We bought our house almost a year ago, and really the only room we have done anything to was the bathroom. I decided it was time to start making this house a home, and this week we have been turbo painting and decorating! While there wont be any major remodeling in the budget for quite some time, I never cease to be amazed at what a difference a fresh coat of paint can make.
The Front Porch
The first room I wanted to tackle was our front porch. It doesn’t have HVAC and appears to have been added on at some point. It’s very small and functions as a mud room for us, but it’s the first thing people see when they come into our home. The walls were paneling that had been painted over, and were chipped and scuffed. This room was also a major catch-all for shoes and whatever anyone had in their hands when they walked in the door. We had a white buffet cabinet with a hutch out there, and not only did it make the space look smaller, the ice melt, mittens and other various items you could see through the glass doors made it look cluttered and junky.
I chose Behr Polished Aqua for the paint color, and I love it! I think it makes the room look elegant, yet cozy. Initially I intended to move the buffet cabinet to the basement and replace it with a bench, but instead I just removed the hutch and painted the cabinet a navy blue. I styled the top with some pieces I had on hand, as well as a few new things from Hobby Lobby. I love the way it turned out, and the best part is I saved myself $100+ by not purchasing a bench!
Eventually we would like to replace the vinyl linoleum flooring with some vinyl plank, but in the meantime I am on the hunt for a rug to cover the floor. I am leaning towards this one from Amazon.
The Kitchen
Our kitchen is fairly large, but it was really dark. It has nice, oak cabinets that are about 10 years out of style and the same “griege” walls that graced the rest of the house. I knew I wanted a paint color that would brighten this room up, but I don’t care for stark white. Close Knit by Behr was my ultimate choice, and we used the Marquee paint, which doesn’t require a primer and promises one coat coverage.
I am BLOWN AWAY by how much one coat of paint lightened this room up!
before
after
I also replaced the blinds because one had broken, and they were mismatched. I opted to not put curtains up, because I like the clean aesthetic of just the blinds.
Eventually I would like to paint the cabinets, but for now I just ordered some new hardware to update them a bit. I discovered that hardware was MUCH cheaper on Amazon vs. our local home improvement chain stores.
I am going to be painting the backsplash yet this fall, but other than that I am content with this room till we can tackle the cabinets next year.
I think my bedroom will be the next that I attack with paint! We need to do some major improvements like new windows, and replacing some subfloor, but for now I am really happy with our $150 paint makeover. Are you doing any painting this fall? I would love to hear your color choices!
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