Mini Kitchen Makeover

This post is long overdue, like this kitchen update lol. But, welcome back! 

I did a fun update in my kitchen over my nice 3 day weekend, I am in LOVE with how this turned out! 

I spent the day over at my parents learning how to use some tools and created this simple diy shelf for my stove. I have a small apartment kitchen and I hate having things on my countertops, so I needed something to place things on, but also to use as a statement for my kitchen. 

Here is the "blue print" of my project. I needed it to not only fit over my stove, but I also had to keep in mind how thick the wood is, as I wanted to specifically place my spice rack on it, but I also had to consider the placement on the top of my stove for my oven light. I had to make sure it was high enough to not hit the button. 

After my mom helped me cut down my wood (and did my math for me), I laid all the pieces face up on the ground to try a wood burning technique. I had read about it on another blog and it seemed simple. 

It definitely was! All I did was use a blow torch and burn the wood to my desired look. The longer you burned an area, the darker it appeared. I didn't want it that dark, as my kitchen is full of light cabinetry and cream walls. Fortunately the darkness complimented the dark appliances in my kitchen. 

The top peice turned out better with this look, as it has more wood grains in it and it burned beautifully. For the sides, I used a different type of wood that didn't have any grains to it, and it just looks plain, but it's on the sides, so it didn't bother me. 

I then thrifted this spice rack that I've had for a few months now. I didn't like how the shelf was a different brown than the rack, so I went out of my comfort zone and painted the rack a navy blue, which turned out GREAT. It really complimented with the wood shelf, as well as gave the shelf a pop of color. I even left some of the rack it's original color for some definition. 

Then came the scariest part of all .... Plants. Sounds easy right? No. Not for some someone who's afraid of bugs. I had to conquer lots of fear for this part of the project. 

I went to Menards for 3 medium sized terracotta pots (because they are beautiful pots) and some trays to put underneath. Then I had to find some indoor potting soil and a trowel (because using your hands is.... Ewww). 

A good coworker of mine grew me some beautiful herbs to cook with and I needed some for indoors so I transported some into the cute pots. Trust me, this process took me the longest lol. I found a lot of critters I did NOT like lol. 

But once I conquered that, I was done!

This was such a fun little weekend project, and I learned lots of new things and techniques. I think it looks absolutely beautiful over my stove, and really gives a nice boho vibe in my kitchen. 

Stay tuned for more projects and ideas! Thanks for reading!

Stay thrifty!!