Debbie Travis' Facelift - Episodes

They say 'opposites attract'...and that's true in the case of Suzanne and Glenn. He's the artsy musician with the laissez-faire nature; she's the well-educated psychologist who analyzes and organizes everything! While Suzanne is away on business for four days, Glenn conspires with the Facelift crew to makeover the kitchen in Suzanne's favourite style - French country. Will she be thrilled with the results or horrified that her husband played Designer?

Before

Suzanne hates her kitchen, but lacks the inspiration - and the time - to redo it. She and Glenn carried out a number of renovations on the kitchen when they bought their home some years ago. Now it's starting to look a little tired around the edges. The pink laminate cupboards are so 'yesterday', and have to go, and the backsplash is a tad dull. Over all, the whole space is crying out to be revitalized and updated.

After

The new RONA cupboards were a big hit, and very easy to select and install. The Facelift Team updated the backsplash and, much to Suzanne's delight, added an attractive but functional island to replace the old kitchen table. The soft yellow walls provide a cheerful atmosphere in Suzanne's dreamed-about French Country kitchen and have brightened up the whole room, making it fresh and sunny-looking. C'est superbe!

Click on the small photographs on the right to view each of the different angles of the room.

To view pop-up info about Suzanne's Kitchen, move your mouse over and around the image below.

Click here to view all the photographs and pop-up info.

Kitchen Cabinets

RONA - Specially custom-made kitchen cabinets are easy to order and a snap to install with a little help from the guys at RONA. We ordered the Marquis Square Kitchen, but there are many designs to choose from. Let RONA, the experts, help you with your kitchen update! You will find the location of the store nearest you on their web site at www.rona.ca, as well as handy hints on how to measure and choose a new kitchen for yourself.
Para Paint #P1775-1 - Colonial Blue

Paint effects

Masterpieces - Specialists in faux finishes and decorative painting of all kinds, these Toronto artists did a fabulous job in Suzanne's Kitchen. Jim turned the white melamine RONA cabinets into a French Provencal dream, by first sanding then priming the doors, and basecoating in either a soft blue or creamy off-white paint, depending on whether the doors were for the upper or lower cabinets. After 2 coats had dried, he antiqued over the surface with a rag and a light raw umber shade mixed with a bit of glazing liquid. They were then varnished for extra protection. To inquire about Masterpieces work, contact them at www.masterpiecesstudio.com or (416) 781-5588.
Walls - Para Paint #P813-4 - Moselle
Trim - Para Paint #P1831-4 - Alaska White

Backsplash

Ital-Bec International Inc. - The French Provencal kitchen was finished off to perfection with a blue tiled backsplash from Ital-Bec. We used 4x4 'Emmevi Mithos Blue' tiles .For more information, please contact them at www.italbec.com or (514) 383-0668 - Ital-Bec are manufacturers, importers and distributors of natural stone and ceramic tiles.

Mirror

A mirror is the simplest solution to making any room look bigger. The Facelift Team put together the 'French' mirror in Suzanne's Kitchen with MDF (medium density fibreboard) from Rona. It's as easy as sawing a wavy design into plain MDF to make the frame pieces because it cuts like butter! These pieces are held in place with carpenter's glue and clamps. Thin strips of MDF are then used to reinforce the back of the frame. They will hold everything, including the glass, in place. For more information please visit www.rona.ca.