Dishwasher. Reborn.

When we bought our house- or to be more exact, when we bought Cabbage Ranch- it was really a dream come true.  A few acres in a nice neighborhood, a little shop to make into a barn, and a spacious family house.  Yes and please.

Our home was built in the 70s, and had a pretty decent renovation sometime along the way.  Although it's all a bit dated now, those updates included some really thoughtful upgrades to the kitchen cabinets.  The appliances were less than stellar, though, and the fridge was not included with the property. 

When we shopped for appliances, I knew I wanted black.  I'd chosen black appliances in my previous home in Colorado, and I loved them.  Stainless was too expensive and prone to fingerprints... White was not my thing. 

When we bought our fridge, Lowe's was running a great special, so we opted to also get a new stove (the old one was scary!). 

We did not buy a new microwave or dishwasher... The existing ones were white but worked fine, and it wasn't a necessity.  We figured it wouldn't be hard to save for new ones in a year or two. 

Four years, one baby and a pile of horse bills later, we still have a checkerboard of kitchen appliances.  But I've gotten used to my black/white appliance mash-up.  No biggie.

However.  It just hit me that the "hopefully someday" black appliances were still too far off and I couldn't stand it anymore.

What to do about the big, huge, glaringly white dishwasher?

I know that with the right primer you can cover just about anything. 

So this is my extremely long and wordy way of telling you I painted my dishwasher.  I primed it and painted it black.

WITH CHALKBOARD PAINT.

Am I brilliant?  Am I a total whack-job?  Will it really work?  Nobody knows...

And by nobody I mean me. 

I figured it would be the perfect place to have Beep play while I get dinner going, and any stray chalk dust will be easy to wipe up from the (wretched pink) tile floor.

So here's how I did it. 

I bought a quart of deep base, all-purpose, super duper primer.  I carefully cleaned the dishwasher, got out my trustiest paintbrush, and painted the main panel and sides.  I paint enough that I have a steady hand and I didn't tape, but the primer was verrrrry drippy so I definitely needed floor protection.

I left the top part for last because it required the most detail work, and I wouldn't be able to open or close the unit when it was wet.

I rocked it out carefully cut in around the edges. 

And around the front, always watching for those pesky drips.

Then I started on the vent.

A little time, and careful work with a steady hand around the control panel, and it was primed!

We then left the house to allow it to dry... And went to a local festival, where my baby proceeded to eat corn on the cob like the Midwesterner she is (by proxy).

Look at those maniac eyes. 

After we got home I put a coat of paint on.  This part is not documented because 1. it exactly mirrored the steps above, and 2. my photographer (Cabbage) deserted me and my nutso project and went to bed. 

I followed up with a second coat a few days later. 

Finished product! 

There's no way around the white control panel, unfortunately, but we now have a (mostly) black dishwasher that coordinates a lot better with our other black appliances.  Hooray!

It's been about three weeks since I painted it, and so far it's holding up perfectly.  I haven't introduced Beep to its magical chalk powers yet... mainly because I haven't bought chalk.

Now I have a mostly-full quart of chalkboard paint, and I'm wondering what else will fall victim to my paintbrush. 

What projects have you been working on lately?  Any ideas on what I should chalkboard next?

I just made a noun into a verb and my day is complete.  Over and out.