Our house was always a doer-upper. We bought it as a renovation project as I always prefer to put my stamp on a property and not pay through the nose for a house that has already been renovated, but not always to my taste.
One of the first properties we looked at was exactly that, they had renovated throughout, and the house was on the market at the top end of our budget.
The problem was that they had installed black quartz kitchen worktops with black units and painted the rest of the kitchen yellow.
I knew that if we were to live there, I would want to rip out the kitchen but by doing so, not really adding any value to the property.
This is why our current house was absolutely perfect as the kitchen desperately needed ripping out and updating!
Choosing a popular kitchen style
Our builders recommended Howdens for our kitchen units.
When I visited the showroom for the initial appointment, the designer recommended that we go for one of their most popular styles if we were looking at selling our property in the future, which made perfect sense!
We went for the Burford white with curved units (great when you’ve got small kids!) and I decided to keep the rest of the kitchen décor neutral.
But as time went by, I knew I needed to inject a little colour into the kitchen as it was all a bit sterile and white!
The more time I spent on Instagram looking at all the amazing kitchen projects and renovations that were going on, the more I wanted to paint the room. It was just trying to find that perfect colour and style.
I’ve always loved dark blue units in the kitchen, some of my favourites being @hornsby_style and @renovating_ethelwolf
I knew I wanted dark blue in my kitchen but was aware of how trends change and some people might be put off with the dark units when we came to sell.
I’d also seen how many people had painted their walls dark in the kitchen and decided to go down this route. It was easier to repaint the walls than the many kitchen units we had.
It was quite a brave shout as I wanted the kitchen diner to be all one colour.
I’d painted my kitchen 5 different colours and wallpapered it in the short year since having it renovated and was never entirely happy with it! Thank goodness I have a laid back Husband 🙂
We’ve had white, grey, turquoise (what was I thinking!!!) and sage green. In the end, I decided to go with the extremely popular Farrow and Ball Hague Blue paint.
Our new American-style fridge freezer
Another quick update to our kitchen was a new fridge freezer, courtesy of ao.com.
When they contacted me asking if I would like to review the RS8000 American style Fridge Freezer it was like all my Christmases had come at once!
I’d always dreamed of having an American-style fridge freezer with water and ice dispenser and with our ever-growing (and demanding) family, I desperately needed a bigger fridge and we had the perfect space to put it in!
It is an extremely stylish and not too fussy fridge freezer, with ample storage on both sides to fit all your food in and plenty of space to fit your milk and juice bottles inside the doors.
It has huge drawers at the bottom where you can store all your vegetables and meat and the kids love using the water and ice dispenser which is a great way to encourage them to drink more.
The water and ice dispenser also has a handy “lock” which stops the kids from turning your kitchen into a scene from Frozen!
And for such a large and efficient FF, it is actually quite quiet. The only noise we ever really notice is the occasional clunk of the ice machine.
I would highly recommend this product and have written a detailed blog post on the fridge freezer here!
Now with the final paint colour!
With the new fridge freezer in place and the paint colour chosen, I sent Mr B out with the children one wet Sunday morning and set about painting the huge space that is our kitchen diner.
I’ll have it done by the end of the day, I optimistically thought and by 6pm that evening (and the whole family moaning that they were hungry) I admitted defeat after only completing one coat and half the kitchen.
In fact, the painting actually took me nearly 4 weeks to complete and I still have to finish the cutting in, where blue splashes have hit the white paintwork and skirting boards!
My initial thoughts after I had completed the first coat were, hmmmmmm, it’s quite dark!! But the actual kitchen part of the room is in the middle of the house and relies on light from the bi-fold doors, large window and skylight at the other end of the room.
What I have come to realise after the many hours (and days, and weeks) of choosing paint and decorating the house, is that dark colours don’t (in my opinion) make a room any darker.
In fact, I think it’s best to stick to dark colours in a dark room because if you use a light colour, like white, to try and brighten up the room, I think it actually highlights what a dark room it is. And likewise for bright rooms!
So, my work here is done! I needed to re-wallpaper under the island as the previous wallpaper was a green botanical print and no longer went with the dark blue.
I chose a brown brick wallpaper print from Dunelm which completed the rustic look that I was after.
I also needed to change the grey lampshades that were hanging above the sofa and chose some good-quality copper light fittings from B & Q.
I am finally very happy with my kitchen makeover and colour and could quite happily never pick up a paintbrush in this room ever again!
I’ve included some before and after shots below, please let me know what you think in the comments as it’s always good to hear people’s views!
Which is your favourite look?
Mel x
Audacious and beautiful x
Thank you Kate! Xx
Love love love the dark walls Mel.
Deb xx
Thanks Debs! Although I’m doubting my decision just a teeny weeny bit at the moment as it’s so dark! xx
Darker walls are fab – we also considered that colour on our island but i now much prefer it on the walls! Where did you get your bar stools from? Love those!!
They’re so dramatic aren’t they? I’m so pleased we went for this colour. We got the bar stools from George at Asda about 18 months ago, I don’t think they do them any more.
Great sofa. Where’s it from?
It’s the Aurora from DFS x
What range is that? I love it!
This is the Leisure CS90C530X Range Cooker Cuisinemaster 90 Electric Ceramic Stainless Steel. It’s a fabulous oven!
Where is the lampshade from, the one next to your sofa? It is beautiful. I love that colour wall, I have it on my own living room wall. I love how the shade changes depending on how much light there is!
It’s from the fabulous Divine Savages. It’s a beautiful colour isn’t it? I was a bit worried about how dark it was when we initially put it up, but love the colour now. x
what is the color called and brand?
It’s Hague Blue by Farrow and Ball
What kind of wood floors are those?
The floors are original to the house and are pine. We had them sanded down and then painted them with Osmo Polyx Oil 🙂
This is my very favourite kitchen of all time. I love every part of it!
Thank you so much Ann! Sometimes I think I should change the kitchen part back to white, but then I get lovely comments like this and decide to keep it! 🙂 x
Hiya Mel – I’ve just discovered your fabulous style! Love everything about your house! Where is the flower paper from in your little girls bedroom and also the chunky knit rug on your kitchen sofa? Thanks Hannah Xx
Hi Hannah
Sorry for the delay in replying. The chunky knit rug is from @blanketsbeautiful (via instagram) and the wallpaper is from a company called Komar, via Wayfair. If you have a look at the "shop my likes" on the home page, there is a picture of the wallpaper, just click on that and it will take you straight there.
Kind regards
Mel x
Love the dark walls. can you tell me what paint make colour it is! so so nice 🙂
Of course! It’s Hague Blue by Farrow and Ball x
Where is the sofa from?
It’s the Aurora from DFS
Love this look. Have just painted our kitchen diner in Hague blue. Where did you get the lamp shade from?
I’ve always loved this blue in the kitchen, it’s such a statement colour 🙂 The lamp shade is from Divine Savages. x
Love your kitchen! Can I ask what the dimensions are in metres please?
It’s 25ft by 17ft. It’s a very large space!
Hey love the look, I painted one wall that dark blue and too scared to do the rest as ours is open plan just like yours. Do you find it dark or is it just nice and cosy???x
Our kitchen is east facing and the actual kitchen part is in the middle of the house so does get very dark! I do love this colour in our dining/living area of the kitchen because it’s under skylights and next to the bifolds so it makes it very cosy, I don’t think I would have painted the kitchen part this colour again. Hope this helps? x
Looks fab ❤️ Could I ask did you use a Matt or silk paint?
Thank you This is matt paint x
I am from Hungary …. I just love it! Every single piece, every part is so … homely, warm, and wonderful.
Many congratulations with love.
Eva
Thank you Eva. It is quite a large space and can feel quite cold, it certainly did when it was all painted white. I think I have a love hate with this dark blue, but it really does make the room feel warmer in the colder months. xx
Bravo .. such a rich, stunning colour for your home! I must say the style of your kitchen is too die for.. & the dark colour is perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Thank you Valerie! We do love our kitchen, it’s probably the only room where I am not continuously changing! 🙂
I love the Kelim rug in your living room. Could you tell me where you got it from?
Hi Clara
Do you mean the multi coloured one in my green living room? It’s from Modern Rugs. https://www.modern-rugs.co.uk/gabbeh-51-1c-rug
Mel 🙂
Just love it,,what an inspiration, i was thinking to paint my kitchen cabinets but your idea is brilliant.
Thank you for the good advice❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for your lovely comment. In all honesty, I think I would have painted the cabinets buy as we had only just had them put in, didn’t think it would be a good idea!
Hello,
I’m in love with your hardwood floors. I saw a comment where they are the homes original pine floors. Can I ask how old is you home? I’m thinking of getting pine over oak, because I’m obsessed with your floors! I’m over the moon for them, they’re just so beautiful! I have a 3 year old and 3 pups. Do they scratch easily! I’ve always been told oak is the hardest, most durable wood and people always recommend it. It’s just not a easy on the eyes to me as pine is.
Thank you,
Stefanie
Hi Stefanie
We love our floors too! Our house was built in 1943 so goes to show how hard wearing they are. They don’t scratch easily, but we did have them sanded down and coated in Osmo Polyx Oil when we were renovating.
Mel 🙂