Kitchen and Den Paint: Check! Woo Hoo!!!

Last week, I revealed the color that I chose for my kitchen and den (and eventually entryway, up the stairs and both the upstairs and downstairs hallway):  Mindful Gray by Sherwin Williams, which I had the guys at Lowe's color match to Olympic One.  

I have to share up front: the paint guy gave me a $5 coupon for each of the three gallons that I bought, which brought the price down to $15 per gallon.  Not bad!  My sister came up for the day to help me paint, and thank goodness she did because it was a huge undertaking!  My kitchen and den have a lot of nooks and crannies, so there was a ton of cutting in involved.  To ease our load, in the two days leading up to paint day, I took a couple of hours each evening when the kids went to bed and painted some spots.  This proved to be a great idea, as it only took us four hours and two coats to go from the current washed out taupe to Mindful Gray.  Here are about a million shots of the entire space:

coco the helper

Oh I am so happy.  It is the absolutely perfect grey (to me) and is exactly what I wanted.  And a big huge shout out for Olympic One - I love this paint and am officially a convert!  It covers beautifully and is ridiculously affordable (I spent the same amount for three gallons that I'd spend for one at Sherwin Williams. Sold)!  Next up: some long overdue accessorizing.  I can put pictures on the walls and stuff in the bookcases.  Woo hoo!   Here are a few before and afters just to show you how far this space has evolved ...

Before, we had dark wood on the built-ins, a brown-grey mix of stone on the fireplace, no curtains and taupe on the walls.

Now, what a difference!  Soothing grey walls, crisp warm cream on the fireplace and built-ins, curtains at the window.  

Before, the view from the den into the kitchen was pretty monochromatic:

Now, the grey on the walls and a nice jute rug warms that space right up.

Before, the kitchen was very white with the wall color and cabinet color looking pretty similar.

 Now, the grey on the walls makes the cabinets look a lot whiter and crisper (although, it is really tough to see it in this picture - sorry).

Before, the walls and floor pretty much blended together.

 Now, they grey defines the space (different angle, but you get it, right?).

Before, oh boy.  We had a black table and brown chairs. No rug.

Now, we have the *perfect* rug under the table, a soft Comfort Grey table and white chairs.  Ahhhh.

What do you think?  

See you swoon,