Soooooo the big question....are "we" (lol) going all white kitchen, or color, or wood or what? I'm dying for deets over here!!

Wood, something that goes with my teak stairway and all flooring upstairs. My 20 yr old cabinets are whitewash, and I can't wait to have medium wood tones, new granite instead of tile countertops, and stainless steel appliances instead of white.

Wish I had more deets to share, but it's going to be a long process of picking things. Just so glad I have started, even though it may not be complete until fall.

I have a kitchen to paint. Right now the walls are brown! They sort of blend in with the kitchen counters which are a corian called "mushroom" the cabinets are a medium maple, a simple shaker style.

So any ideas for wall color with brown cupboards and brown counters?
I'd rather go light color. I collect stoneware bowls, and kitschy kitchen things from 50's and 60's.

I'm not generally a fan of white walls, but white can sure look sharp with brown! Is that too blah for you though? Also, I always love a dusty, masculine, steely blue-gray w/ brown too (much more blue, than gray though).

Yellow may pop too, but it just depends on whether you could deal w/ a strong pop of color and whether yellow is your thing.

I'll show you a color, below, I used in my dining room and for my kitchen hearth - it's like a really soft/light pumpkin...it's a really relaxing/soothing color, I find. Would something like that suit you?

So, this is not an attractive project by ANY means -- but I needed/wanted some privacy on my garage windows, which are just clear...but I still wanted to let in the light. But instead of buying expensive window film...guess what works?? Contact paper!! Who knew??!! So yeah, you can create a cheap privacy "frosted window" look using simple cheap contact paper. Love stuff like this....

I would have thought the window cling stuff. We put a stained glass one in our master bath. But I guess contact paper would be cheaper. I wonder if the heat of the sun will mess up the adhesive? Or is it a static cling type thing like the window cling/film?

That color just might work! I was thinking about "oranges." We will be in the house no longer than 5 years, and I want to something with newer colors. Do you have the name of the paint and color.
Your hearth is beautiful, and the color works great with all the textures too. Nice!

I honestly don't know how/why it works - but it does! So far, the AZ heat/sun isn't affecting it at all. To apply it, you soak w/ Windex or any spray, and then apply it...the water/wetness lets you move it around so you can get it in position. Then you squeegee it, and then the leftover water/bubbles go away in a few days - and voila! So easy.

Yes - this is Pumpkin Butter by Behr: BEHR Premium Plus Ultra 8 oz. #ICC-62 Pumpkin Butter Interior/Exterior Paint Sample-ICC-62U - The Home Depot

We just love it! We really love it in our Dining Room - very warm, soothing, and relaxing...perfect for eating. We also put it in our den/library and love it there too...it's just a really flexible color and goes w/ everything.

That's just like the window cling then! I always had the notion Contact paper was adhesive backed.

I missed an open house at my dream house today. Darn it!! They reduced the price by a million. Coming down, lol. It would have been so fun to see it in person.

What a bummer! :(

I love going to open houses! I especially like new custom builds. Our county used to have a "Spring Parade of Homes", and builders would showcase their latest & greatest, ranging from $200,000 to multi-million dollar homes. Builders would scramble to get their houses complete, staged, and landscaping done in time. Unfortunately, with the downturn in the economy, new building ground to a halt, and we haven't had it in about 4-5 years. I miss it.

The parade of homes sounds like fun. I used to love going through show homes too.

And do you mean *the* dream house, the one you've posted about here???!! If so, ARGH!!! What a total bummer, that would've been so cool to see in person!

Yes, THAT house. The one with the magnificent moldings. Oh well, I probably would have embarrassed myself and fallen asleep on the chaise in the library pretending I lived there. :p

Gorgeous and so warm and inviting. Love the light fixtures, including your 'sputnik' that are peaking in at the top of the frames.

I am so excited for you! I'm glad you are in a place where you can enjoy the process so that you get exactly what you want.

Just wanted to post about a stain I've used a few times. This stain is different fro other stains as it's thicker and doesn't absorb "into" the wood. It sort of sits on the wood like a paint. It's good for difficult or not so perfect woods. I just went over the existing stain on my staircase to darken it up, it did a wonderful job. It was so easy to work with.

Here's a Pinterest board with some projects done with the stains....General Finishes.....


https://www.pinterest.com/generalfin...ava-gel-stain/

Really nice stain...looks so rich and warm and like it applies really evenly too.

Well this is kinda fun - a table base made of pipe! Would love this w/ a distressed / reclaimed wood table top....

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/211247038747658422/

LOL all I could think about is the bruises I'd get from knocking my knees against those pipes

We've been painting a lot. My family is coming here for 4th of July so we have lots to do to "show off" the house when they come. We're also doing the stairs. Took off the carpet and putting in laminate. Thanks to Toto the carpet on the stairs was his pee spot when we first moved in last year. Hopefully we can finish soon and then I'll post pics. We haven't done anything in the past few days bc I tweaked my neck bc I didn't want to bother Toto while he slept (pillow hog), so I guess I pinched a nerve and my neck/back/shoulders have been hurting for almost a week now! Thanks to this 5 lb dog! He bites when I disturb him while he sleeps. Real bites, not just nips. And since he's old I usually just let him have his way.

But anyway, if anyone is going to paint anytime soon, we got the Behr Marquee paint from Home Depot and it is THE BEST paint I have ever used. We've tried them all from HD and Lowe's. It's better than Valspar for sure. One coat and that is it. It's double the price of the cheapest paint they carry, but we tried that also (Glidden) and we had to do two to three coats with that paint. So in the end Marquee is cheaper and you save time too!

Also got a great find at the Habitat for Humanity store. A vintage bathroom set which consists of the light bar that goes over the mirror, three toilet paper holders and a towel bar all for $60. The metal is brass so I will paint or Rub n Buff it to make it look patina'd. I'll get before and after pics too--when I can work on it!

Maui Kitchen Update
 

Hey everybody, things are moving along. The new design is drawn and 3 designers are bidding on custom cabinets, I have picked out the granite and fabricator, and have a start on selecting appliances. Wow, so many meetings, and so many decisions that I hardly have time to spend on YT.

It takes 10-12 weeks to get cabinets made and delivered here, so we won't do demolition until late August or early Sept. and hopefully will be complete at the end of September.

I will attach a "before" photo of my now 22 yr old kitchen that has served me well, but now time to move on. It looks smaller in the photo (the long bar top is actually 12 1/2 feet, and kitchen extends wider than photo into pantry).

Wish me luck :) This is really exciting, and I am not as scared as I have been.

Can't wait to see the end result! I love the long bar. Also love the big window. But don't really love those glass ice blocks lol.

Great tip on the paint, I must say! Bc I just hate doing multiple coats on walls, ugh. I like one and done...so this is really helpful to know. Can't wait to see your finished projects!

For being a 22 yr old kitchen, it looks amazing! I can see why you loved it for a long time. I LOVE allllll that lush green I'm seeing outside your window, btw. Can't wait to see more of the kitchen reno project as it unfolds. Ya know what one thing I wish I had in my kitchen (amongst many, of course)? I wish my fridge appeared more like a built in. Are you going for the built-in look at all?

Thanks. Oh, and the green you see out the window, that extends the whole length of the lot, and my house is all glass on that side, so there's lots to see. Then the next wall is all glass, looking at the ocean.

My fridge will no longer be angled out, it will be flush against the wall. I am going with full size which is 28 cubic feet, rather than counter depth with is only 22 cubic feet. It is a the end of the kitchen layout so won't be weird with handles sticking out.

It is exciting, but takes so long to get the cabinets. But here is some really big news that is making it all extra fun. My sweet, handsome contractor is single, and we are dating and having the time of our lives. Wooo Hooo. Life is gooooood :D It's a really special bonus for both of us.

You found a man with the deal too?!?! Wonderful!! I am so happy for you!

I agree with Ann, beautiful kitchen. Looking forward to seeing the new edition.

I agree on the Behr paint. It's the best. I had paint colors from other brands like Ralph Lauren and had them mixed in Behr. :D

Your poor neck. I believe that my lower back strain that resulted in 5 weeks of pain came from sleeping in a weird position to accommodate Yorkies. :rolleyes::)

Looking forward to seeing photos of your work.

:eek: Whaaa? I was SO not expecting to read that at the end of your post! Yay! :thumbup: Good for you!

As for the counter depth vs full size, I totally agree. It's weird too that counter depth is smaller but costs more too! Our fridge is also at the end so it doesn't bother me. We need the extra space with all the pickled and fermented things I make, plus my bottles of kombucha and all the frozen stock I make (oh and all the bones and shells in the freezer too before I make the stock!).

Haven't worked on the bathroom set yet, but lots of painting. The guys at the paint counter know us by now. LOL. I really love the colors we chose. Lots of rich jewel tones. I'm not looking forward to doing the crown moulding. Not that it's hard to do. It's expensive to buy the materials! We did the first floor last year but it's a small space (entry way only). It was already over $200 for the crowns. Upstairs is much larger. So we'll have to go for a cheaper style.

Yep, even knowing it's not a good idea to mix business with pleasure..... we are having a blast, up front, before the real kitchen demolition starts (late Aug), so why not. Hey if the relationship doesn't work out, I can always get a contractor, and he has gotten me off to a good start. It's in the designers hands now, ordering and all. Anyway, it's lots of fun and we both feel like teenagers again. Happy heart, happy home :)