Hello friends and welcome back for week two of the ORC. If you missed week one where I show pictures of the room I am making over (the kitchen), you can catch up on that post here.
This week I am sharing the overall design plan and how I arrived at the choices I made. While the makeover is not a major overhaul with new countertops or cabinets, I did have some difficult decisions to make, including forfeiting my desire for wallpaper. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my meeting with a wallpaper installer and my disappointment when he informed me that my paper choices were just not right for the space. You can read about that post here, which includes the wallpaper sample I had chosen for the kitchen. To make a long story short, I was unable to find another wallpaper that I loved and that was conducive to the small amount of wall space, so I scratched the idea altogether and decided to just proceed with painting the walls.
In last week's post, I explained that I would be working around the tile flooring, mural, and the blue Bahia granite countertops. I chose two fabrics by Schumacher that I feel like work well with those three elements. One is the Cabanon Stripe in Bleu, which will be used for the window treatment and a cover on the french door.
The other fabric is the Elton Cotton Check in Sky, which will be used for the skirt underneath the sink and will be gathered behind the metal lattice on the upper cabinets. That's right, I'm over being able to see through the cabinet fronts. While I keep things orderly, I have grown tired of the business that all the cookbooks, canned and boxed goods, etc. add to the room. This makeover is about a cleaner, and hopefully calmer look.
Here is an inspiration picture for the cabinet curtains from Better Homes and Gardens via Pinterest.
The paint color for the walls will be Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore. It's one of their more popular colors, it looks great with the fabrics, and it also works well with all the paint choices for the cabinets.
The cabinet color was most definitely the most difficult decision I had to make. In week one's post, I shared about branching out from white cabinets. I had originally chosen Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams, however, when I paired it with the granite, I felt like it was just too cool.
I then considered Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore, but I felt like it was too dark.
After much debating at the paint store with granite, fabric samples, and wall color in hand, I decided on Collingwood (Ben Moore), as it is a good compromise between Repose Gray and Revere Pewter, and it really looked the very best with the granite.
One thing I have wanted to do for a long time is to remove this one cabinet and add open shelving in its place. I read recently where open shelving is out, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and so it shall be. I think the removal of the cabinet will open up the space, thus making it look larger and hopefully less crowded. I also like the idea of having all the cabinets on one side of the room.
Here is some inspiration from the book, The Perfect Kitchen, design by Joseph Polar. A cleaner, but still a cozy look, don't you think?
And another inspirational photo from Victoria Magazine via Pinterest.
The last big change will be transforming this ugly, orange brick wall, which I also think will make the kitchen look larger and less busy. I originally thought I would do a mortar wash, but I'm thinking that may be too heavy of a look for such a small space. I'm leaning toward whitewashing with a mix of latex paint and a clear glaze.
I am entertaining a few different light fixtures with handpainted shades, maybe?? More on that next week as I feel like I'm currently in decision overload and I really want to see how the paint and fabrics come together before I make additional choices. There is still so much to do!!
The List:
Paint Cabinets
Paint Walls
Whitewash Brick Wall
Make Window and Door Treatment
Make Cabinet Curtains
Make Skirt for Underneath Sink
Remove Cabinet
Repair Sheetrock
Paint and Install Open Shelves
Decide on and order Island Light Fixture
I'm taking this opportunity to clean out the drawers and cabinets and replace all the shelf paper.........and only 4 more weeks remaining! It's time to get busy!!
I will leave you with this last picture in hopes that you will check in with me again next Thursday when I hopefully have lots of progress to share with you!!
Better Homes and Gardens Magazine is the official media sponsor for this event. Be sure to visit the other guests and featured designers participating in the Fall 2020 ORC. There are so many great transformations you will want to follow along with!!