I know it’s been a hot minute since I’ve been on this blog, but hey, life gets busy when you are a full-time working mom with a long commute. And let’s face it, no one probably noticed I was missing anyway as we are all so busy these days!
But, if you are interested in what I’m up to on the old homestead, I’m getting ready to freshen up the “heart of the home” with some paint!
I haven’t shared any pictures of our kitchen/family room since shortly after we moved in back in 2015. At the time, I shared these quicky cell phone snaps in via this post.
What a throw back! More has definitely changed in the family room over the kitchen, but we’ve slowly and surely been making some changes.
Those are:
- new lights above the kitchen table (you can barely see the tip of the old one in the above left pic)
- new kitchen faucet (posted about here)
- new microwave (bye-bye pre-2000’s white special)
- we replaced the hideous green hand-made (by previous owners) curtains – blech. – with some new white ones (and new curtain rods too)
- new blue rug
- new (used – thanks Craigslist) sectional
- new (used – thanks Craigslist) coffee table that I refinished
- new (used – thanks Craigslist – see a theme here) credenza to replace the media unit
- new kitchen chairs
- Kevin mounted the TV to the wall
- new mirror
- and of course (my favourite change), the addition of a toddler and with it, all his gear – high chair, toys etc.
Now-a-days, this same space is looking more like this.
As in most homes, the kitchen/family room is definitely the most used/loved place in the house as it is where we spend most of our time when home.
Even with all the changes, the one thing that hasn’t been updated but would go SUCH a long way to making this home feel like “us” is the wall colour. The previous owners used a combo of taupe/putty and purplish/grey throughout the main areas of the house and while “okay”, it just doesn’t have the fresh and inviting feel I prefer in a home. It’s cozy enough, but just not right for some reason.
Taking into account the dark hardwood floors, white kitchen cabinets and dark granite countertops, all which won’t be changing anytime soon, I set out in search of some images that had the same “main’ elements but were shown with lighter, cleaner wall colours.
image sources: top left, bottom left, middle (no source), right (no source)
The paint colour I have landed on after MUCH testing (seriously, my walls currently look like a bad off-white/greige quilt) is “Toasted White” by CIL.
I’m going to get it colour matched though to “Behr Premium Plus Ultra, Paint & Primer in one” because after using many brands, it’s my fave. It covers nicely, cleans up well and is reasonably priced.
I’m going to paint the fireplace in the same tone as the wall and someday down the road, would love to add a simple floating wood beam mantle (kind of like the photo below).
no image source
And, also on the “one day” list would be possibly adding some bamboo shades in the windows above the kitchen sink. Again, similar to the image below.
So, there you have it! That’s what’s been happening on the decor front over here. Stay tuned and if you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you!
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