Well, here we are for another episode of Caulk Talk (Missed the other? Check it out here). In my opinion Caulk is the Queen Bee of remodeling...in ladies laymen terms, the Spanx of all DIY oopsy forgiveness! I have been meaning to get around to this little project for quite some time so I am glad I have finally found the time to get er' done!!
It is no secret that we at LBR are big fans, OK, HUGE fans of Ikea. Someday I will have to take you on a tour of all things Ikea in our house but for now let's focus on the heart of our home...the kitchen. For those of you just joining us, last year we gutted our old dingy musty kitchen (here and here) and transformed it to a nice bright white mecca of food fabulousness, IKEA style! Ever since the glass front cabinets went up I have been itching to tackle those crazy little shelving holes...
See them? They are hard to miss when everything else is white white white... Since I was rearranging and cleaning out the cabinets I thought today would be a fabulous time to break out the caulk and get to work. This is a super simple and cheap way to make your cabinets look just a wee bit more cohesive without having to get all crazy and paint. Obviously, if you don't have white inner cabinets then white caulk may not be the way to go but you can find a colored caulk or fill with white then paint over with whatever color you have.
There ar minimal steps to this process and the outcome is well worth it!
1. Get you caulk...OK, that should go without saying but from past experience (mainly when working with E, my husband) people (again, E) tend to get all set to start a project and don't even bother to gather the supplies...crazy people... You will also need:
- A small flat edge, similar to my painting tool thingy (I never have learned the correct term but I LOVE this thing). You can also use an old gift card or credit card...I tend to have a lot of .63¢ remaining gift cards on hand.
- An old work rag and/or paper towels.
2. Now - take the caulk gun and over fill the holes you are planning not to use. I left a few holes open in the event I want to move a shelf up or down but that will most likely never happen as I like the shelves sitting where the cross bars on the door fronts are...but anyway, fill them all or leave a few open...the choice is yours
3. Take your flat edge and quickly smooth it right over the hole. I was able to do a few at a time. Now take your rag and wipe off the excess caulk from your flat edge.
4. Use a different wet rag to gently wipe around the holes in case any of the excess caulk smeared while using your flat edge.
THATS IT!! You are done!!
Here is a little pictorial:
And here is your glammed up looking wonderful in white end result!
One more time with a before and after:
This look so much better...some of the screw heads could use a coat of white paint but Ill save that for the next time I break out a brush...
Looking good...And for less than a buck and in less than an hour! Just my kind of makeover!!
FYI - If you accidentally fill a hole that you need to remove the caulk from later just take a small drill bit and gently drill it out. It removes really easily and you have your hole back!! Of course, I know this as I may have accidentally filled a few holes on past projects that I wasn't supposed to! :)
What are you guys working on?? Feel free to leave a comment and/or a link to your post and let me know how caulk has changed your life!! :)
Click here to check out where I am sharing this link and PAR-TAYING!!!
Bianca
