Before I went on my trip, I had one night alone. Totally alone. No girls, no sons, my husband was out of town, I was on my own.
I thought about going to a movie. Instead I decided to paint the kitchen.
But I bought the world's worst paint and only got as far as the mud room part of the kitchen. Here is the after, pure white walls. I've always wanted a white on white room, but I usually tint everything ivory or tan, or cream.
Here is the before, see, the walls are tan, with a green ceiling. It's now white with a faded birds egg blue ceiling.
I used the same pure white to paint the cabinet/pantry door in that area.
Here is the before, ivory with a coffee colored wash over it, and a topiary painting. Some of the trim had broken off, that had been bothering me.
Once the trim was repainted, the missing pieces didn't show. I did the center in chalkboard paint (mix plaster of paris into any paint color to make some). I'd love to repaint all of the kitchen cabinets pure gloss white, I think I'm ready for all white cabinets. But first, I'll keep an eye on this area to see if I still like it after a while, or if I only like it now because I wanted a change.
The same chalkboard paint was used on the girls' table in hopes that they wouldn't redo my cabinet door for me. But they already have, as well as Dewdrop deciding the floor could be drawn on too. Not a big deal, it wipes off, but still a bit messy.
I think I'll paint their table back to normal, the chalkboard paint isn't the best choice for it. They use that table for play dough, making cupcakes, and all sorts of activities. A fresh coat of white might be better, and I'm already tired of the chalk dust.
High gloss pure white from Behr was what I used on the trim, cabinet, and kitchen table top (over bonding primer for the cabinet, since it was previously done in oil paint) I used the paint and primer in one, and have always LOVED Behr paint. But when I used the new, one coat paint and primer called Marquee in eggshell for the walls, I absolutely hated it. Instead of one coat, it took 5-6 for white to cover soft tan. Crazy! and exhausting. An afternoon's work turned into two days.
I love having my table redone in a clear clean white! But it was a little too bright, so I flicked some splatters of tan on it with a toothbrush before doing a clear, protective top coat.
This is the original painted surface on the table.
This is what it is now, white with speckles. I left the chairs and table legs as they were, it is only the table top that needed a freshening up.
I also painted the inset area behind the kitchen sink the same blue as the slanted ceiling in the mud room to the right.
Maybe I'll paint the kitchen walls pure white (eggshell) like the mudroom too, I really like it. But I will never, ever use that Marquee paint again. I'll go back to the regular Behr paint or even switch to Valspar.
When I paint, I don't tape off or use drop cloths, I've had a lot of practice, and with good paint, there aren't many drips. But the Marquee brand from Behr flew everywhere when I used a roller and dripped in huge blotches, ran down the wall and was a total wreck.
I only had time to paint one part of the kitchen instead of the whole room. Which I guess will give me a chance to decide if I want to repaint it all white or try something else when I get around to doing it again. Without Marquee. Or as I was calling it, Machiavellian.
And I had thought about trying the chalkboard markers for a tidier sketching experience. But from what I hear, they are hard to remove unless you are drawing on real slate chalkboards. Regular chalk is already looking messy on the door, so I might have to make some changes here too.
I could paint the bottom half white again, and just have the chalkboard part higher, so the smudging from little fingers is less.
Hi Karla! I love the way your painting turned out. I recently started reading your blog after your “Creating an Art Journal” tutorial was mentioned on Sandy’s Quill Cottage blog. Needless to say, I bought the tutorial and am so glad I did. What a great job! It’s just the ticket to what I’ve been looking for. Thanks so much. Happy Sunday. Sue
OMG-I can’t even imagine tackling such a big project–I had to laugh at Oh shall I go to a movie or paint the kitchen? I’d coose the movie!! but your kitchen does look good!!
Well, it was a much bigger project than I had expected. If Id known the paint was so bad, I think Id have chosen a movie too!
This is just sooooooo beautiful, I love all the white on white! Lovely choice and I hope you end up enjoying it! I think high gloss cabinets sounds wonderful too! I saw you mentioned maybe switching to Valspar. Don’t! I switched from Behr to Valspar last year for my dining room (because Lowe’s was a closer stop for paint on that particular day) and it took four darn coats to cover over beige, four! Just craziness! Waste of money and time and very frustrating. I agree Behr is the best!
Thanks for the tip, Leslie!
Karla, no matter what the color, your home always looks so comfortable and inviting. Thank you for sharing!
Gorgeous! I had the same experience with the same paint. My son wanted to surprise his wife with a newly painted kitchen. She has already chosen a color but had not had time to paint it. While she was away and he and I attempted to paint the room and it was the worst paint ever. It was like painting with water, we had problems with it looking really streaky. We finally got fed up and went and had a color match done in a different brand that gave beautiful coverage. Like you, I will never use that kind again. Glad yours turned out ok in the end.
Your very ambitious I would say and of course it all looks great
Love the new white on white redo. Your house is always looks inviting!
I love it Karla, we had the same inspiration apparently. I also went on a painting spree. I never ever tape….much better with a good brush. Thanks for sharing about the chalkboard paint…have been wondering about it for awhile! Love the beautiful change you did (but it was beautiful before too!)
Looks so pretty Karla. Thanks for sharing about the chalkboards. I’ve often thought about having some in my kitchen but think I’ll pass now.
The chalk dust does land under neath and get stepped in and tracked around by the kids. Not my best idea!
Hi KArla — learned some good things here. I’ll pass on the info on the paint to a friend who was looking at that brand. Just bought a chalk board marker. Before I go whole hog, I’ll try it on an edge. The salewoman upsaled me quite well — I wanted the $2 chalk and ended up with the 7.95 marker!
But it looks lovely. Love your large, spacious room, all the bigger with the white!
I hope that the whole room is redone before our next gathering!
Hey Karla, great job on white redo. You’re such an inspiration. Keep it up and I look forward to reading your other posts. Wishing you all the best for 2015. Cheers!