Wednesday, March 12

Painting the Kitchen... Again!

Did you notice the other update in Monday's post about our new backsplash? We painted the kitchen! Again! Hopefully for the last time, but you know I can't make any promises. Last time we painted it with a bright, cheery yellow. But wait... let's start with a little back story. Green is my favorite. Always has been, probably always will be. So naturally any time I paint a room I want to go at least a little on the greenish side (like our living room). My dear husband foresaw this way back in our rental days. From the moment we started looking at houses he made me promise not to paint every room green. And you guys, I'm really trying. Hence I started with yellow in the kitchen. You're welcome.


But... time went on... and it just didn't make my heart happy. Hmph. While I like the color itself, it just didn't flow with the living room. It made the space feel chopped in half. It's wide open between the two rooms and the main space we live in, so we really needed something that felt more calming and cohesive. I also thought it felt... I don't know, oppressive?... anytime we had the lights on. It was like a yellow pit of despair. Apparently yellow in daylight and yellow in fakelight are two very different things. Lesson learned.


Since I pretty much love the living room, repainting the kitchen to match was a pretty easy decision. The didn't have my exact shade anymore, so I pulled a couple that were really close and taped them up for... oh... 8 months or so? Does it really matter? It was a long time. Because that's how long it took me to choose. I wanted something a little lighter so it flowed without matching exactly, and because our kitchen doesn't get that much light so I didn't want anything that made it feel even darker. But I also wanted a little contrast with the white cabinets. So in the end I went with... the top middle color "Dakota Trail."


We bought paint at Lowe's and this time went with Valspar's Ultra Kitchen and Bath. Usually semi-gloss is recommended for kitchens & bathrooms since you can wipe it down easily without removing the finish, but this one let us get all the way to an eggshell look with those same qualities. Plus it was low odor, zero VOC, and had a built in primer! I'll tell you right now, we cracked the can and took this picture the day before Baby Brother was born. It was that good old nesting instinct that finally painted our kitchen. (It looked scary limey yellow when we first opened it but it dried much better)



We also caulked these gaps at the top of the cabinets to make things look neater.


I just ran a thin line of paintable caulk and smoothed it out with my fingertip.


We did two coats on the whole kitchen (technically we did one and half, then had a baby and my dad finished the rest the next week. thanks dad!). Then we added a backsplash and were left with this:


Much better? I think so. But we'll see how I feel in a couple months. :) It's still on the yellowy side of green, but much more mellow and cooler.


And it looks good with our spiffy concrete countertops.


And my favorite thing - it flows. Its like one big unified space instead of two separate rooms smashed together.


Oh yes. This is much better.


I love how everything is pulling from the curtains. They are one of my very favorite things in the house!


While we were at it, we also addressed one other overlooked spot. The little hallway-ish thing right off the living room. A.k.a. "the place where all the doors go." It still hadn't been painted since we moved in three years ago. I started with the kitchen color and it just wasn't working for me, so I ended up using the left over living room paint. Now that little forgotten corner blends in too. Okay, my dad ended up painting that too. New baby, remember? And here is the helpfullest little helper who gives every paint job the terrifying possibility of becoming a full-blown disaster.


Gotta love such a funny little buddy. He didn't want to get paint on his clothes. :)


For the record, this is really like one big room and it's the only green area in the house! So far we have gray in the office, yellow in the bathroom, tan in the nursery (no promises in there. for reals. it needs paint.), and a creamy pale yellow upstairs. So actually he should probably put me on yellow probation as well. Nobody tell him, mkay?



What have you been painting? Anything green?

2 comments:

  1. Looks great! I get it...I just reoriented my kitchen too. Time for a change. I love your new color! Baby is adorable too!

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one! I just found your guest post about it... and I love the color! Amazing what a difference a little paint can make. :)

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