Friday, April 15, 2011

Kitchen Make Over

Since the surgery I have spent a lot of time at home.  I've been looking around and making plans for all the make overs that I'd like to see happen in my house.  Bill loves when I start to make plans!
One of the things I wanted to do was change the color of the kitchen and dining room. There isn't a lot of natural light in these two rooms and the green paint on the walls wasn't brightening things up at all. 
So far Bill has painted the kitchen ~ and I love the results. 
He'll be putting the same color (Behr - Raffia Cream) on the walls in the dining room soon.

BEFORE



AFTER




We'll be taking down the ceiling fans and getting new light fixtures.  A new tile back splash might be in our future too.  Someday I'd like to get new counter top ~ I think something dark would look wonderful.  But I'm just really happy to have the new paint color.  Once the dining room has it's new wall color I get to start deciding what kind of goodies I'll be displaying. That's the fun part! 
I'll show more photos as the work progresses.

? QUESTION ?
In the first AFTER photo you can see my dining room furniture.  I'm thinking about painting it.  Any opinions?  Maybe black, maybe off-white OR maybe I'll just refinish the table.  This is a tough decision for me.  I don't dislike the wood finish ~ but the table is so worn and marked up.  How would it look if I just painted the table or the table and chairs and left the hutch as it is?

13 comments:

Tins and Treasures said...

Good evening, Marie,
I love the color you have chosen for your kitchen. I'll be anxious to see what others say about your table...ours is old and I often think about doing something with it too...

Have a wonderful weekend. ~Natalie

Dorthe said...

Hello Marie,
your kitchen make-over looks very beautiful-and sure lightened the room up--when the dining room is paintet too, it will be so beautifull with the furnichures in the same color tones as the walls- I think-
Hugs,Dorthe

simple country living! said...

Oh! I just love your new look! BEAUTIFUL! And I think your dining set would be awesome in BLACK!!! I painted my set black & it was just the right color to make it "pop"!!! Good job, Marie!
~ALOHA~
Leona

Jo said...

The paint color looks great! Can't wait to see it in the dining room too. I, personally, am not a fan of painting furniture... as you could probably tell by the wood grain that is throughout my house. However, it might be good in black (I would leave the hutch as it is). I think off-white would be too much light color in one space, especially with your cabinets being light in color.

Maybe you could search around the interwebs for pictures of what other people have done and see what appeals to you the most.

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Hi Dear Marie!

The kitchen color is beautiful and I love your cabinets! I think we have the same microwave and stove :)

The table we used all through the kids growing up years until just a few years ago when my mom gave me the one she was using was from an antique store. It had a oak top and pine legs. I stripped the top and refinished in the natural wood only because it was all sticky and gummy. I painted the legs (slightly off-white) white. My daughter in up-state NY uses the table now. This might be an idea if you are reluctant to paint your hutch. It might also tie in with your kitchen colors.

Ann said...

The kitchen looks gorgeous. I love the new color.
I think that the furniture would look rather nice with maybe the legs painted white and then with a darker color for the table top

Jillayne said...

Love the new look; light is bright.
I agree about painting the legs some kind of creamy white, or even slightly darker than the raffia colour, with the table top sanded and stained darker brown. I did the table in my sewing room that way years ago and I still love it - even with my "Swiss Coffee" walls. I would also paint the hutch the same colour as the legs, and then paper the back - I saw on one blog they did it with toile fabric and another that used vintage music pages - very cool!

Debbie S said...

I love the new color in your kitchen! In the first picture, I could now see the mini-spinning wheel that I missed in the "before" pic. Cute.

I agree that painted legs and wood grain top would be nice. With cream walls, the wood grain of the hutch & tabletop will give a nice warmth to the room. And papering the back of the hutch is a GREAT idea!

SPARROW said...

Marie: I just LOVE your kitchen. The color is perfect. I totally love the little red box thing you have in the corner on your counter. MY KINDA THING!!!! Thanks for following my blog. Good luck on my first blog giveaway.

Laurie

Raymonde said...

Beautiful bright kitchen you have now! Would sanding and some wood filler help with your table? Then varnish is back? Especially if it is solid wood.

Have a blessed Sunday. xxx

Unknown said...

Thats a beautiful color cream paint! I'm going to remember that name. Good work on the kitchen! Happy Easter Marie!

Anonymous said...

Marie, it's all pulled together now! And it looks so much brighter and larger.

About the table...leave the top natural and just paint the base black, chairs black. Or...go with all cream like your walls and age the edges of everything but still leaving the top natural.

Can't wait to see what you decide! Hope you are feeling better day by day. I am. Except for my back muscles and I think those are going to be taking the longest.

Happy Palm Sunday,
Diane

Unknown said...

Biała kuchnia aż pachnie czystością, super!
Całuski dla całej rodziny. Irena
Ustka - Polska