Lightening up - Painting the kitchen - Part 2 (after pictures)

These first two pictures were taken before I painted the cabinets, very dark and the white fridge really looks out of place.

very brown, and the granite and backsplash is not so noticeable because you just see brown.

To see more pictures of when I painted the cabinets go here

A nice big kitchen but this brown was just feeling too dark for me:

I had about 1 1/2 gallons of paint leftover from when I painted the kitchen cabinets a few months ago, so this project was free!

The paint I used was Zinsser perma white - "Two coat system, no priming required". I had used it on the cabinets and it covered well, so I thought it would be good for covering that dark color too. It is a satin finish and looks so much nicer than the brown did - it was a glossy paint and showed all the imperfections in the walls - the previous owners had removed wallpaper and the walls are not super smooth). The color is Sherwin Williams softer tan #6141 (they can mix any SW colors at Lowes if you are on a budget like me - this paint was under $20 a gallon). I have to thank Janell from the blog Isabella and Max Rooms where I got the idea for this creamy color for the cabinets instead of the traditional "white".
The room feels so much more balanced now with the light color - and it is a much better transition to the family room which is painted a gold color. I will probably change these curtain valances for some other curtains at some point.

another blog idea I used was the giant fork and spoon in the kitchen

Mine came from Goodwill and were $2.99 - I spray painted them black - I actually used the chalkboard paint because that's what I already had.

these pillows were a yard sale find from a month or so ago, and they are perfect for these chairs. The chairs were $20 each - yes also from a yard sale and when I looked them up online I found they were originally from Pier One - $99 each - yay! We don't actually use them that much - mostly the kids backpacks stay here during the week to organize their things for school, but they sure look nice!

a 99c Goodwill store Halloween decoration

the white fridge does not stand out so much now. Eventually in a couple of years or when this once breaks it would be nice to have a fancy stainless steel one here. I haven't put any decorations back up on top of the cabinets yet. I love this color - even though the cabinets and walls are painted the same color it looks different depending on the light.

view from the family room




one more little project on the "to do" list is take off the shiny brass door knobs and spray paint them the oil rubbed bronze to match the cabinet knobs.

from the kitchen to the family room

the table and black painted chairs look much nicer against a light color

I had not thought to use this little window to display things before

the paint transition from one room to the other

Posted on Between Naps on the Porch - Metamorphosis Monday

and DIY day at A Soft Place to Land