One of the things I really like to do is help people make bold moves. This client called me looking for someone to do some specialty painting in here home and asked if I also might do plain solid color painting- she knew what colors she wanted, did I paint? Of course I do! was my response, and we made arrangements to meet and discuss the projects she had in mind.
I arrived for the consultation, we talked, and it occurred to me that she what she really wanted was to have a home that was warm and friendly, more cohesive, a bit bolder, but not trendy or wildly colored. She had several shades of light beige painted in various places in the kitchen, trying to find one that would work with the honey oak cabinets and make them fit in better. Not a bad start, but I knew the room could be so much better than oak and beige. I felt it would look very cut up and smaller with light walls, medium cabinets, creamy floor and trim and dark accents and I said so. The natural light was from the south, so a deep warm brown color pulled from the darker grain of the oak would take that shade and pull the entire room together making it seem warmer and larger- the opposite of what people think- that dark colors make a room appear smaller. She was hesitant, but after making a sample board of the color I selected and living with it a few days, she finally agreed to go ahead.
The Warm Brown Kitchen:
The room needed a bit of prep work plus ceilings painted before the wall paint could go on, but when it finally did, she loved it! Such a warm deep carmelly shade of brown! It will look stunning with just about any color accents she wants to bring in. It coordinates beautifully with the cabinets, and the lighter counter top creates a nice contrast. The whole room looks much more inviting and pulled together.
See the white door at the back of the photo? This week’s project is to paint a mural on a panel to be mounted on the door. I’ll do a ‘work in progress’ post about that next week. (LOOK HERE) In the mean time, there’s a new light fixture to be put up, new window treatments, artwork and accessories to be added, plus a gorgeous new counter height dining set. So far everyone loves it, especially the hand painted quote on the soffit to the right.
Can’t wait to go back to install the mural, and get photos of the finished project. Stay tuned!