Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Project Grey Kitchen: Our Kitchen Makeover


The open-plan kitchen, dining and living area was the first part of the house that we wanted to get sorted first. Our house is only four years old so it's very new and structurally doesn't need anything changing, but we were reluctant to move in all of our belongings before painting the walls exactly how we wanted them. Avoiding paint splashes once all moved in would have been much more of an ordeal, so painting first seemed more sensible. Luckily the majority of our furniture was in storage at my parents', so we didn't have to worry about paying hefty storage fees and this meant we weren't under any pressure to get things finished quickly. That said, we couldn't wait to get going!

Our house and the house next door were built as a pair in 2011 and are identical but mirrored. All of the fittings, floors and windows are exactly the same. Goodness knows why but the kitchen, dining room and part of the living room were painted in a dark, chocolate brown with chocolate brown interior doors throughout the property to match. I assume that the designer wanted the houses to feel rather contemporary but it was such a poor choice of colour given the size of the house. It made the whole of the downstairs feel incredibly dark and the first time we viewed the house I remember saying to Rob "the chocolate brown has GOT to go!"

So on completion day itself, we got cracking! We headed to good old B&Q to pick up some white undercoat paint and borrowed my Dad's stash of decorating goodies {rollers, ladders, splash sheets, brushes etc}. And then we got painting, whilst drinking champagne of course... #classy ;)




It took several days of solid painting to finish the undercoat as we had to paint a few layers to cover up all the brown as it was so dark. Painting around the cooker and along all the edges of the kitchen surfaces required some skillful work too, so it was slow going. After a while the painting became a bit of a chore, especially when we were arriving home from 13 hour days at work and spending our evenings with a paintbrush in hand. I've got to say I don't at all envy those people who end up having to redecorate their whole house, I don't think I have enough patience!

Once we had finally finished all of the white undercoat we were then able to start the exciting task of choosing a colour!! Whilst I wouldn't say that our kitchen is my dream kitchen, it would have been a total waste of money to replace all of the units as they are still so new and in perfect condition. So with the white units staying I was conscious that we needed to find a colour that would go well against the white but not darken the kitchen. We settled on grey, but it wasn't until a visit to Farrow & Ball in Blackheath that I realised that there are more than 50 shades of grey ;)


We bought mini testers which we painted on our bedroom wall, let dry and spent a few days mulling over. In the end we settled on Ammonite, a really subtle grey which in different lights has an almost purple glow to it.


After a few more days of getting covered in paint and achey arms, we were finally finished painting and it was such a relief to be able to clear away all of the dust-sheets, rollers and paint brushes. I can't tell you how exciting it was to be able to finally unpack the boxes labelled 'KITCHEN' and organise all of my beloved kitchenware into their own places. I'd finally be able to use my Kitchenaid again!


I remember taking this photo, standing back and just thinking "phew!". I was so glad our kitchen was finally finished and even though it was just a simple painting job that we did, I was so proud that we did it all ourselves rather than paying somebody else to do it. Knowing that our hard work was poured into the kitchen makes the space a little bit more special.

And even now, 5 months down the line, I'm still so pleased with how it looks. I love the subtle calmness of the grey and the lighting underneath the units which is really cosy at night time.


We're still adding our own little personal touches too - I love the addition of my barn star from Dirty Pretty Vintage and only a couple of weeks ago my Dad hung our Butcher Print on the wall, from The Daily Dream.


I think our kitchen might be my favourite part of the house.


Lydia xxx

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