Project - With a Capital "P", Part II

This afternoon, after caulking and repairing some damage on one of the walls with a little spackle, Adam and I decided to kick off the next step in our big renovation project: Painting.

Because we have now opened up our kitchen, dining room, and living room, some of the paint colors have to change. As referenced in a previous post, when Adam moved into our house almost four years ago, we painted EVERYTHING. Now, almost four years later, we get to change some of those colors.

I'll be the first to admit that painting is not my favorite pastime; however, it is a cheap and easy way to redecorate (as long as you don't do anything too drastic). That said, our paint transformation is going to be a little on the drastic side. When Adam moved in, I painted (with the help of my amazing sister in-law) the kitchen and dining room red. You see, we have these awesome retro yellow laminate counter tops with the metal band. Oh yes, bright yellow...(post a picture soon)

Upon moving in, we decided we would have to embrace the yellow and paint the kitchen a color that would jive with the honey mustard shade, so for these first few years we've had a primary colors theme. Naturally, the red makes our space feel dark and the kitchen, especially, feels a little cave-like. When we decided to knock out the walls, we knew the red would have to go. We love our Bleeker Beige we have in our living room and hallway and wanted something that would work with it without being the same color. We chose Benjamin Moore's Aganthus Green.

We have used Aganthus Green before, in our sun room. It is a nice neutral green that reflects light well, without being electric! Our sun room is a very bright room with lots of windows, but even when it is dark outside and we're using our lamps, the room is cheerful.

Our sun room. This was our first renovation project!
You can see the green wall color just over the sofa and in the corner next to the chair. 

That said, we knew going into this painting project that it was going to take time, energy and lots of primer and paint. So, we decided this afternoon, to get one coat of primer on the walls of the kitchen. We buy only Benjamin Moore paint, and the one time I didn't was a big mistake. It's a little more expensive, but well worth the extra cost for a paint that goes on easily without drips.

The best part about the paint store we visit, is that they will mix your primer in a slightly lighter version of your paint color. So, when you prime, you are already headed in the right direction. Check out our progress!

As you can see, we've got a long way to go, from bright red to pale green!

Lots of red shining through the primer, but we're headed in the right direction!

We're not quite there, and there is a lot of red peaking through that primer. When you step out of the kitchen, you can begin to see the new look! Friday and Saturday we're planning to get the kitchen painted, paint the new trim and do all of the touch ups. We'll post more pictures soon! You're not going to believe the way this paint color works with our yellow counter tops!