A Surprise Color Consultation & Kitchen Design Plan
Two of our (newly engaged on our French vacation) friends just bought their first home and were eager to make it their own. The only problem? Their move-in ready house was covered in BRIGHT paint… and I do mean bright. Don’t get me wrong- I love bold paint, but none of the colors in this home were doing it any favors or working together in a cohesive way. Luckily, both he and she are real estate agents and could easily look past the nutty color palette to envision the potential of the place they wanted to call home. Immediately after they moved in, they asked if I could help them select some new swatches. As a little engagement gift, I did an in-home paint consultation for them and thought it might be fun to share it with you guys. I’m glad I was able to help them choose new paint swatches to cover the crazy wall colors they were dealing with to start their new chapter on the right foot. Paint is an easy, inexpensive fix that makes the biggest impact on a space! It was just a matter of choosing the best swatches for this neutral-loving couple. A few weeks later, they’re feeling more at home than ever! Click through to read all about it and see the design plan & rendering I put together for their kitchen…
*Although this post is not sponsored, I am a Sherwin-Williams brand ambassador and received complimentary paint to help my friends with this project. All content, ideas, and words are my own.
Let’s start with some before images, shall we? I wasn’t lying when I said the existing color palette throughout the entire house was bright. This is what they were working with in nearly every single room in the home…
Rooms weren’t consistent in terms of color either- in some bedrooms, there was a different color on every single wall. It felt pretty chaotic and vibrant, to say the least.
The lime green and bright blue seemed to be the reoccurring theme in most spaces and was carried throughout the house. Trust me when I say- our friends have a very neutral aesthetic. They love gray, white, tan, lots of warm wood tones, and the occasional pop of dark green or black. I can only imagine how overwhelming these vibrant colors must’ve felt for them.
Luckily, paint is an easy fix and when I showed up with some to get them going- they went straight to work (and of course were super appreciative)! Below you’ll find the colors I selected for their home after having a mini in-home consultation with them…
top row // extra white SW 7006 | silver gray SW 0049 | green earth SW 7748 …. middle row // repose gray SW 7015 | dard hunter green SW 0041 | ceiling bright white SW 7007…. bottom row // summit gray SW 7660 | snowbound SW 7004 | tricorn black SW 6258
They agreed this felt more like their personality and the look they were trying to achieve. Now for the fun part… the next space they wanted to address was the kitchen. It’s in the heart of the home and these two LOVE entertaining. They’ve already hosted four dinner parties within a month of moving in. They asked me to put together a budget-friendly kitchen design plan for them before they started painting. This is what I came up with…
I’ll drop the before image below so you can see the visual difference. I thought the island would be the perfect place to insert Dard Hunter Green SW 0041 and add some deep color!
After painting the beam, they moved to the island and sent this in-progress shot of the paint drying (pictured below). I think they’ll be so much happier with a darker island. There is always someone sitting at this kitchen bar in the counter stools and the white was getting noticeably dirty with shoe marks. Of course, I also love the color. Remember my bar cart makeover? I used the same exact swatch for that… Dard Hunter Green SW 0041.
It’s amazing how paint can totally influence an entire room or home. After covering vibrant colors with sophisticated neutrals, this house took on a totally different look. A few quick tips for choosing neutrals…
- Mix up the value // To create a consistent and classic color palette, use swatches that range from light to dark. This will add depth!
- Throw in a dark neutral // In this case, it was the hunter green that made the white and greige tones sing.
- Skip the accent walls // Previously, the house had multiple accent walls in each room. Stick to a consistent paint color or limit accent walls to one or two (I’m honestly not a fan of accent walls at all)… this will keep things visually flowing and won’t look as compartmentalized.
So far, they’ve addressed the paint and plan to tackle the rest of the design plan a little at a time (that’s the best way to do it, friends!). We gave them our leftover subway tile from the guest bathroom renovation, and they should have plenty to tile their backsplash! Other items on their to-do list (besides planning a wedding) include: swapping the pendant lights, trading the faucet, switching the bar stools, and finding a vintage rug runner- but it already looks much better with a fresh coat of paint in the toned down palette. This is what it currently looks like…
If you’re wondering about any sources in my quick design plan for them, I’ll link everything below. Aside from paint, making these changes would cost around $500, and it really changes the way the entire kitchen looks! Pretty awesome, right?
01: pendant light // 02: counter stools // 03: vintage runner // 04: industrial faucet // 05: Dard Hunter Green SW 0041
Was this one relatable for any of you? Do you like the design plan? Have you had to cover crazy paint colors? In our first home, we covered all sorts of strange colors that weren’t to our liking (yellow, pink, etc). I feel so lucky to have been able to help our friends with the generosity of Sherwin-Williams. Giant thank you to them for spreading the love, and to our friends for trusting my design eye!
Speaking of… I get a lot of “potential client” questions and emails. Sadly- I don’t have time to take on client projects anymore. It has been a couple years since I stopped doing freelance and e-design to focus solely on our own home and the blog, but I do love surprising friends and readers like this from time-to-time. Maybe I could squeeze in a few of these each year for you guys! Are you into that idea? Let me know what you think or how that might look. Hope you all are having a wonderful week!