowza. The sink was fine and functional (although it was very stained in the basin from years of Texas hard water), but, honestly...I just kind of wanted a fun sink, y'all. We also pulled out the old under cabinet lighting and installed (and actually hard-wired) a much more energy efficient version.

For the apron-front sink, I picked out the Appalachian Kitchen/Double Bowl Sink with plain front. It's part of the Reliance® Collection by Reliance Whirlpools from ATG Stores. Just a little advice if you're thinking about getting a fun farmhouse sink...measure, measure, measure. I worked with our contractor on this one to make sure I got it right. There are a few more factors with a sink in this style than a regular kitchen sink. You'll need to take into account depth (both counter depth and actual depth-depth), width, under mount or drop-in, and the area that the faucet is installed in. A lot of farmhouse sinks also have drain boards as well as a large faucet space, too. If you're thinking about that style, make sure you have room for it. The sink's counter depth was a big factor for us...any deeper and the sink would have stuck out a bit far.

I'm really happy with the Reliance Appalachian sink we bought...it worked well for our space and it's been really great. 

The faucet we went with is the Delta brand Leland Single Handle Kitchen Pull Out Spray Faucet, also from ATG Stores. I actually had this same style of faucet in a home we lived in about ten years ago...I've totally missed its functionality. We've done chrome all over the kitchen, so this sparkly number worked out well. I love how easy the lever is to maneuver, too. 

There's a button on the faucet that allows you to set the stream from steady flow to a shower. Perfect for rinsing produce and dishes.

The over-the-sink light we chose was from JVI Designs...the Union Square 1-Light Semi Flush Ceiling Light with 5-in Metal Shade. This is from ATG Stores, too. I love the fun, vintage vibe it adds. Originally, the light that was here wasn't hard-wired...it had a plug that was run through a cabinet and into the backsplash. AND, I would've had to stand on my tip toes to turn it on. AND, I would've had to unplug the toaster to plug in the light. Oy. We actually lucked into the hard-wiring of this number. On the other side of this wall was a wet-bar that got the sledge hammer the day after we closed. It had to be capped in the wall...so the wall had to be opened up. This worked out marvelously. There was already a switch just waiting for this light, y'all. It was wired and the wall was "put back" in a jiffy.

I think the light here is perfect with the artwork...it's a perfect match. Honestly, y'all...this artwork could also be called "the great cover-up". I was so over those blue flowers on the tile about five seconds after I walked into this kitchen. But, we're kind of eXhAuStEd about now. I mean...the sheer magnitude of paint and "installing" we've done is bringing us to the mental and physical breaking point. We've done about 90% of this makeover (including painting a lot of the rest of the house) ourselves, along with the actual move (also done ourselves), working full-time jobs, managing kiddos, and just living life in the last two months. We just aren't ready to tackle a backsplash yet. And (despite the floral motif), these tiles are in good shape. This canvas sign was the perfect size to cover up the flowers. It's temporary. And will probably stay there for the next ten years. You know...temporarily.

Here is how this sign came together, y'all. I've shared before that I like to reuse old canvases (canvii?) for projects like this. This one was actually from a previous post here on the blog...I get tired of things quickly, I guess. It was my chevron canvas that I made a few years ago...this is actually the third round of paint it's had in its lifetime. The more layers of paint a piece has...the easier it is to make it weathery and old-looking. Here are the steps I used for this piece.

1. I ended up putting two coats of red chalk paint over my previous design.

2. I used vinyl lettering (I cut it with my machine, but you can easily find precut vinyl letters at a craft store) for a favorite Bible verse to place on the sign. I "sealed" the vinyl with another coat of red.

3. I then went over the red with a coat of light blue (this is actually the same color my lower cabinets are painted with). Just one coat on this one...and I intentionally didn't do a "thorough" job. A few bare spots here and there just lead to the authenticity of the weathered piece later.

4. While the paint isn't 100% dry, I peeled off my vinyl lettering.

5. I roughed it up like crazy with sandpaper (the line around the border and in the middle are the frame of the canvas showing through).

6. I sealed the piece with dark wax to give it an even "dirtier" look.

I ended up hanging this piece on velcro wall strips that hold about 15 pounds. So far, so good (fingers crossed, right?).

I'm really loving this whole area now. I added the skirt at the bottom on clips on a rod to make it functional...it was made from an old grain sack. We were going to have our cabinet doors redone to fit back on here, but a skirt seemed kind of fun and farmhouse-sinkish.

 My people love the sink, too. 

What do you think? Do you love farmhouse sinks, too?

Check out the amazing selection of farmhouse sinks, kitchen lighting, and 

so much more at ATG Stores.

Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:

Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Follow on Pinterest | Follow on Google+ | Follow on Instagram

{i linky-party here}