Monday, January 23, 2012

Re-painting the kitchen

A couple of years after we moved to Darroch Cottage, we put in a new kitchen. When we first put it in we loved it. The wood was nice and blonde and I think that because it was such an improvement on what was there before, we thought it was great.
Move forward  4 years and we like it...not so much!
The lovely blonde wood has gone orange - which is irritating as this was exactly what we said we didn't want. And the cream units seemed boring. For a couple of years we've been kicking ourselves that we weren't a bit braver with our colour choice.
So, today I finally plucked up the courage to re-paint it. I had to get some advice from the lovely man at Resene ( a paint shop in NZ) because the finish on it was like it had been painted then baked! It was sort of shiny! (ew!) Anyway, he thought that a paint type called lustacryl should work - and it did!
I had on a pale blue cardigan this morning that we both really liked the colour of so we matched the paint to it.

Before
This was the day it was put in, before the kick boards were fitted. It was also very bare!
Now it's a bit more cluttered, and we've had to replace the dishwasher that broke and was rubbish. We've also added some shelves for our coffee mugs and a wee egg cupboard for all the eggs  my lovely girls lay.

This makes it look a bit more purple ishy than it is in real life, the first pic is pretty realistic!

It feels like we have a new kitchen and we love it! It only took a couple of hours to do the whole thing and I only used about a third of the smallest pot of paint you can buy so it was incredibly inexpensive too. Why oh why did it take us so long to pluck up the courage to do this?!

25 comments:

  1. Thanks for your lovely comment! Love the "new" cupboards. It looks stunning!

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  2. Wow! You did your own 60 minute makeover lol! Nice job! You have a pink fridge! Awesome! :d

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  3. Lookin' good! We have those awful covered doors so no paint here, how I would love to. I need to get brave and start painting the house!

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  4. I have blue cupboards, alot bluer than that and it has always raised eyebrows when people come that havnt see it before....good on your for making a change , I think they look beautiful...I really, really love the colour...

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  5. It looks great---I love the blue and I love that fridge. I also really enjoyed that your appliances that do sit out are the ones I'd also consider necessities---toaster, espresso maker, and the tea pots/stove top espressos! :)

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  6. O.k. I have wanted to do this for ages and you just gave me the courage to give it a go! Thanks

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  7. The blue looks fantastic. Go with your heart I say.
    Hugs
    Kay

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  8. A beautiful pop of colour! And an egg cupboard? Love that!

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  9. Yes, I know I have several paint jobs in our house waiting on me and here I sit blogging my time away! Your kitchen looks great, congrats on getting it done!

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  10. yeah Sue, I have a pink fridge! It's my pride and joy - poor Lloyd!

    Suzanne we obviously have great taste - or obscure taste!

    SA - Priorities!! Got to have that coffee - in many different forms!!

    Linn, go for it!

    Kay - as ever, thank you for your lovely comments xxx

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  11. Another victim of the F and P dish draws. Mine, like most people's have stopped working and now sit there as an expensive ornament. Would never buy again. Love your kitchen colour!

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  12. Aren't they awful, Michelle! We went all patriotic when we arrived and bought the F&P one - and had to have it fixed so many times that when it broke the last time we bought a new one - NOT f&P!! That one is, like you say, an ornament in the garage!

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  13. I like it! Good work!

    You know, I don't know how many times in the last year I've wondered why I waited so long to try something that in the end was more wonderful and much easier than I could have imagined. Like, making light colored curtains instead of just whining about my dark house. Or stacking the toaster oven on top of the microwave instead of just bemoaning the lack of counter space. Once these things are done one must wonder what took them so long to try it!

    Oh well, better late then never, right?!

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  14. Oh how right you are. We must all remember this!! Do things NOW!

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  15. Anonymous11:47 am

    So pretty !!! I have always loved the combination of blue and wood. But I also really like the cream kitchen too. It's the farmhouse/shaker style that is lovely. Change is good and uplifting. I would love to change our flat pack kitchen but it is way down the priority list. Why did I think 11 years ago that a lapis blue bench was an exciting pop of colour!!!

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  16. Looks lovely, it's amazing what a coat of paint can do and like you say, in no time at all really.

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  17. Your paint is lovely but what grabs me is that you have the Cutest. Appliances. Ever.

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  18. Now that is oh-so-cute! Our kitchen in our 1st home, as newly-weds, was a country blue. Loved that little house & it's sweet little kitchen ~ 2 people could barely move in it, but it was ours. We just refurbished our bathroom & I know what you mean, it's so "new."

    Blessings from Ohio...Kim<><
    P.S. ~ 1 of my favorite shows is House Hunters International & they were in NZ the other night. I thought about you when it came on. :-)

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  19. Anonymous4:37 pm

    A pink fridge - so cool!!

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  20. Are you happy with your farmhouse sink and wooden countertops? I've always wanted these but have lacked the courage... I worry that the white sink would scratch and get marks from the pots/pans - I handwash everything and the dishwasher is really only there for show... Wooden countertops I worry about as well because we're not that clean as a family and I worry that they will be hard to upkeep - currently we have laminate everything.

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  21. Lilian, The sink is great - it's very deep and doesn't scratch at all. 5 years later and it's still pristine. And we really don't treat it well!
    The wood surfaces...well we're not so thrilled with them. In hindsight I think it would have been better if we hadn't got them varnished and just oiled them and treated them like a huge butchers block! Near the taps some of the varnish has cone off and it looks terrible. We've looked into getting them stripped ( I really can't do this myself) and it's terribly expensive!

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  22. Thanks for the reply Laura. That's good news about the sink then! I like wood because of the warmth but yes the whole maintenance thing does put me off. I would have to keep that butchers block mentality in my mind - think rustic charm... rich old patina... I guess it's all about perspective :)

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  23. Hi Laura...I'm new to blogging and tried to write a comment yesterday! I don't think I was successful so I'm having another go :-) Anyway, I've been following your blog for a few weeks and love your blog, the farm and what you've done to your house! The kitchen cupboards look fab, great choice of colour. I really like the open shelves...we have a couple in our kitchen but are very wary now about using them after losing lots of lovely glasses in the quakes down here on the shakey isle!

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  24. Hi loulou! Really hope things are not too awful for you down there. Friends of ours have just sold their house to someone moving up from Christchurch. Are you going to start a blog?! Xxx

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  25. You made a right decision in painting your cabinets blue, it looked clean and fresh. The pink fridge, its so eye catching, I can't help but smile at it. Thanks to your creative mind. Now you have a wonderful kitchen!

    -Randell Jeffries

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I love it when you leave me comments, it lets me know there are folk out there reading my ramblings! Thank you, I appreciate them loads and loads
Laura x