About a week ago (after we painted our brick fireplace) our kitchen looked like this:
Then we removed the desk and upper cabinet (that will be in the way of our big future doorway to the dining room) and after one coat of not-covering-at-all primer it looked like this:
Then we finally got the primer thing right after dealing with maddening bleed-through issues thanks to two days of applying coat after coat and three different types of primer (more on that here):
And now it looks like this, although it reads a bit more yellow in these photos than in person (it’s a smidge greener in real life).
It’s definitely a warm golden green tone (aka: grellow). Sort of like the color of an artichoke heart.
There’s definitely a lot more to do in there, but we’re so glad to have the whole prime-and-paint-the-paneling thing checked off. Here’s a fun little video that encapsulates the entire process in three short minutes. Which is more than a little ironic because it took us just a wee bit longer in real life (you know, just a smidge). Just convert those minutes to days. See it below or here on YouTube.
As for the paint color, after a decent amount of debate (and some pretty thorough consideration of the adjoining rooms that will be seen along with the kitchen) we opted for our new favorite color, which turned out to be Sesame 381 by Benjamin Moore (color matched to Olympic No-VOC paint in semi-gloss).
We were inspired by this kitchen (found here via Pinterest) since our cabinets will eventually go white, possibly along with our backsplash.
We chose this warm yellow-green color because we want the kitchen to be bright and happy (there aren’t any windows to the outside world – just one that looks into our sunroom) and it was suuuuuuper dark before we painted that paneling. We also knew the room could take a decent amount of color because:
- it won’t have any big long walls remaining when we add the extra-wide doorway to the dining room across from the fireplace (just slivers of wall here or there will remain, so the color won’t be overwhelming)
- we’ll be painting the cabinets glossy white later in this phase of our little kitchen makeover along with un-busying the backsplash (which will further temper the color on the walls)
- we’ll be adding an island in the place of our too-small table someday (with a different countertop and most likely a non-white base color to keep things interesting and layered)
- this room is surrounded by the dining room, the hallway, and the living room, which all have soft gray walls (so we wanted this space in the middle of them all to have some cheerful color going on)
When it came to our swatch-selecting technique we just hung up a ton of them and looked at them at all times of day to see which one we preferred. As for why we chose this swatch specifically, we decided:
- this golden-green tone will tie into the chartreuse curtain tones in the dining room and the cheerful green tone in our shaggy living room rug without being too matchy-matchy across the board (we didn’t want the exact same tone of green everywhere for fear that it would look a bit too “orchestrated”)
- a warm yellow kitchen is always a classic choice, but this color feels modern and crisp with the green undertones (and it’s not completely terrible with the oak cabinetry, which will stay for a little while)
- this tone is in Sue the Napkin – albeit a bit darker (a sure sign it’ll work with our whole house palette really well)
- unlike some of the other softer greens and greeny-gold tones that we considered, it really makes the white trim pop (lighter swatches didn’t have the same crisp effect next to the fireplace or the trim)
Here’s how it looked with the first coat going up around the fireplace (thanks to all that primer prep– we had really awesome coverage). Again, it’s looking more yellow and less green than it does in person in these photos, but you can really see how the white pops and how it turned a dark and brown-everywhere space into a sunny and bright room in the middle of the house.
We also decided that it was high time we switched out all of the “bisque” colored vents, outlets, and light switches.
So we grabbed a bunch of crisp white ones from Lowe’s, turned off the power, removed the old ones, connected the new wires the same way they were connected to the previous switches, added the outer switchplates, and turned the power back on. The whole switch swap took about twenty minutes. So much better:
Some people opt to paint their vent covers so they blend in more, but for now we’re happy to leave ours crisp and new since we’re so used to old drippy painted-over covers (clean paint-free ones kind of feel like a luxury). Who knows if we’ll decide to add a few thin and not-drippy coats of paint to blend those vents in later though. We’ll keep you posted.
Oh and it’s really fun to go back and look at our fireplace, which originally looked like this:
Then we removed the old unused wood stove and painted the brick, and it looked like this:
It’s amazing how much painted paneling can freshen things up even more:
And we love how things like the white frames and the round mirror above the fireplace layer right in with the glossy white trim and beams:
Burger likey (he knows how to work that runway):
Oh yeah and see those pink hydrangeas? I wish I could say that we grew those, but they’re from the store. We figured to celebrate all that priming and painting we could spring for something soft and sweet, so these little pink snowball-looking-guys had me at hello (that’s an old vase from Target btw):
As for the opening to the dining room, here’s where it’ll be (it will line up exactly with the dining room window on the other side for balance):
We learned that we’ll need a permit to knock out so much of that load bearing wall, so it sadly won’t be anything we can do very quickly (and we’ll definitely be leaning on some pros for help). But we can’t wait to tackle it as soon as we can get through all the permit business and hunt down the right expert for the job.
Now for some before & after bid-ness. Just because that’s my favorite part. Here’s the kitchen as it looked on moving day about six months ago:
And here it is now (still can’t wait to add that island, paint those cabinets, and upgrade the floor & appliances someday though):
Moving day again (yes, one of those lights was out):
And now:
The crazy thing is that these photos were taken around the same time of day so it definitely demonstrates how much lighter and more cheerful the space feels now that the dark paneling is a thing of the past. Oh and here’s the budget breakdown:
- Olympic Premium No-VOC primer from Lowe’s: $12
- Behr 2-in-1 Primer + Paint (in semi-gloss white): already owned
- Kilz Clean Start No-VOC Primer from Home Depot: $20
- Olympic No-VOC paint (in Sesame by Benjamin Moore) from Lowe’s: $22
- New vent and outlet covers from Lowe’s: $43
- Brushes/rollers/tape/paint tray: already owned
- Total: $97
So there you have it. The kitchen madness has officially begun. As we mentioned here, we’re definitely going to do this in phases (gotta save our pennies and just take things on as we can afford them). But it should be a whole lot of fun. As in, more fun than a barrel of monkeys. And definitely more fun than priming that paneling five hundred times. Do any of you guys have long term kitchen plans like painting the cabinets or adding an island or upgrading the flooring or making some overhead lighting switches (we’re definitely in need of some of that too)? Oh the possibilities…
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.
Zahra says
Amazing transformation !!!
Carrie C says
I’ve been looking at Sesame for the half bath in my master. It has orange carpet, floral wallpaper, and no window. yucky :) Of course the carpet needed to go 20 years ago
Leslie says
Amaaaazing! The room looks so inviting now.
Lori says
Wow! I’m really impressed with the change from the before and after. We have a dark kitchen. Not a lot of natural light, dark wood cabinets, black appliances, poor lighting, dark wallpaper, dark hardwood floors. But I can see from your project what a difference lighter paint can make. What a good motivator and plus it was good to see also this portion of the project didn’t cost a lot. I bet it feels really good to have the kitchen fresher and brighter!
annabelvita says
This just popped into my feed and when I saw the title I thought it was from you guys!
http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.com/2011/06/clara-dresses.html
annabelvita says
Heh, in fact I started reading Tanis’ blog after you posted her dresser do-over project… big blog family.
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! So funny.
xo,
s
Kim @ girlevolving says
WOW. It looks SO beautiful!!!
Caralyn says
Ow wow I love it!! What a great change! I can’t wait to see what the kitchen looks like with white cabinets.
Are you going to do anything with the floor during Phase 1? What about painting the floor? Would you ever attempt to paint the kitchen floor?
YoungHouseLove says
Nah we think painting vinyl would be a bad solution (little Burger’s claws might scrape and peel it). But in Phase 2 we’d love to reveal the hardwoods that we hope continue under the whole kitchen (it means rehanging the cabs so it has to wait).
xo,
s
Leslie says
Wow! It looks so good! My husband and I have been house hunting and every time we see a house with wood paneling, I just think of the possibilities after seeing what you did with your first house…and now this! Keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing what else you do.
katrina says
So much brighter! It’s wonderful!
Please tell me the eyeball knobs will be the next to go! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah – those are definitely on their way out!
xo,
s
Allegra says
This looks amazing! And I was esp. happy to see this color, b/c we picked a similar color (Benjamin Moore Pale Avacado) for our kitchen/family room combo and love it! Thankfully we did not have the painting paneling issues you had, though. Great job!
Sayre says
That turned out beautifully! I’m in the midst of renovating myself (floors this weekend!) and I was hoping to tackle the kitchen this summer. There’s so much else going on though that it may have to wait for next summer. We got a new fridge when the other died, but our stove and dishwasher are both 40 years old and failing. I want to move the fridge across the room and put an island where the fridge is currently. All of this hangs on an electrician coming to check out the situation, so that’s why we’re currently in limbo in terms of the kitchen.
By the way, I’m going to try painting some upholstered chairs for the church. I’m taking the worst one to work on so if I completely mess it up, it won’t be a big loss.
kae says
well done! I can’t believe how different this place looks with a little paint.
Stephanie says
What a beautiful kitchen in progress! :)
I absolutely love your blog, and am a daily reader…but this is my first comment. Woohoo! :) I love your P frame to the right of the door…can you give details on it?
YoungHouseLove says
Sure, that’s a magazine monogram project that we tackled a while back. Here’s that info for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/10/how-to-make-a-magazine-monogram/
xo
s
Courtney says
where can i find a list of paint colors from your past and present homes? we are moving and i am trying to find a palette. since we are by the beach, i want to do greys, blues, khaki tans and some sort of green or yellow
YoungHouseLove says
You can find that info on our FAQ page (see the tab under the header?). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jennifer C. says
Looks A.MAZ.ING! You two have such patience and perserverance! I WILL learn from you two someday. :}
Elsa says
GOR…GEOUS!! And so cheerful!
Shannon says
Wow, wow , wow! It looked so much brighter just with the primer but now with the colour you guys picked out it looks amazing! I know the priming was a headache, but it looks so worth it now. It’s beautiful – enjoy it!
Sierra says
Oh WOW! What an awesome tranformation! Such hard work and well worth the efforts. It looks great. I’m looking forward to watching the changes. :)
Liz U says
Does John do a lot of electrical work around the house? We have been replacing the outlet covers in our house (changing them to white), but we’re sooo nervous about switching the actual sockets. Any tips (other than turning off the power)?!?
YoungHouseLove says
I would google around for tutorials in youtube and check out some library books (that’s pretty much how we gained the confidence). And always always turn off the power. To the whole house if you’re paranoid like us.
xo,
s
Suzanne says
OMG – you must be permasmiling! It’s awesome.
And 500 comments before lunch? Some kind of record? So apparently all you have to do is paint for 3 days! lol
katie o. says
That color just makes me happy! And brings such life to your kitchen/dining room. Always makes me happy to stop by…and I always leave inspired. My husband hates me for loving your website so much. Means he has lots of projects in store. :)
Jennie says
i LOVE the color…makes me think of what color i want to paint our kitchen. and i’ve spent many hours (okay maybe it was only minutes) this summer cursing the previous owners of our house as i try to remove painted over switchplates and vents. my vote is always a clean, crisp, straight from home depot white. :)
Natasha says
This is LOVELY! An inspiration for sure!
We are painting our all white house in my favorite color by Valspar-Laura Ashley (I think) called Latte! I am excited to have it done and put in our spice bamboo floors!
Hopefully I can convince my hubby to do something bold for our kitchen!
Thanks so much!
Natasha
LaRae says
We bought our house a little over a year ago and it needs a major kitchen overhaul! But, in the meantime of getting new cabinets and countertops, how would you recommend updating or improving the cabinets we have? The only caveat is that they aren’t solid wood. I think they are particle board or something similar to it and they are covered with some kind of vinyl. Anyways, they would probably dissolve if we sanded them and repainted. Do you think we could just put primer over them and repaint? Just curious :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve never tackled that material so maybe google around and ask at the home improvement store?
xo,
s
Christina says
You guys did such a fantastic job! I just started following you recently and I am blown away by all the progress you’ve already made since I first stopped by. Paint is truly transformative. I am so overwhelmed by my kitchen. It is tiny, has low ceilings, the cabinetry is from the 70s and a icky bisque color not to mention clearly of very low quality. I’ve thrown around the idea of painting the cabinetry, and while I’m sure it would help a lot, I think the right thing to do would really be to just rip the whole darn thing out and start from scratch. Whoops, can’t afford that. So maybe paint it is…
Michelle says
Looks wonderful, and I can’t wait until you knock out that doorway so we can see how the color goes with the dining room–I bet it will really pop against the back of the built-ins!
Jaime says
That color….I DIE!!!! It looks AMAZING!!! I cant believe this is only the “intermediate” result…WOW! :)
Meaghan says
LOVED the video…what a transformation! Looking forward to seeing what you do with the rest of the kitchen and especially knocking out that wall!!! We took out a wall in our kitchen during a remodel and have never regretted it!!!
Becca says
LOVE it!!! You guys are such a testament to the fact that it doesn’t take a ton of money to make a room look completely different. You’re awesome! Enjoy it! :)
Nikki says
If you find out that the hardwoods don’t go all the way through but still want that as your floor covering you can still do it! I wouldn’t have believed it until I saw it but our contractor (so I guess John!?!) matched our 100 year old original floors into a newly finished space while we were refinishing the originals and with the new stain and varnish you literally cannot tell they aren’t original…it was amazing! I am keeping my fingers crossed for you that it goes all the way through…that would be AWESOME!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s true- definitely a possibility.
xo,
s
Jessica says
C-U-T-E!
Gretchen says
Only three small words came to my mind when I saw the after pictures of the kitchen with the new paint:
So. Much. Better.
I think my mood changed just looking at the pictures! I can only imagine how awesome you two feel. :D
Caroline says
WOW, WOW, WOW. I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The video is especially amazing & makes me appreciate the time it took even more. :) Great job!
Liz says
Ahhh! It looks so good and so different!
I painted my kitchen a similar color (more green apple), and just recently put in a skylight since it didn’t get any light. Ever thought about that? It may be the best thing I’ve done in my house yet!
YoungHouseLove says
Totally a possibility for Phase 2!
xo,
s
samantha owens says
oh my gosh! i can’t wait for yall the knock down that wall! the transformation of the kitchen is amazing. love the color and it feels so much bigger in there now.
Sydney says
WOW…I love it!!!
Val says
Yay! Looks so awesome! It reminds me of the summer I spent painting my mom’s kitchen after my senior year of high school. I had to redo it like 3 times because I kept picking greens that seemed okay and then were neon on the wall (yikes!!). The final winner was really close to this color and it still looks great. Great job, guys!
Amanda says
Fantastic transformation! Thank you for letting apartment-dwellers live vicariously through you!
anon says
It’s fun big posts like these that make me click your google ads a few extra times – just for those extra bucks.
Erika says
WOW! The space looks sooo much bigger. The color is great.
Chloe says
It looks SO much better already and much lighter! Can’t wait to see what it looks like when the cabinets are painted. Are you going to replace the floor at any point?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes- we can’t wait to hopefully expose the hardwoods that we believe run under the plywood and vinyl floor. It’ll necessitate removing and reinstalling all of the cabinets though, so it’s definitely a Stage 2 project.
xo,
s
Andrea says
Absolutely unbelievable. You guys totally rock my world! You’ve totally inspired me. I was hemming and hawing over painting our cabinets in the kitchen of our brand new house (3 years) and I’m totally going to pull the trigger now.
Congrats. I love it.
Allison Jag says
This might seriously be my most favorite transformation of yours yet! LOVE every single dang thing about it! :)
fd says
Love it! It makes the ceiling look about a foot higher! And I now fully understand why you need to open that wall, for some reason it wasn’t so obvious before. But wow, if I were you, once I had caught my breath, I would be itching to move onto the cabinets as a big first priority. Well done folks, really gorgeous and inspiring job.
pj says
love the color choice! nice job bringing in a current look. (and i’m an old gal who can remember when the paneling was the trendy look) i really love the fireplace in the kitchen too..makes it seem lovely and “home-y” Personally, I like the white appliances. we’ve had stainless for 12 years and I’m READY to go back to crisp clean white asap.
good job!
Kyley at Painting Pony says
it looks great! I’m sure you are SO glad to be done!
This is sort of unrelated, but I was wondering where you guys find the music for the videos you make? (I did see the fall walk run website at the end)
But in general I was wondering how you find stuff that youtube won’t disable since it’s licensed? Do you have a specific website you go to find acceptable music? I always end up having to do the “audio swap” thing for the videos I make and it’s just a wild guess in finding something I might like and will fit.
I’d LOVE it if you had any suggestions! thanks. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, John goes to creativecommons.org, which is a site that helps you find music that’s available for use (as long as it’s not for profit like in a commercial, etc).
xo,
s
Necole says
I am in love with the grellow. Once I finish my master bedroom, I just might tackle our backroom/office.
Jen says
Well, of course I love it. I am also impressed about how you guys just go for it. My husband would have said “why do you want to paint the wall if you’re just going to tear it down?” Sometimes having a laundry list of all the changes you want to make is daunting- you don’t want to get started on one until you’re ready to do the others. But, the kitchen looks so much brighter and happier now. Totally worth it.
Stephanie B says
Looks amazing!
stephanie says
Sherry and Jon – It really is very beautiful! You guys have great vision!…Still loving my oak-colored paneling though.