Kitchen update … before and after

Way back in October 2011, I commiserated with you about trying to choose paint for our kitchen. Originally, I was leaning towards the blues and greys.

But y’all screamed, NO, don’t do it! You commented, e-mailed and called me warning me not to go so dark. In the comments Kim Fasching (I would link to her, but the link no longer works) suggested, “Pull something pinkish from the granite and cut it by half with white.”

I looked at the counter tops again.

Hmmm. Mauve? Really? I dunno. I’m not really a mauve kinda girl. 1980s color schemes screamed in my mind.

But then I thought about it some more and hauled myself back to the store for more paint samples. Gee, if that many people thought I should go pinkish then I needed to give it some serious consideration.

I finally narrowed it down to two shades of mauve and then left it up to Jack to choose the final color while I took off for Vietnam. (I’m so helpful that way.) And when I came home it was all painted and done. My sweetheart rocks!

Here’s what it looks like today.

I love it! Thank you, Kim Fasching and everyone else who chimed in. You did us good!

The mauve that we chose actually has a hint of dusky rose in. It’s fairly light, but still gives the room warmth, which is what we were looking for.

We also had this great rug with dusky rose and pale green that was handed down from family and in one of the guest bedrooms. However, it didn’t really match there so I brought it into the kitchen and it now works beautifully with the mauve walls. Even better, the busy pattern camouflages the vestiges of a busy kitchen (aka food crumbs and pets) and adds a little punch of pattern while grounding the floor.

The once hated too-pink counter tops now work for me.

Along this wall between two doorways there used to be a never-used second sink. The kitchen is small and doesn’t need a second sink so we ripped it out and tucked a little floating folding table there along with a pair of bar stools that we’ve had stashed in a closet for two years. (Coincidentally, the sage green upholstery in the bar stools is picked up nicely in the rug. Hooyah!)

Given its awkward location in a traffic pattern, the table’s small footprint works well. It’s a great spot to sit and eat breakfast, layout cookbooks or just to sit, sip wine and chat while someone else does all the cooking. We also mounted a small computer and monitor on a swinging arm so that we can surf the net for recipes, watch the news, DVDs or Netflix while we cook in the kitchen. I have to say, it’s been a favorite addition to the space. But in the event we needed more space, we can simply move the stools and drop the table flat against the wall lickety split.

I haven’t decided what, if anything, to put on the walls above the monitor. I’m not in a hurry and nothing has jumped out at me, so for now I’ll just wait. Plus, I think this arrangement will only last a year or two. We hope to put a door there that will lead into a walk-in pantry.

I also added a pot rack to our setup and we love it. Good storage and easy access equals divine in my eyes.

And finally, I rotated in artwork from other places in the house to match the new mauve walls. The color that I originally balked at has turned out to be wonderfully warm and neutral.

Thanks, guys. We could not have done it without you!