Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Kitchen Paint

Well, I'm not done but I thought I'd finally share the paint color I ended up with in my kitchen. It is Martha Stewart - Heavy Cream. (Still working on a project to hide the phone cord and patch the wall on the right.)


Here's a before below ... Sorry if its a let-down because I know its not such a dramatic difference from before. In another house, the previous paint color would have been perfect but it felt like the room belonged in someone else's house. It just didn't flow with the rest of the colors I have in adjoining rooms and it wasn't "me".


Unlike other rooms I've painted where I think "Wow, I love this color." every time I walk into the room, here I don't even notice the paint and that's okay because before I painted all I thought about every time I entered the kitchen was how much I hated the color. Its really hard to tell in these pictures, but the cream is so much less imposing. I don't have any natural light in the kitchen since its on the north side of the house and the tan didn't help.


I got some additional suggestions after I started painting such as Behr - Country Dairy (not so different from what I chose and would have also been a perfect choice) and Ralph Lauren - Peony (LOVE this green color, but where to find RL now that Martha's taken over?). I sincerely appreciate all the suggestions.

One mistake I made ... I forgot that when painting white over a color that its always best to prime even if the color isn't very dark. The past couple of projects, I've used the Behr paint with primer and I got spoiled. It took about 4 coats of paint to cover the tan with regular paint! That's one reason this took so long even though it wasn't large area to paint.

Now, that table ... I love my pedestal table and the unexpected blue color of the chairs. However, the finish on the table has taken a beating and rather than looking worn, the chips on the top make it look dirty all the time so I'm thinking of sanding it down and painting it this summer. I came across this picture on The Life of a Future Domestic Goddess not long ago and loved the finish and thought I might try it in green.


I couldn't get green to work on my walls, but I haven't given up on it yet!

10 comments:

  1. I love the kitchen's new paint color. I have a north-facing kitchen, too, and I used Heavy Cream and the color Latte years ago. I should've just used the Heavy Cream and skipped the Latte part! Now my kitchen is painted BM's "Philadelphia Cream."

    I know the relief of finally NOT noticing a paint color after disliking the color before it. If anything, this gives your brain a chance to reboot in the color department and eventually perhaps you'll find a color you like for this space. But I really do think the Heavy Cream looks awesome.

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  2. Excellent choice...I can really tell the difference!
    That blue table is exactly what I'm looking for for a coffee table in the middle of the living room. Perfect height.

    Nice job on your kitchen...feels good doesn't it!

    xoxo~Kathy@ Sweet Up-North Mornings...

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  3. Hi Melanie- I think it looks lovely- a nice neutral lets the pieces, like your table, shine!

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  4. Great paint choice - it looks really great in your room! I am always scared to go cream because my parents whole house was a version of "cream" - I think your room has convinced me otherwise!

    I also wanted to say those blue kitchen chairs are really awesome. So unexpected, but so perfect!

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  5. Love the wall color! I think you should go for painting the table! It would look great with the chairs. Can't wait to see what you do!

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  6. the wall color looks great! In the very first picture I was thinking paint the chair green I think a white/green table with green chairs would be amazing!

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  7. Heather,
    I may just take your advice and go green with the chairs and just repaint the table white. We'll see what happens this summer!

    ~Melanie

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  8. Hi Melanie. I think the "after" color you chose is much more cheerful than the "before" color. I love it!
    Sandra

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  9. Love the new color. I think I've found my answer for my dark cabinets and blah tan walls. :o)

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  10. I love the cream color! It looks so calm and relaxing!

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