Do you remember our kitchen? It’s been a while since we’ve done any DIY. It was the one room in our flat that didn’t need anything doing to it – clean, newly installed kitchen. Job done.
We invested our time in the other rooms which needed a bit more TLC but 3 years on, the room looked a bit tired and well, I have just grown to HATE Magnolia paint! Since painting our living room to brilliant white, I feel a breath of fresh air waft over me as I walk in. Our kitchen needed a spruce up and we wanted to be BOLD.
Last summer we did the chalkboard…
This time was the complete overhaul. We decided on dark grey and then to merge the chalkboard into an entire black wall.
The Inspiration:
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| Images from my Pinterest board |
Vs…The Reality:
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| Black paint, £13 for a 2.5L tin, from Wilkinson |
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| ‘Plummett’ £39.50 for 2.5L, Farrow + Ball (the poster was husband’s choice) |
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| Magazine rack, bought from TK Maxx Birmingham for £17! |
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| Antler hooks from Not On The High Street (buy similar here) |
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| The Robots from our wedding cake! |
We love it. there was a horrid in-between moment when I was worried the black wall was a mistake…but we got through it!
We have actually decided not to use the wall as a chalkboard anymore, but keep it solid black, change the radiator and put some pictures up.
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| The dream, from The Radiator Company |
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| Frames on black walls |
Love this. I wish I was so brave with paint choices. I want to go dark but every time I opt for a grey, I usually end up with a soft dove grey instead – I'm always afraid of losing light. I lived in an old cottage for a long time with small windows and north facing so I have a thing for bright rooms and as much light as possible.
Your kitchen looks amazing now and it's amazing how a pot of paint can change a room so much.
I know what you mean…we're very lucky our flat now is so light, whereas our ground floor flat we lived in before was so dingy all the time – maybe why we're bolder now!
I love your paint colours, it looks great. I'm going to hunt down one of those magazine racks to.
Great colours for a funky home. Want the magazine rack also! x
Hi Alex! I am a long time reader but it is the first time I comment. Your kitchen is fantastic but I think what really stole the show was the pair of little robots!! I adore them! I event printed the picture for my 'Happy' mood board. May I please ask where did you get them from?!
Aah, thank you! Weirdly, they're one of those things I picked up from the office. They were a leftover prop I think from a shoot at Red magazine, and left on the 'free table' -so I nabbed them! They've sat on top of our fridge for years and then we decided to use them on top of our wedding cake last summer. So now she has a veil!
Such a great find! 🙂 I am determined to find their cousins now. I will send you a picture once I succeed!
This is gorgeous! I have a really deep purple wall in one bedroom at home but really love some of the grey/black ideas I've seen on houzz and pinterest. Such a different room. I particularly love the antler hooks and the magazine rack. Fab!
Where would I be witout Pinterest?! In a dull uninspired house, I'm sure!
Looks great Alex. Well done for persevering through the fire damage stage so worth it. I painted my dining room deep grey, after the first coat there was tears, then gin, then tears again. Needless to say very happy with my moody room!
Haha! There were almost tears and a few Bloody Marys with ours!
Love it! What a wonderful update, very chic.
I read this with great interest as currently in the process of doing some diy in the house we bought a month ago. We've painted a feature wall in the living room a similar shade of grey to the one you've used in your kitchen.
It all looks fab by the way 🙂
Lx
http://the-sportista.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you! I must admit, I'm not one for too much DIY…but love how a tin of paint can absolutely change everything.
Looks great! I love shopping in TK Maxx for the home, where is the best one in London? The Wimbledon one is quite good, but is there any others? Cate
There is one near me, in Colliers Wood too, which is quite good! Apparently there are Home Sense stores in North London, which are huge Warehouses -all TK Maxx home!! Have you ever been?
It looks great! & I love the poster too!
How about painting the radiator black until you get your 'dream'?
Xx
Hi Alex, I absoluitely adore your blog. So much inspiration! Your kitchen is fab, I have an olive green chalkboard wall, which we painted after a week of living there a bold (slightly drunk) decision, but we love it! Can I ask where you got your dining chairs? I adore them and have been looking for something similar. Many thanks, Annie
Alex this look SO amazing! And loads different from before without that much effort (i mean that in a good way!) or cost – i LOVE it!!!!! PS, i have never seen the little wedding cake robots before, how FAB!!! xxxxx
Love your kitchen, the grey looks amazing and works with black, I painted one wall in my living room in a lighter farrow and ball grey, love! I have some similar antlers I bought ages ago, no idea where to put them up, may try the kitchen now! x