Another Kitchen Update

 I’m not sure if it’s the fact that we’ve been home since mid March, or because I’m always in the need of change, but I made a few updates to my kitchen. Remember when I decided to paint my kitchen navy blue? Well I still love the color, but wanted to take a little more modern approach to the rest of the area. HGTV is my own worst enemy in that I want to take all the ideas and apply them to my own home. I have my limitation, however I can paint, change out hardware, and redecorate with accessories like rugs, lamps, and throw pillows.

For my newest kitchen update, paint and hardware were the name of the game. I love the look of contrasting cabinet colors and thought gray lowers and white uppers would be a nice compliment to the navy walls. I headed to Home Depot and picked all the grays I liked best. From there, I narrowed it down to four and taped them against the blue wall, the white cabinets, and our charcoal countertops. I wanted to make sure that the gray played well with all of those surfaces. The family weighed in and the clear winner was French Silver, a subtle light gray. 

When prepping for paint, it’s quite a process. Or at least it should be. I removed all the cabinet doors, one side of the kitchen at a time, and lined them up according to where they hung. I wanted to make sure they lined up when I re-hung them. I cleaned both sides with Simple Green, a great, non-toxic household cleaner, before I began painting. Cleaning prior to painting allows the paint to go on smoothly and you won’t brush in dust and particles along the surface of your project. I also sanded any imperfections, especially along the edges where wear and tear were the worst. Wipe away all debris. Now it’s painting time! I like to cut out along the edges before rolling on the paint. Rolling gives you a smoother look than a brush, I feel like you can see the brush strokes, but the cutting out gives you a nice edge. And always apply two coats for complete coverage. 

And guess what? This girl was going to totally cut corners and not repaint the uppers white. I was going to just leave the old paint that was applied 18 years ago!! But I guilted myself into doing it and so glad I did! It looks so bright and fresh. Word to the wise, don’t cut corners. If you’re going to paint one thing, paint it all! And clean! Good grief! Because my cabinets on the right side of the kitchen are open faced, they were filthy! Not anymore! 

The last change I made to the cabinets was new hardware. Originally, I thought I wanted to go the trendy route with brass. Brass is all the rage and it’s not your Mama’s 90s brass! However, I saw a kitchen remodel on Christina on the Coast where she did all black and I was hooked! Matte black to be exact. These new pulls are substantial too. Heavy and classic. I love it. The next thing I will add is a matte black faucet for the sink, but I can’t find one I want and I’m not going to settle. Also, I don’t really want to hire a plumber right now so that change will have to wait!

So, now I have these gorgeously painted cabinets with amazing new hardware. I have a fabulous kitchen table that’s black and dark brown in tone. And I have this dated brick curved fireplace in the kitchen. It’s red and shiny and doesn’t go at all. So, I had to paint that too. I had to paint it black!! My husband wasn’t terribly excited about it. He was pushing me toward a charcoal gray, but let’s be honest, charcoal gray wasn’t right. Black was what it needed!

 I did so much research! I pinned all the pins on Pinterest, read all the ways to go about painting a brick fireplace, and I found so many different pieces of advice. One was to use a liquid sander to help take the varnish off the brick. That didn’t work! At all! So, I talked to the paint guys at both Home Depot and Sherman Williams and they both said the same thing. Prime it first and then paint. So, I primed it first. I used Kilz, which I had the paint department tint to a dark gray, and applied. That worked in the place of sanding as it provided a matte finish to the brick, which is what I wanted before painting. 

After a very insightful discussion with the paint guy at Home Depot, I decided against using a matte finish  paint and went with eggshell. He said that if I applied a matte paint, the fireplace would look like a black hole in the wall because there wouldn’t be a sheen when light hit it. Always talk with your experts! That’s why they are the experts!

I am so happy with how the whole thing came together! My kitchen may be from the 1960s, but it doesn’t look that way anymore! The cabinet colors are perfect with the navy walls and charcoal countertops. The black fireplace looks like it’s been there the whole time. It’s modern without looking out of place. I never want to leave this kitchen!!

When it comes to home improvement projects, I am here to tell you that you just need to go for it! I was never worried about the gray lower cabinets, but was I was so leery of the black fireplace. Not sure why I ever doubted myself! It all turned out exactly like I had envisioned! Yours will too!

XO,

Andrea

The New Kitchen Update

Oh my gosh, you guys! I finished up the kitchen update several weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to taking photos and sharing them with you. Honestly, I knew we used our kitchen a lot, but I had no idea how much until I was trying to capture pictures! Our kitchen is never clean! And when I say clean, I mean washed dishes are still in the sink, the kitchen table is cluttered with mail and miscellaneous things, and the counter tops always have stuff on them. It's generally always a mess! But not this morning. It's clean and photo worthy!

As most of you know, I've been talking about changing the color of my kitchen for months. But let's take a journey back to the original. For years, I had wanted a red kitchen. When we moved in, almost 16 years ago, this house was going to be a starter home so we painted everything a pretty shade of beige. Move in ready for the next couple. Then, I tired of the beige and just went for it. Red it was! In 2012, after a car wreck while seven months pregnant in 2011, we were "awarded" pain and suffering funds and we got a new kitchen. And when I say new, we got granite counter tops, stainless steal appliances, and subway tile. It was the upgrade our space needed. 

But, like anything else in life, the red grew old and I needed a change. The kitchen needed a change. And the least expensive way to make a major change is paint! Here are the colors we were considering. The top is In the Navy and the bottom Rich Navy. We wanted to make sure it played well off the dark counter tops and the amazing windmill clock. After several days of looking at the colors, and asking friends on Facebook, we went with Rich Navy. 

After discussing with the paint experts at Home Depot, we purchased a gray primer to start the process. And I have to say, the gray spoke to me for about a minute. But after I put the first stroke of blue on the wall, I was sold!

After the blue was on the wall, it was down to the little details to make the kitchen look refreshed. Yes, we had the amazing clock, but what else could I do to make it look new without spending any additional money? Well, I moved some things around in my actual kitchen! I've collected aluminumware for years. I've been obsessed with Mid Century Modern design before it was popular and these industrial looking pieces were perfect. I added measuring cups and spoons to the nook inside my sink window. I love the pops of color and how well they play off the blue! I did purchase new lights for the space because I wanted more light coming through. We were worried that the navy might make the our small kitchen feel even smaller, which on the contrary it did now, but the extra light helps. I love the open glass! I also added texture with my striped rug. And lastly, my dad framed some of the still life photos he's been working on and they totally complete the space! 

So without further ado, here is our "new" kitchen!

I truly love how it turned out! It makes spending all that time in the kitchen a little more fun. I think it helped modernize our 1960s home as well. If you can't knock out walls, just paint them! And then add fun accents to make it appear new. You don't have to spend a lot of money either. Like I said, I used things that were already in my kitchen by giving them a new place to sit. And, we didn't break the bank on our lighting. The ceiling light is from Lowe's and the pendant is from Houzz. Both were under $75! The rug is from Home Goods and was less than $30. With the primer, paint, lighting, and rug, we spent less than $250 on our kitchen update. Best $250 spent!

Up next, the bedroom! I've picked out my paint color, purchased darling new side table lamps, and have the bedding all ready to put on the bed! I'm going to paint our existing furniture to help keep our cost down. I can't wait to share!

XO,

Andrea

Kitchen Updates: Dressing Up My Cabinets

I have a confession to make. I'm obsessed with vintage dinnerware! And, I am the proud owner of three different sets. I also own four additional sets, all different in pattern, that aren't vintage. And, I have my own wedding china. That's a lot of dishes! But I can't help myself. When I see a really cool pattern, especially one that's Mid Century Modern, I have to have them. And recently, well over the summer, my mom and I picked up a chic set from a boutique in the West Bottoms called Goldie & Myrtle's. They've been in a box in my parents garage and I had almost forgotten about them. Almost!

While helping my mom with a neighborhood garage sale, she mentioned that I needed to take my box of dishes home. And I agreed, but I wasn't sure where I was going to put them. My storage cabinets are full of other dinnerware! Okay, that's not true. They are full of holiday decorations, platters, and other junk! But then I started thinking. My newest set only had a place setting for six, with no glassware, and that wouldn't really fill up the cabinet space. Then I remembered that several years ago, when visiting family in TN, my great aunt gave me my great grandmother's china. Used only on Christmas Eve, this sweet set of china was just sitting in the basement. Guess who brought it home! It is the prettiest design that's incredibly delicate, just like Grannie Helton, and it really complimented the more modern 60s design of the other set. And, it came with glassware! Perfect. 

Then while chatting with my mom about using both patterns, I remembered we purchased pink cocktail glasses years ago and they are a little on the vintage side. Because Grannie's pattern has a hint of pink in the design, we both agreed that pink would make the whole thing pop. So last week I got to it and updated my kitchen with the new to me dinnerware! I replaced my current black and white patterned dishes with blue and white and it brightened up the entire space! I love it! We aren't using them. Instead, I'm now using my Barn Yard pieces. They are darling!! 

Check out my updated kitchen cabinet! This is my cabinet before:

My great grandmother's sweet china!

The blue glasses and coffee mugs were Grannie's and the pink glasses are the ones we found years ago. Such a great compliment to one another.

 

  

My Mid Century Mod find!

 

 

The new updated cabinet!

I love it! The colors are perfect together and that pop of pink with the cocktail glasses is what really brings it all together. I find this to be an easy way to update your kitchen. And if you notice, I don't have cabinet doors. That's not by mistake! My original Pottery Barn dishes were too long for the doors to close, so we took them off. And, after 14 years of living here, I've never thought about putting them back on! A little worried on your end? Replace the cabinet fronts with glass. It will allow the visual presence of your dishware, but you don't have to worry about the dust collection!

How do you update your kitchen? Are you a re-painter or do you just stick with what works? I would love to hear your feedback!

Happy Monday!

XO,

Andrea