Walls plastered, floors tiled, electrics complete, new gas line in place – more than 12 months from the start of our kitchen renovation and we’re finally at the painting stage, so close to a finished kitchen!! Getting to the painting stage is always the most exciting part of a renovation, you can almost see the end – and the way paint can literally transform a room is amazeballs!
So I never usually pick paint colours until we’re at the actual painting stage – but I do generally have a rough idea for the kind of colour I’m looking for. I knew I wanted to use a F&B colour called ‘Downpipe’ in the dining room – a kind of deep grey, which I’d already purchased and used behind the log burner (you can see here) and intended on doing a whole feature wall in that colour. Since our kitchen and dining room are very much open plan, I wanted to pick something that complimented the colour Downpipe – but much lighter and brighter to keep the space feeling bright and clean.
So I never usually pick paint colours until we’re at the actual painting stage – but I do generally have a rough idea for the kind of colour I’m looking for. I knew I wanted to use a F&B colour called ‘Downpipe’ in the dining room – a kind of deep grey, which I’d already purchased and used behind the log burner (you can see here) and intended on doing a whole feature wall in that colour. Since our kitchen and dining room are very much open plan, I wanted to pick something that complimented the colour Downpipe – but much lighter and brighter to keep the space feeling bright and clean.
I love Farrow and Ball paint – it’s water based, a bit more breathable on old lime plastered walls than modern paints. The quality of the paint is also so very different to plastic kind of paints, but it is however a very expensive paint, so a decision you really was to only make once and get right the first time. I’d picked out three testers (at £5 each, these were a blooming expense on their own!) but they were all a bit too similar to the tones of the floor. So after another three samples (yep, that’s £30 worth of sample paint *GRITTED TEETH*) I picked out the colour Strong White, a beautiful off-white with a hint of grey. You can see the samples in the picture below – from left to right: Slipper Satin, Shadow White, Dimity (I think?!), Strong White & Wimborne White, which you can barely see at the end there.
For me, it was an obvious choice – the others were a little too green-toned or beige-toned for my liking. So with Strong White picked, I first had to mist-coast the fresh plaster. I use a 50/50% mix of plain white trade emulsion and water, and went on with two coats before finishing with a higher 80/20 mix of paint to water. This is how it looked after white paint – very clinical, but so much brighter and a huge difference!
Once the white mist-coat I was dry I could then go on with ‘Strong White’ by Farrow and Ball. It’s a gorgeous off-white with a hint of grey – but you only really notice the grey when it’s paired against a bright white. If you were to sample it alone, it would just look white. We have a white ceiling and white woodwork, so I knew this was the perfect colour! And oh-boy did I make the right pick. I think I may actually even prefer this to Cornforth White which we used in the smallest bedroom. It’s just a gorgeous gorgeous chic colour and is exactly what I wanted!
I love it so much, I already wish I could re-paint the bathroom in it. I think it really makes beautiful limestone floor stand out on its own and I don’t think there could have been a more perfect colour for this room. You’ll n notice I haven’t bothered to paint where the kitchen cabinets will be – this is purely because this paint is so expensive, the more I can save the better! We’re also using this colour in the dining room, which I think will bring the two rooms together perfectly – but you’ll see more on that soon.
So finally, with the painting done, we could finally add our new feature lights, which you saw a hint of in this post.
These were from eBay (found with this seller here), but they actually came with glass shades which I’m yet to decided whether or not I want to use. I’ve paired them with 3 different types of Edison bulbs, which I think makes them a little more interesting. I was worried 6 feature lights would be a bit OTT, but now that it’s painted – the whole room has really come together and I’m loving it! (Spy new appliances in the next pic!)
So there we have it – our long ass journey is coming to an end and the next post will feature our lovely new kitchen. We made it! I mean the journey of course – not the actual kitchen. We didn’t make that 😉 Coming soooooon!
Costs
(rounded to the nearest pound)
New Tools Purchased:
Roller £3
Materials Used:
White Trade Paint £10
F&B ‘Strong White’ Paint £74
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