DIY: The Pantry Finish

What better place to use leftovers then in a pantry. 

During our kitchen re-model we used space from our walk-in pantry to accommodate moving the refrigerator (now the fridge is flush with the counter top and looks built-in).  This meant removing shelving and a wall mounted spice rack.  Sure it was another space that was patched and dusty but it also presented an opportunity to clean, re-organize, and use some up some left-over products. That is the fun thing about a small space-You can do bolder finishes for a bigger impact with a little product.

I began by wiping off all the drywall dust and rolling a coat of Taupe Setcoat on the walls and the ceiling. This is a weird pinky purple beige that I don't use a whole lot. I selected it since I had some open and in the end the little bit that showed actually worked with the finish.  Next I used a sea sponge roller to apply Venetian Gem Belissimo in Sage.  Belissimo is a lighter creamier version of Faux Effects' Venetian Gem Plaster.  The Sage is a pretty grey-based pale green.  I covered about 80% of the base color, letting the plaster peek as I rolled it.

I rolled 3 walls before I went back with my trowel and flattened the peaks.  Belissimo is easy to roll in this application.  I love using Venetian Plaster as a base in finishes because it is saturated color, dries within an hour and is well-sealed when dry.

I opted to go with a silver metallic since the light fixture we put in the pantry has a rubbed black over silver. 

First, I troweled a high/low coat of Silver Palette Deco on the ceiling.  My ceiling had a drywall seam line and I am too lazy to mud and sand it properly so I thought I would use left-over plaster to build a finish over it.  Plus the Silver Palette Deco gives a nice glow under the future layers.

On the walls I alternated Silver Palette Deco and Silver Sharkskin using a sea sponge roller to create connecting areas.  You could substitute Silver Super Hide Metallic or Silver FauxMetal for the Silver Sharkskin.  Why use two silvers?  The Palette Deco is shiner and the Silver Sharkskin is more matte.  The Palette Deco will repel glaze and the Sharkskin will absorb the glaze.  Plus I had both.  The finish could be done just using one product and still look nice. 

Finishes like this are meant to go fast even though there are several layers.  The key is to not over-think the base layers. Yes, the finish will look spotty at first. Don't waste time making the base plaster and the silver pretty-these layers are about getting something up that looks random and organic.  Once I got the silvers applied I was able to apply my next layer on the first wall.

This is the layer where you finesse the finish by sea sponge rolling more Sage Belissimo to soften both the silver layer and any of the base paint.  Again, I rolled to leave peaks and came back later to lightly trowel them down.  The set time on the plaster keeps me from just smudging it. 

For the ceiling I troweled a tight layer of Rhino Lusterstone over the Palette Deco. Rhino is a new Lusterstone color that is a blue-green grey.

I did all the above layers in one day over 200 square feet of ceiling and wall space. I used a quart of Setcoat, a quart of Belissimo, 3/4 quart of Silver Palette Deco, 1/2 quart of Rhino, and 1/4 quart of Silver Sharkskin.

When I thinking of a pattern for a kitchen pantry, a checked one is what comes to mind. But we live in a contemporary home and a check is very traditional.  So I selected this slightly Moroccan pattern from Cutting Edge Stencils to give me that checkered tablecloth look while keeping it more modern. This stencil comes with a ceiling topper which makes it so easy to get right at the ceiling line to lap your pattern.

Hint:  Go all the way around the room with the topper first. This will let you know where to "fudge" your pattern in the most inconspicuous place and will allow you to work on several walls at a time while you are waiting for pattern areas to dry.

I mixed some Aquawax with Wheat Metal Glow (1 pint Aquawax : 1/4 cup Wheat) and added some very fine silver glitter from Michael's (1 TBSP).  Aquawax is a great choice for metallic stenciled patterns because you can roll it, it dries quick, and you can see through it to under layers.

While my wall pattern was drying, I troweled a tight layer of Palette Deco Pearl over the ceiling for added reflection. The Pearl Palette Deco over the Rhino gives the impression of old tin.

I always have some American Walnut Stain & Seal and FX Thinner left over from cabinet jobs.  I prefer using this mix as my glaze over products such as wax and venetian plaster that are slicker and want to repel glaze mediums.  The stain will bead up slightly-pad with a dry cloth to soften.  The stain mix will bond hard to the surface without any additional topcoat.  The warm brown of the stain really changes the color of finish and livens it up!

Since I am working on my Martha Stewart Merit Badges (don't laugh-this is a real thing) I decided to organize my new pantry.

I am good on the scissors and the cupcake but that metal thing that shoots steam has me stumped.

Next it was time to organize the pantry. I think Bruce deserves a nice space to store his ingredients since he has decided to take up cooking as a hobby.

I guess we didn't need that steamer after all.

A nice oil painting of an orange to remind of what fresh fruit is and that scurvy is bad.  You can see in the background my OCD in full action with the shelves all matching and bowls in ascending heights.

The black piece was actually the top of a buffet that I bought at a flea market years ago when it was painted purple.  I did a black rub back to silver and it fit perfectly to hold vegetables and fruit (see that painting really worked).  Lazy Susan's (need to ask Wiki how that name came about) and clear containers make it easy to locate pantry items. And just a reminder that this.....

did not happen on 12/21/2012.  I know that when you saw the Slaton pantry with actual food in it you thought for a moment that maybe the world did end.