I’ve been working on jazzing up my kitchen for the last few months. We’ve lived in this house for almost 3 years, the longest we’ve ever been in a house since we were married in 2006. When we moved I thought I could tolerate the floral wall paper in the kitchen but after a few months it was starting to drive me nuts. I’m glad my landlord let me take it down, it makes this house feel more like home to me!
A little paint, some added color, some furniture swapping, and a quick DIY project helped make this space pop. Now every time I walk in the door I am greeted by a cheerful plate wall and my favorite color combination- turquoise and yellow.
Here is a side by side before and after…
Taking the wall paper down wasn’t so bad. Chris and a friend of ours tackled it on a Saturday while I was at work. He used a combination of Bounce and hot water to ease it off the walls. Once the paper was down we patched up spots, sanded, and primed. In total it took 10 hours to do.
I was so excited to roll the paint on! My landlord wanted beige but I convinced him that turquoise would be a better bed. The space has a very beige/yellow tone to it so I wanted a color that would pop.
I looked and looked for a kitchen table but couldn’t find something that would work. My friend Linda came for Christmas and suggested that we move our dining table into the kitchen and get a bigger table in the dining room. We moved the furniture to see how it would look and I was amazed, it looked perfect! I used the chairs that were already in our kitchen a bench that I re-painted from our dining room. It’s the perfect size for the space and I’ve already enjoyed having it there for big projects that I need to spread out and entertaining. It’s the perfect spot for guests to hang out while I make dinner or drinks.
I love the contrast of the butcher block with the turquoise walls and yellow accents. I feel like our kitchen has been transformed into my favorite cafe!
If you are curious about what we have done for a dining room table in the dining room, here is a peek at that space. It’s in transition but it’s starting to look really nice. I found the perfect table and chairs with my friend Linda and picked up some curtains at HomeGoods. I’ll keep you posted on the progress as I add more elements!
Okay, back to the kitchen. One of my favorite additions has been the oval rug in the center of the room. Harper likes it too, can’t you tell? I found it on Overstock for a bargain price. It really warms up the space if you ask me.
Or just ask Harper…
My very favorite addition is the plate wall. I’ll “dish” all the details on how I created it next week so stay tuned! For now all I’ll tell you is that I repurposed items from an estate sale and added some paint!
This polka dot plate in the corner is my favorite!
I’ve brought out some of my yellow fiestaware and added flowers to take away the winter blues. Don’t you just love tulips?
This vintage cookie jar holds our tea instead of cookies. I think Harper wishes it had her treats in it.
Harper did get an upgraded food dish during the makeover. How could anyone resist this cute bone number?
Here is one more look at my happy kitchen, I hope you love the transformation as much as I do!
I’ll share my DIY plate wall tutorial next week so keep your eyes peeled!
looks awesome! I don’t envy the wall paper removal at all. Such a fun and fresh look
Thanks Kelly! The wallpaper removal was a pain but it was worth it! No pain, no gain! 🙂
Love the new look!
Thanks Sue!
I love the new kitchen! It looks great!
Thanks Ash!
The “before and after” is amazing. Glad you have your happy kitchen when you get home after a long day.
Thanks Sutzi! The tin table that was in the kitchen is in the covered patio area on the back porch now. Perfect for cocktails!
I love what you’ve done to your kitchen and the color combination is perfect. Enjoy your new kitchen “cafe” with Harper and friends. Love the upgrade for Harper as well. Happy home for sure. Love the yellow plates with its fresh look! I look forward to next weeks post when you show the DIY plate transition.
Looks beautiful! So cheery and uplifting 🙂
Thank You Landlord! 😉 So much better now and he would have to agree. The side by side is Wow! Just Wow! Hard to believe just removing the paper and adding new paint will do that.
Love the butcher block table.
Beautiful room, what a different the yellow makes. Great job.
Your kitchen is beautiful! SO great that you were able to convince your landlord that changes needed to be made. Your kitchen looks so cheerful! Great job!
Love! I am in the process of finding a perfect turquoise for a wall in my kitchen. What color did you use?
It’s called aqua smoke by Benjamin Moore
Really nice. What’s the dimension of your kitchen table. We are going to cut our Butcher Block smaller.
Thanks