H
ere I am with the reveal of our black kitchen walls! Back in the day this was our kitchen inspiration, and here was the result (holy moly, those pictures are awful!). We set out to make our kitchen black and white with a bit of a vintage twist because we kept the original Cubex cabinets, and it turned out “okay” but I never really “felt” the room because it doesn’t get much sunlight and the white walls made the space feel quite drab.Another factor was that it never felt really finished. The sides of the cabinets were left open by our carpenter and the handles weren’t installed, our stove wasn’t integrated etc… Plus our appliances are SOOOO UGLY. We’d bought the cheapest stove and fridge when we just moved in together and planned to upgrade asap, but behold, life happened and there was never any money left to spend on a new fridge or stove.
I’d been planning to upgrade the kitchen for a while but was so bummed out by the fact that I didn’t have the budget to tackle the project “properly”. During the Christmas break I had a real hard look at the space and decided to prioritize: while I couldn’t buy a new fancy black fridge, I could take a chance and spray paint my old one (more on that later). I could make shelving for the microwave, elevate our stove to the level of our countertops and make skirting. I could ask for matching bins for Christmas and buy a hanger to get things out of the way. I could get a budget friendly lamp. And last but not least: my favorite way to transform a space: I could change the color on the walls. Since I tend to go for either white walls, or a color with dramatic impact, I decided to choose the deepest, darkest colour my favorite paint brand Farrow & Ball has to offer: Pitch Black.
Ever since I painted the closet last year with Farrow & Ball I’ve become a huge fan, and even I was taken by surprise how easy this paint job was. Because we’re dealing with black here I’d thought I was going to have to put three coats on the walls and woodwork, but much to my surprise the surfaces looked quite covered after one coat and perfect after the second. The result has been an amazing transformation. For the first time since we live here I feel like we have a real kitchen that is well thought out and actually designed and I LOVE it.
We chose not to paint the entire space, but the coat of black on the walls and shelves adds the right amount of drama. I couldn’t be happier. It’s still quite difficult to photograph though, and I’m planning to make a DIY kitchen island and I really want an induction stove, but all in good time! Have a look at the before, progress and after shots…Let me know what you think in the comments!
Farrow & Ball Pitch Black Modern Emulsion (7%sheen) & Estate Eggshell (20% sheen)for the wood // Molnigt Exhaust Hood, Djomsö sink, Edsvik faucet & knife holder from Ikea // Brabantia New Icon Bins // Budget friendly Art Deco lamp from Giso via Fonq
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