The last remodel of our kitchen was done about 16 years ago, 2 1/2 years before we moved to 21 Rosemary Lane. Then in the past year we have had to replace the stove/oven, dishwasher and microwave. (Doesn't it figure they'd all go at the same time?) With the kitchen serving as the hub of our home for the past 13 years, it has really become dull, dated and just plain beat up!
We painted the kitchen at pale green back in the spring of 2006, and in 2012 Mr. Rosemary Lane added a bead board back splash.
Mr. RL also put up an over-the-door shelf the fall of 2012.
Then last spring I purchased a hutch at ReStore for $40. It is slated to be painted as soon as I make the final decision on what I want to do with the rest of our kitchen. On a strict budget of course!
So what to do. As much as I would love to paint the wood cabinets in a creamy white, that is one battle I do not want to have with Mr. RL. He loves the honey oak cabinets, and to be perfectly honest they are in great shape and are really made very beautifully. So the honey oak is here to stay.
I started to search the Internet for ideas to help me update our kitchen, you know give it a little drama and provide a touch of that wonderful farmhouse vibe. One of the ways I have come across to update the space, and tone down the yellow of the cabinets at the same time, is to paint the walls in a contrasting deep warm gray. Here are a few pics I've pinned to my Pinterest Board Kitchen Inspiration.
(Pinterest)
A few colors I am considering at this point are...
(also used in the first inspiration kitchen in the above photos.)
(source)
(source)
And while I really like the way the honey oak and dark gray work together, I do have that rather large wall space behind the hutch that if painted a solid gray may prove to be too contemporary for my taste. So with that being said what I'd like to do is to carry the bead board idea from the back splash onto the lower two thirds of the walls and continue it around the room.
This gorgeous pic from the beautiful blog Town and Country Living illustrates the idea perfectly.
I love the way Jennifer paired the open shelving with the pretty bead board. I plan to remove that desk currently in the corner of the kitchen and something like the open shelving or even some country artwork would really liven up that dreary space.
Then at some point, as long as Mr. RL is on board, I would love to change the kitchen island up by adding a new wood feature to the island's exterior for visual interest, and paint it in my contrasting creamy white. (Pretty pendent lights and some new stools at the island's end would be nice too!)
Ahhh a girl can dream can't she???
Wishing you all a wonderful week!
XO
