I left the doors unpainted in the front entryway. (Thanks for your feedback.)
The door between the living room and the stairway shows its age a little (it’s original to the house, so 100+ years old), but I think it has character. We, or a future owner, could paint or refinish it someday.
And with that… hooray! All of the trim in the house has been painted — upstairs, downstairs, and in the basement! Happy dance time. I can finally cross that one off my list.
It had been a while since I’d made a major mistake in my decorating (although I’m fully aware that you may feel differently!). I’m feeling very ‘meh’ about the white walls in the kitchen. I love all-white rooms, but I’m afraid the look may not be for me. And Brandon likes it even less than I do.
I took the kids with me to a local paint store (big ups to Paulson’s Paint in Forest Park — my favorite) to pick up a few testers. There are so many subtle variations between shades of white, and I wanted to get it right.
I went with ‘Moonlight White’ (on the bottom) over ‘White Dove,’ both Benjamin Moore, because the latter seemed to be too perfect a match for the trim (Behr’s ‘Swiss Coffee’). Now that the whole room has been painted with two coats, the cool undertone up against the creamy cabinets and trim call to mind the pallor of primer.
I could be judging it prematurely. The next step will be to sew the curtains (which I have been putting off because I’m not sure how I want to make them yet), and then I’ll reassess. The kitchen is very white right now, but the full plan was to hang the new curtains and paint the lower cabinets. I’ll do it virtually in Photoshop first, so I can see if I like the look or not. I’m a little worried that it might start to feel a bit kindergarten-esque with the bright color I had in mind.
The above paint color shopping list was for testers. ‘November Rain’ was another option to look into if I didn’t like white on the walls, so that shows you the confidence I had going into this.
I’ve been thinking more about the kitchen and bathroom. All of you seem to be leaning toward dark or mid-gray walls, where I’m looking at it and thinking I want to go with white. So I was trying to figure out why I’m so drawn to the idea, when I’ve never been known to paint a room white before. Would it look cold? Sterile?
I’ve been toying with the idea of painting the cabinets a color for a long time now, but I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it other than on Twitter.
I think my kitchen cabinets want to be painted. They’re just sitting there, all plain and vanilla. They want to be colorful! I can tell.
— Nicole Balch (@makingitlovely) August 29, 2011
So here’s what I’m thinking. The kitchen is keeping its stainless steel appliances (though how I wish for a colorful fridge!), white subway tile, white trim, wood floors, and upper white cabinets. The walls would be painted white (or almost white), and the bottom cabinets would be painted a color pulled from the new curtain fabric. The bathroom keeps its hundred-year-old hex tile (damaged as it may be) for now. The sink is unchanged, the toilet seat gets swapped out for a black one, and the pedestal tub probably goes black too. The new black and white polka dot shower curtain is a cutie and makes me happy, so that’s staying, and I think the metallic stool stays as well. The walls get painted the same color as the lower cabinets in the kitchen for continuity, or maybe a shade that is similar but not exactly matching. I need to finish painting the wooden doors to the kitchen and bathroom white too, and put a coat of colorful paint on the wooden step stool. Make sense?
You know, like this.
What do you think — can you see it? Still see dark walls as the better way to go?
Bathrooms, Kitchen, Painting
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61 Comments
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January 3, 2013
I write for My Colortopia, and they’ve just launched a new online tool: Color My Room. You can upload your own photo, or choose from one of theirs, and play around with paint colors.
There are palettes, suggested by me and my fellow bloggers, but you can also create your own. It amused me to be getting color advice from myself (hello, self!), so of course I selected one of mine. I chose my neutral bedroom Glidden palette of Silver Birch, Wild Truffle, Shaded Ice, Ground Nutmeg, and Driftwood Gray, but decided to try them in a kitchen. Because I’m still stuck on a color for the kitchen.
I chose one of their gallery photos instead of my own because it was the easier, faster option, and it was a good match for my white trim, cabinets, and tile. Let’s be honest — it was also a much prettier picture than mine. I like the lightness of Silver Birch, but Wild Truffle and Driftwood Gray are appealing too. I’m leaning toward a neutral paint color? What is this world coming to?
I have been sponsored by Glidden® brand paint to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
