Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A Kitchen Renovation: Loft Inspiration.

I’ve gone back and forth so many times trying not to go too taste specific. Then I realized I wouldn’t be happy with something that I didn’t love for the remainder of time we spend here. I just didn’t want to spend so much time and money and know that we’ll only enjoy it 3 years, and have it ripped out by the next owner. 3 years SOUNDS like a long time, since we use that kitchen every day. But I look back at the last 3 years, and it’s gone in the blink of an eye!

Of all people, I know paint is an easy fix. I love changing paint like I change my clothes. For $30 you can basically make an entirely new room.

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(Pink/Black then Blue/White Master Bedroom wall, Beige Hallway, Brown Bathroom)

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(Red/Black/White Living Room, Blue Hallway, Beige Bathroom)

However, I do NOT want to paint around cabinets. So I want to make for darn sure this paint color is going to stay for the remainder of time we’re here. Period. My problem? I want to go light, but I really want a cozy space too. It’s a battle people. With myself. Constantly.

So my #1 fave thing to do is photoshop. Like a mad woman. I know the lighting and furniture will make the color change from what’s on my screen, but it’s a starting point for my in-store and paint sampling search just a little easier, because I’m a super visual person. But this opens up the potential to pick any color under the rainbow, and makes the options harder to weed out. Example?

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I loved the Ralph Lauren Stone I have in my living room carried over to the kitchen:

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stonenexus

But after staring at it so long, it’s become a little… cold. So when we visited The Wine Loft in Short Pump, I was studying the muddy greige walls with the dark cabinets, mirrors behind the glasses, and warm amber light the lampshades gave off. It was comfortable, homey, and I wanted to stay there forever… or just take all the ideas home with me. I don’t think they’d let me live there, so I was stuck with option 2.

When we moved in, I went to town picking out all kinds of colors to paint all the rooms. The kitchen became gray, but it is such a saturated straight up gray, it sucks the life out of the room, and all the sunlight with it.

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The muddy greige at The Wine Loft was more brown, and gave off a soft glow mixed with the amber lamp shades. So I tried to pick the shade out of a thousand online squares from the memory I have of the wall color I sat and studied while I sipped my Riesling. This is the closest I got to it:

urbanliving I picked a beige shade (yes, the lighting changed again. Why? OVERSTOCK DOESNT HAVE IT ANYMORE!!!) that I used in an old roomboard I made to give the amber glow, the dark cabinets and floors, and I wanted to bring in a little happiness with the lime green curtains. Which you KNOW will change.

Well, earlier today I showed Hussy a picture of a kitchen I love love loved with white counters, dark cabinets, and greige walls:

1468c01b1a3eThe irony? I saved this picture on my desktop on March 21. A MONTH ago, I saved this picture while I was getting my initial inspirations together for light counters and dark cabinets, and didn’t even remember it! It even has shelves like mine and the drum shade I want! It’s easier to visualize it in here than photoshop, but it’s hard to believe in my subconscious I liked one look for a month now. You’d think I’d stick with this look now, right? I hope so. The color I used is Urban Living in Ralph Lauren’s Urban Loft Paint line.

4 comments:

  1. Those are truly awesome photographs; I’d love to visit your kitchen. Really very nice.

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