Before & After: A Kitchen Goes from Dated to Dazzling with a Paint Makeover
As with so many things in life, when it comes to color, more doesn’t always mean better. The kitchen in Rachel’s 19th-century Chicago home was spacious, bright, and airy — but a hodgepodge of paint colors and mismatched design choices detracted from all those positive features.
“Every time I went into the kitchen I felt overwhelmed,” Rachel says. “The previous owners chose mint green to mimic the original color. I appreciated the sentimentality, but with the yellow walls and multi-colored backsplash, it felt a bit chaotic and disjointed.”
Rachel wanted a better sense of balance and cohesion but didn’t know how to achieve it, especially without a costly change to the backsplash and counters. We came up with a solution that was still colorful without feeling cluttered — or boring.
To get the more pulled-together look Rachel was seeking, we replaced the yellow wall color with BEHR PREMIUM PLUS® Interior Paint & Primer in Adirondack Blue N480-5.
The coolness of Adirondack Blue made for a much calmer backdrop and provided a pleasing contrast for the new cabinetry color: Blank Canvas DC-003. It’s a clean BEHR PREMIUM™ Cabinet, Door & Trim Enamel hue that gives the serene, unified feel Rachel was looking for.
“Rachel’s cabinets are hung at varied heights, with a mix of glass and solid fronts,” designer and visual artist Sara Weissler says. “Painting all the cabinetry one color helps to create a cohesive look.”
The combo of Adirondack Blue and Blank Canvas created a totally new feeling, Sara says, while still retaining the classic spirit that Rachel loves about her home. Such clean colors also allowed for better contrast to the kitchen’s wood elements, like the butcher block workstation, which got lost before.
A few subtle finishing touches brought the whole look together, like coating the small shelves by the sink in BEHR PREMIUM™ Chalk Decorative Spray Paint in Classic Noir. The spray application and unique chalk finish made for an easy and impactful upgrade. It’s an ideal way to paint items that can stand alone or detach from your walls. Finally, we used BEHR PREMIUM™ Cabinet, Door & Trim Enamel in ULTRA PURE WHITE® to help the windows and that gorgeous period trim pop. It’s a simple way to make sure your space has a sense of flow, Sara says.
“When choosing the color for your kitchen, or any room, it’s important to consider the adjacent spaces,” Sara advises. “Rachel’s house has detailed molding around some of the doors and windows, and these features can be seen in multiple rooms at the same time. Therefore, painting them the same shade — in this case, a bright white — can add more visual consistency throughout the entire home.”
Now, what used to feel busy and mismatched is balanced and inviting. “I am much happier in my kitchen now,” Rachel says. “The new colors are very fresh and make the space feel much more sophisticated. Every time I used to walk into my kitchen I would feel such discord. Now, I stay there and savor my food and company!”