Monday, September 29, 2008

paint the kitchen - check!

Okay, remind me not to paint again while pregnant. Not ever again. For some reason, it's just so much harder. (If nothing else, it makes me want to whine more.) Thank goodness for my mom - she's a Painting Machine. If it wasn't for her, I never would have gotten the project done. In all honesty, it's not actually done. There's still woodwork that needs a coat of glossy white paint - we primed it but haven't done the paint yet. Thankfully, it was white to begin with, so I can get away with primed woodwork for a little while yet. And I still have to scrape the paint off the windows. Oh, and put the outlet covers and switchplates back on. OKAY so it's not DONE done, but close enough! So, behold a kitchen in primary colors:

BEFORE...Now I feel I must say something to justify the horrific tablecloth in this picture. I'm well aware of the fact that it totally clashed with the walls. What's even worse - and if I didn't tell you, you wouldn't even know, so watch me open my mouth and insert my foot - it's vinyl. I know, I know. But I have little ones, and someone long ago painted this table in such a poor manner that food sticks to it like crazy. So it's much easier to clean if I keep a vinyl tablecloth on it as much as possible. Horrible, I know. But I'm a firm believer in having a house that is livable and realistic. And until we can get a new table, this is how we have to live. Scary.

AFTER...
Ah. That's better. It's now a very restful sagey-green color. It's got a tinge of gray in it which makes it almost a neutral - but a little more interesting than a complete neutral.

BEFORE...

AFTER...
Another reason it doesn't feel finished yet is that I have yet to accessorize it at all. I'm a little undecided if I want to keep the accessories to a simple white or throw in a few touches of orange to liven things up. (I'm talking just a few touches of orange.) I have seen several things on Etsy that I would love to buy for the walls, but alas, I'm afraid my recent spending sprees are over. I don't know, something about the complete financial ruin our country seems to be in, and my husband says I can't shop anymore. The nerve! Ah well, I suppose I'll have to be creative and use what I already own. Hmmm, if only I knew someone who was an expert at that sort of thing...


This is obviously the little dining area in our kitchen. I couldn't show you the rest of the kitchen yet, because it's too messy. I'm not kidding.


But for now - Auf Wiedersehn to the crazy navy blue and red scheme, HELLO to restful green. I choose this color because it coordinated nicely with our floor tiles (sorry, I didn't think to take a picture of those) and it's neutral enough that I shouldn't have to re-do it if we put our house on the market in a couple of years. And it's just plain lighter than what I had before. Apparently five years is my limit on how long I can live with the same paint color in a room. Unfortunately, since we painted every room of our house as soon as we bought it five years ago, I'm now ready for new colors in every single room. Ouch! Baby steps, Courtney, baby steps.

15 comments:

  1. Looks great, Courtney! So much more soothing and very pretty.

    And congrats on being pregnant, not sure I knew that! I remember tackling all sorts of projects (like rearranging furniture) while pregnant. Good old nesting really kicks in!

    Blessings,
    Melissa

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  2. That is a lovely color-very easy on the eyes. Kudos on keepin' it real with the before pic and leaving your vinyl tablecloth on! I'm about to give in and throw one of those suckers on my table because I'm so sick of laundering my cotton one.

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  3. Love the green! (what paint color is it?) I thought the primary colored walls were fun but they also seemed a little dark. It's nice to have a change now and then. Now...don't go nuts just yet painting the rest of your house!

    I am not sure what's wrong with vinyl tablecloth...I need to get one....especially after my girls do art projects on my beautiful table and I'm struggling to remove the evidence. :)

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  4. Courtney, it looks WONDERFUL! I will admit I didn't even notice the vinyl tablecoth in the before photo...see how observant I am? lmao Anyway, the green is very pretty! It looks very similar to the green I used in my master bath...one of my favorite colors in the house. :o)

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  5. Lucky you- a 5 year limit is good! we've been in this house for 3 (and a half maybe) years- and I'm ready to start painting again- I'd imagine it's easier top do with a pregnant belly though than it would be to do with a newborn (that's why I'm not painting- I'd have to stop every time she got hungry!!!)

    Love the new kitchen color!!

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  6. I love it, it is sooo soothing!!!! I am all over the table cloths... k the kids are little disasters and oatmeal come up easier off a vinyl table cloth than the actual table!

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  7. Love that color! I am so falling in love with greens!

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  8. I love it! I'm glad you were able to get the project out of the way...especially since you have a busy few months ahead! What color is it, by the way?

    And I don't even *have* kids and see the benefits of vinyl. :-)

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  9. Great work Courtney!

    I also like how soothing the colour looks and ties in with the greenery of the outdoor scape you have through your window.

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  10. The color is so pretty. It looks great with the white trim.

    So what does it say about me that I actually like the crazy tablecloth. Maybe not with the blue walls. I have several of those myself. They're just so practical when you've got small kids.

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  11. This looks like the same green I used in my foyer, and it's very easy to live with, I have to say. It always gets compliments.

    It looks great in a kitchen, and I LOVE your windows! Look at that casing around them! Beautiful. -Julia

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  12. What a great job, it looks amazing!
    Love the color, so soothing.
    (ps. the vinyl cloth is practical, which is good when you have little ones, yes?)
    xo Lidy

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  13. great color. soon we will be having our own house, it's quite small yet i want a small kitchen look spacey. hope i can learn ideas here. :)

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  14. Do you happen to know the name of the green paint color you used? It is exactly what I am looking for.

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thank you for commenting, dahling! I can't wait to hear what you have to say. :-)