Kitchen tour

Remember when Eric went to a conference when I was 38 weeks along? Well, I pulled a fast one on him and repainted the kitchen. We were planning on painting it anyway, but I changed colors last minute and added a few surprises.

Our original plan was to paint the walls a soft gray that matched the marble subway tiles we installed last month. But when I started painting, it felt like I was inside a cold, concrete cell. So I switched to the same color I used in the living room: Sherwin Williams Copen Blue. It has a different feel in the kitchen and still goes with the tile & countertops without being too "matchy."

Closeup of the marble subway tile backsplash (in stock at Home Depot). We kept the solid-surface Corian countertops--no point in replacing something so expensive.

Then I cleared out the bookshelves above the microwave, which had been filled with cookbooks and small appliances. This was a perfect place to add some color. Desiree had the idea of doing an ombré effect. I chose a raspberry/coral color and bought 5 sample jars (from lightest to darkest: Behr's Fading Rose, Primrose Garden, Bridesmaid, Dragon Fruit, and Cherry Wine, color line #130). I skipped a tone between Fading Rose and Primrose Garden. I ended up mixing equal parts of those two for the second lightest shelf because the Primrose Garden was too dark. I still need to cut & paint the top shelf...

The kitchen is now 95% done. There are just a few little tasks left--find a new track light, touch up the paint on the trim & cabinets, and paint the yellow radiator white once the heating season is over.

Now the fun part: before pictures

Compare the end result with how it looked when we bought it: garish yellow walls, fruit wallpaper border, Roman shades with fruit fabric, white backsplash tiles painted with fruit, and older appliances. The cabinet hardware was antique brass. Notice the handles shaped like knives, forks, and spoons. Too kitschy for me. I replaced them with brushed nickel hinges & stainless steel pulls. We refinished the wood floors before we moved in.

The realtor and I (and 5-week old Inga!):

Fruit is everywhere!!!

And pictures of the work in progress, so you remember that it looks really bad before it starts looking good again. I removed the small backsplash piece on the Corian countertops, and it looks so much better with the marble tile going all the way down the wall to the counter.

Thanks to my brother Garrett for his help with taping & painting!