The title of my blog begins with Joy. I can truly say that it is joyful to have our home freshly painted and about as clean as it can be. The process was quite a lot of work but it is finished in the interior and we are happy with the results. As you know Grayden cut the half wall between our kitchen and dining room to open up this area. I'll start by showing you the before and after photos of our kitchen and dining room.
I'm so happy that we were able to get the cabinets painted. As you could see in the before photo the cabinets needed refreshing. Having them painted was an easy option instead of having them replaced as it would have been very expensive. I decided to have the top cabinets painted white and the bottom cabinets painted the same crimson red as the color of our dining room and living room. Easy..right? Not really. The white was no problem, but boy was the crimson! The painters painted the bottom cabinets and my heart sank. Do you know that when crimson is a gloss it is PINK? Yes it was pink!! I could not have pink cabinets. Grayden and I went to the Sherwin Williams store and talked to a wonderful man that really knows his paint. He helped us stay with the same hue but came up with a color that would match the dining room and the half wall in the kitchen below the chair rail. This was quite a tense time as I really had my heart set on the crimson bottom cabinets. With his help we chose Wild Current for the bottom cabinets and the painters painted the bottoms again. Whew--it worked!
We wanted to replace the hardware on the cabinets as part of the new look. Well, that proved to be a challenge as they no longer make hardware that has the same spacing of holes as our cabinet doors have. The painters told us they would fill and drill new holes. We decided against that as we were not sure how they would turn out. So we ran our old hardware through the dishwasher and then proceeded to prime and paint the old hardware. I am very happy with their look. This hardware is by far much heavier than any we were able to find in the marketplace. Sometimes things happen for a reason.
Having the cabinets white we needed to go with another color instead of white for the walls in the kitchen. I chose a color that had a slight tint of eggshell. It turned out a muddy color of mauve that looked terrible. Oh no! So back to the paint chips. When you change paint colors you pay more, but I just could NOT live with this color. So I chose another shade of white with a small tint of gray for contrast. It was perfect--Nebulous White.
The dining room and living room are the same color that we had before. I just couldn't change this crimson as I love it so.
We decided it would be a good idea to brighten up some of the rooms.
Our bedroom before and after.
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| Office |
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| Guestroom |
Our bedroom before and after.
Thank you for sharing my Joy of having our home painted. The painters will finish our exterior as the weather permits. This is the first time in 43 years that we have had the inside and outside painted at the same time. We have had 17 days of rain out of the last 17 days. Today is a gorgeous sunny, windy day, but frost is expected to the north and west of us tonight. What strange weather for this late in the spring. Are you doing any painting or renovations this year?
Wow everything looks fabulous. The kitchen color looks great- good that you were able to get it re-painted since it didn't look right the first time. I can't imagine how upset you must have been when the bottom cabinets turned out pink! Good thing they were able to find the right color. I like the way the hardware looks on the white now. Love the new colors in your bedrooms and of course the crimson red is beautiful. I can see how cutting that wall down made for a better flow and being able to see the door must be helpful too!
ReplyDeleteWe really are enjoying it, Liz. It was quite a challenge to get the color right, but now it's all like I dreamed it would be. Thank you for your sweet comments. ♥
DeleteWow, Martha Ellen, you have done so much work around your home. It looks fantastic. I really like the white kitchen cabinets, and the handles look so pretty. The color you chose in the guest bedroom and your bedroom is very soft and lovely. The bed in the guest room looks like an antique, so charming. Your living room looks warm and cozy. And I always like seeing the bits of red in your kitchen. I put my red stuff out in my kitchen once Fall starts. Everything looks very nice, Martha Ellen. You did a great job, and now you can rest and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Birthday wishes today. I loved your comment, it was very special.
~Sheri
Thank you, Sheri. We are so happy to have this stage of our projects done! The bed in our guest room was Grayden's parents bed. So I'm sure it is an antique. Probably from the late 20's. We love having things from both of our childhood homes. ♥
DeleteI'm glad for you! Glad that you did not throw out perfectly good cabinets and how great they look with their fresh coat of white paint, and glad that you eventually found the right colours.
ReplyDeleteI once had to talk my friend through how to neutralise the vibrant, bright yellow with which her son had painted the outside of their house while they were away~as a surprise!!! With the right colours and choice of warm/cool tones on the trims we managed to tone it down without a full repaint job. Glad you had a knowledgeable man at the paint store!
Enjoy your newly decorated home! It all looks wonderful and I can tell how happy you are with it.
~~~Deb xoxo
Deb, our cabinets were still in good shape, so we couldn't see replacing them. The new paint has given them new life. It sounds like you came to the rescue for your friend. We learned from this project that yellow and red are two of the trickiest colors to "get right." We have very soft yellow in our bathrooms that is just perfect. Have a lovely day, dear Deb. xoxo ♥
DeleteWhat a colorful adventure you have been on, Martha Ellen! I can feel your joy, as you share the after photos. Your 'new' home looks just lovely! I love the fresh, new colors. I can just imagine you wandering from room to room and smiling! Now you and Grayden can relax a bit and enjoy your 'home sweet home' together for many years to come! So happy for you! ♡Dawn@Petals.Paper.SimpleThymes
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dawn. We feel really blessed to have the interior all freshly painted. Even though it was a challenge at some points, it was so worth the trouble. The painters are here now working on the exterior. The sun is shining and we have no rain expected today. I hope your weather is warming up so you can enjoy more time in your beautiful garden. Thank you for sharing our JOY! ♥
Deleteit is always pleasure to get walls and cabinets painted as this way they get new changed look which is always refreshing for the mind ,glad you are done dear enjoy and ahve blessed week ahead
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by. Yes, it is great to have our home all fresh and ready to enjoy. I hope your day is going well. ♥
DeleteWhat a difference paint makes! Your
ReplyDeleteYes, paint makes such a difference, Susan. I think some of your comment got lost. xoxo ♥
DeleteOh happy sigh....
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful, amazing, lovely, etc., etc., etc.
How happy it must make you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-doing happy dance, for you-
:-))))
Tessa
Thank you, Tessa for sharing in my joy of having our home painted. It was quite a job, even with the work being hired out. I love that you are celebrating with me! ♥
DeleteEverything looks great! I love the color combination on the cabinets. Nice that you did not have to do the work yourselves...I wonder what that feels like?!
ReplyDeleteJeri, this is a first for us! We have always done all the projects around here ourselves. I am kind of a control freak so I was a little nervous about it. Our painters wanted us to be happy and we are. ♥
DeleteYour paint choices turned out very nicely! I'd love to see what pink cabinets look like....
ReplyDeleteCathy, they looked awful! So bad, I couldn't bring myself to even take a photo! ♥
DeleteIt looks wonderful! I love the color of your lower kitchen cabinets! And the walls. Good for you to pursue with it all--the change of colors and the hardware, as now you are happy with it. I am having some painting done--only the second time I have not done the painting myself. The color choice will be the challenge but there is a man at the paint store we call the "paint whisper." I hope he can help, especially when we eventually get our yellow kitchen painted. I may want yellow again, it's so cheery. Hope you get a string of good weather soon.
ReplyDeleteDotsie, I'm so happy with all of our choices. We had a few glitches, but it all worked out for the best in the end. We're supposed to get rain tomorrow, so I don't think the painters can continue then. I love it that you have a paint whisperer! That's exactly how I felt about our guy in the paint store! Good luck with your yellow kitchen. The painters told us that yellow and red are two of the trickiest colors to pick and paint. I know you are looking forward to having your painting done. ♥
DeleteEverything looks wonderful, Martha Ellen. I am sure that your heart sank when the first choice turned out wrong. So glad that you were able to get it righted and that you did not settle for the wrong color. I really like the red uppers and the crimson lowers. And the same hardware doesn't really look "the same" in the newly painted room. All the other rooms look beautiful and fresh. Seventeen for seventeen? Rotten. It certainly has been a crazy spring. Seven inches of snow in northern Maine today. Yikes! Here's to brighter, warmer days ahead!
ReplyDeleteOh, we are painting decks and outdoor stairs. That's enough for me, though more certainly should be done.
Thank you, Vee. There were tense times with these colors for sure. We were pleased that the old hardware worked after painting them black. Our home was built in the 70's and that was not the finest hour of decor. Today our weather was beautiful, but chilly for May. That's crazy for seven inches of snow to be falling this time of year!
DeleteGood luck with painting your decks. It will be nice to have it all fresh for summer. It's amazing what changes paint can make. ♥
Of course, I meant white uppers not red!
DeleteI knew what you meant, Vee. ♥
DeleteI think your paint choices have turned out really well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this with us.
Hopefully you can now relax a while and enjoy your newly painted interior.
All the best Jan
Thank you, Jan. We are very happy with the results. It is much easier to relax when our home is no longer in disarray! Have a lovely evening! ♥
DeleteOh, Martha Ellen...you made it!! And it was certainly worth the wait, if the pictures tell the story! It all looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteOh, the angst when the colors turn out differently than you expected! More than once we have had to go with Plan B after painting Plan A on the walls. But getting it right is SO important! (Who could live with "pink" cabinets when you wanted crimson?!)
Enjoy your fresh and beautiful new surroundings!!
Thank you, Cheryl. We thought we had picked the right colors, but obviously we were wrong. It's so nice to have it right.
DeleteI hope you are enjoying settling into your new home and making it reflect you and your family. ♥
Martha Ellen, everything looks lovely. It's so nice to "refresh" a room, and you did them all. Paint colors can be very difficult -- I'm still living with a pink room that was supposed to be very, very pale peach. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteJean, paint colors are so difficult. Paint chips don't always look the same on a wall. This is the first time we've had problems with colors, but we experienced it all this time. Oh my, peach and pink are not alike in my opinion! Thank you for visiting this afternoon. ♥
DeleteSuch a lovely look. The white cabinets look amazing! Great job on transforming everything. Refreshing the other rooms is wonderful. I do love your red dining room too. Enjoy your new look! xo
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. I'm so happy with my white cabinets. I feel like I have a new kitchen! Have a wonderful day. ♥
DeleteOh my goodness, I LOVE the paint! What a huge difference the white paint made on the kitchen cabinets. I would love to do that here, but you-know-who refuses to have anyone put paint on perfectly good oak. :-) Oh well. And I like the changes you made to the bedrooms. But I'm wondering what happened to the cute little buildings that were on top of the closet trim. They could still go there, couldn't they? Right now we're spring (or actually LIFE cleaning) the cousin's house and little by little I suppose I should do some cleaning before June. But I'm having too much fun outdoors right now with the perfect spring weather we're having!
ReplyDeletexo Have a wonderful evening, Martha Ellen.
Judy, it has taken a while for me to convince Grayden to let us have the cabinets painted. I'll tell you a secret--I wanted to paint the living room fireplace white, but as you can see you-know-who didn't want to paint perfectly good brick. My little Cat's Meow houses are now above the bedroom doors downstairs. I have collected way too many of them and now am contemplating whether I should keep them. I have "collected" too many things over the years and am trying very hard to keep only those things that bring us joy.
DeleteI'm so happy spring has come to you! We have had so many rainy and cloudy days. I'm ready for some sunshine! xo ♥
What a different just a can of paint make... wonderful transformations
ReplyDeletecielo
Thank you for stopping by, Cielo. We are so happy to have our home all fresh and painted. I hope you have a lovely evening. ♥
DeleteOh Martha Ellen....this all looks SO beautiful! You chose perfect colors and wow, what an update! What loavely bedroom colors and your kitchen....I really, really love it! Enjoy all the efforts you put into your beautiful home!
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Betsy for your kind words. It's so nice to have everything all painted at once. The outside is still not finished as we are in a rain pattern that I think you have been in as well. Hopefully we will see some sunshine today. Enjoy your upcoming weekend! ♥
DeleteMartha Ellen,
ReplyDeleteI just love your transformation. Especially the kitchen.. Reminds me of when I painted my kitchen cabinets.. Because it was not in the budget to have someone do it, I had to tackle it alone.. Sand, fill, sand and paint.. Thought I would never get done. But is is not the greatest feeling when you see the results, no matter who did the work? I painted mine white also.. I really love it, brightened up the kitchen.. And you did the same thing to the hardware as I did.. cleaned it up and painted it.. You are so right, what you find in the stores is not the quality as it once was.
Your place looks wonderful!
Thank you so much for visiting. Yes, that little hummingbird was posing for me alright.
blessings,
Penny
Thank you, Penny. Our kitchen is by far the greatest change in looks for us. This is the first time we had someone else do the painting for us. My husband did cut the wall out between the kitchen and dining room. He put up all the woodwork and made it ready for the painters. It is the greatest feeling to have it all done. I'm so happy you came for a visit today. ♥
DeleteWell Miss Martha!! This has turned out to be as lovely as ever and well worth the enduring wait!! Your kitchen shall be such a joy to cook, bake and create in, it is just so very lovely and bright and happy!!! And I love the colors!!
ReplyDeleteAll of your rooms came out so wonderful!! (although your before pictures look pretty lovely too!! not typical before pictures)!! ;-)
You have everything decorated beautifully!!
Sending warmth love, and hugs!! Many blessings and joy xx oo Linnie
Thank you, dear Linnie. I am having the best time in my "new" kitchen. This change has been a long time coming. You did a kitchen renovation recently, so you know the joy of having it done. Here's to happy times in our new kitchens, dear Linnie! xoxo ♥
DeleteMartha, I love your new painted kitchen cabinet re-do! The white uppers look so nice and bright and the red hued lowers will be easier to keep clean and a nice contrast. I have oak cabinets and have seen others in my neighborhood with the same cabinets paint them, but I have much more to do in my home before I venture into doing that. I want to do my ceilings and paint my kitchen walls, and we are having our garage insulated and sheet rocked, so that will need a prime when finished. Professional painting is expensive, as you know, but well worth it when done! Your other rooms also look so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat. We are so happy to have been able to hire this job out. Our cabinets were getting pretty worn and needed help. Having them painted was an inexpensive alternative to other options. Good luck with your upcoming projects! ♥
DeleteLOVE all the paint jobs...beautiful! Dave and I painted our kitchen and dining room bee balm red. His mother was seated in the family room, views out the window and into the kitchen...when the painters began painting Bee Balm Red, his mother called out, "STOP! You're painting the kitchen RED! I'm sure it's meant to be painted YELLOW." The painters replied, "No, this is what Sandra gave us so this is what we're painting." When I came home, his mother was in a tizzy. I asked her, "What was your kitchen painted? (She'd moved in with us) She said, "Oh, yellow, of course, that's what kitchens are supposed to be." My response..."Well, I don't want a yellow kitchen. Dave and I decided on a red kitchen so red it's going to be."
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure she ever forgave me for that 'indiscretion'.
Sandra, that is hilarious! Sounds like we are gals that love red. Color is such a personal preference. I'm so glad you can comment on my blog now. Technology is great when it works! Enjoy your weekend! ♥
DeleteOne thing leads to another, even when the project is painting, supposedly the simplest thing to do for a remodel.:-) I do love the "after" pictures. xo Nellie
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nellie. We are so happy to have this task completed. xo ♥
DeleteYour rooms look beautiful, and I am so glad to see another red lover. We have lots of red around, plus a whole wall in our dining room. It just makes a person smile!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
J
It's nice to meet another red lover, J! It is such cheerful, happy color. We decided to stay with it when we had our home repainted. Blessings to you as well. ♥
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