A Coat of Paint Can Help You Fall in Love with the Heart of Your Home

Kitchens are the heart of the home.  The place where the warm smell of baked cookies comes from.  The space where your toddler smears spaghetti all over his face while laughing wildly.  Where the dishes are "soaking" for two days.  LOL.  In other words, kitchens both make you feel warm and fuzzy while simultaneously helping with the production of your life.  Your kitchen should feel like a warm hug.

My son Gavin being mischievous. 

It doesn't look like it now, but believe me, the kitchen pictured above was disaster scene prior to remodel.  Picture in your mind, glitter paint the texture of rough sand paper in colors that were a mixture of blue and brown. This was topped off with with spider webs hanging from the texture on the walls!  The countertops were blue fake marble laminate.  The stove reminded me of the Brady Bunch, and not in a good way. 

All the bones of a historic space (high ceilings, large windows, heart-pine floors) were still there. But they were lost in decades worth of hodge-podge, add-ons, and fad design trends of the past.  It felt like a bad horror movie where any second a masked man would pop out saying your name. 

Our dog, Cricket, does a priceless photobomb!

But the great thing about poor design choices is that they can always be corrected. 

As the remodel began, my inspiration was the concept of a "farm fresh" kitchen from the 1800s, since the house was located on property that bordered a farm.  I encouraged the owner to flip through a historic magazine for color inspiration.  We brainstormed ideas and colors, landing on a fresh green called LaFonda Green. Because this shade was authentic to the 1800s, it gave us that historic quality we wanted. When you go for a historic feel, you still need to keep things in this century. So, we decided to add a pop of "clean" using white upper cabinets with rustic metal hardware.

The hardware on the lower cabinets had birds on it since the Italianate home also had the historic name of Maplewood. The birds freshened up the space and added a unique design element.

For the countertops, the owner wanted a material that was versatile in the event the cabinets were painted a different color sometime in the future. We went with a classic white Carrara marble.

The kitchen, when completed, felt clean and modern, repurposed and new, while simultaneously feeling like it could have been in the house all along.

Out of all of these design elements, the most important was one you might not expect: The paint color. The owner FELL IN LOVE WITH THE COLOR.  Head over heels.  

You see, creating a home is just like creating a relationship. It's a marriage. Just like relationships, your space can evolve over time, but it's still a commitment. When you start a relationship, it's because there are things you love about that person. That person makes you happy and fills you with love. You want your house to feel that way, too.  

Every time you walk into your kitchen, you want to be reminded of your happy place.  A place of creation and mess.  A space that's truly you. 

Bon Appetit!