French Country Yellow and Blue facelift: DONE

13 years ago

For those who don't know me already, I've done 3 kitchens in 3 years; my first house kitchen remodel, which brought me to GWeb, a flip house kitchen, and my current kitchen, which we've now both remodeled and "facelifted" twice in 2 years. (Yes, I'm looking for a 12 step program!)

When we bought our current house, we changed a few things in the kitchen, and in a rush, decided to just repaint everything white. While I love white kitchens, my very rustic saltillo tiles always seemed to clash with the very crisp white cabinetry. I'd wanted yellow cabinets for a while, and after living with the white kitchen for almost 2 years, we finally took the plunge and painted the cabinets, electing to do the island in a French blue.

My kitchen went from one that was okay, to one that I absolutely adore.

Here is a progressive view of what we did, and what we ended up with:

When we bought the house:

Here was the result of the initial remodel. Lovely, but it just never felt like home, and the glaring contrast of the white cabinet and rustic floors always bothered me:

And this is what we've settled on:

Cooktop area before:

And after:

Fridge area before:

And after:

Sink area:

What we did:

Moved refrigerator location to allow stove hood to take center stage.

Had hutch built in place of old refrigerator location.

Had hood built.

Added gas.

Cut out cabinets under cooktop to allow for a stove instead of downdraft cooktop.

Added proper ventilation.

Added arch over window.

Modified cabinets to hold farm sink.

New counters and backsplash.

New appliances. (Waiting for old compactor and DW to die so I can replace!)

Added mini chandeliers over island.

Painted and glazed cabinets.

This kitchen wasn't a total gut/redo, and I wanted to post it for people who may have a good layout (like we did), but just feel that the space needs to be brought up to today's standards.

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Comments (33)

lululemon
13 years ago
I LOVE this kitchen!! What paint colours did you use for the cabinets?
marthavila
13 years ago
That is an absolutely stunning transformation! I recall when you posted "stage 2" . Although I thought it to be very pretty, I did not choose to comment at that time. But, this time around, I have to really give you a shout out. Great job! Great use of color! IMHO, you can stop at this one (but don't forget to enroll in the TKO 12-step program, LOL!) /cause now you've gone and done great!
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Hmm. It looks to me like you're anchoring the French country look with the paisley rug, right? (Rather than that being something you'd like to replace?) If that's so, then I'm thinking that you aren't going to go the standard French provincial route of blue and yellow. (You could, of course, still do yellow, as suggested above. I used Behr's "provence creme" in my kitchen and am happy with it - you'd have to see whether it goes with your rug.) Assuming you want a French country feel but want to stick with your more autumnal palette, I have a few suggestions. First, you could try a super-pale orange for the walls (works almost like beige but with slightly more personality). I used Behr's "creamy orange" and am delighted with it (again, try a sample in your room). Second, to bring in a French country feel without sacrificing your color scheme, you could introduce brown toile somewhere, like this print: http://totalwallcovering.com/p41588/Ashford-House.aspx?cid=48. Curtains, valance, maybe an accent wall of wallpaper. (Something like this might also be harmonious with your color scheme: http://totalwallcovering.com/p13615/Basket-Toile-Wallpaper.aspx?cid=48.) And third, for the TV, I'd look for a white-painted antique-style sideboard (God forgive me - I hate when people paint hardwood antiques). That's not French country per se, but it's part and parcel of America's interpretation of French country. For example: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/fuo/3168940671.html. Or http://frederick.craigslist.org/fuo/3110293567.html. Hmm...that's all I can think of for now.
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I looked up your bed and I think it would go with a French country theme. It is really lovely. I don't like the look of a set usually and perfer to mix up pieces. Here is a French country room with painted and natural wood pieces: I think to get a French look, it is all about the fabrics, as well as, the curvey embellished lines of the furniture.
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Put a chair rail up about half way on the wall - it should be at least three inches thick. Paint the top half of your walls (above the chair rail) cream and white stripes about 12 inches wide, or paint the top half in one cream/tan color, but use eggshell and satin in the same paint color but alternating stripes - it has a ribbon effect, very subtle. Use masking tape to tape off the stripes and a one-foot ruler to mark w/ pencil where the tape will go. Paint the chair rail itself and also underneath the chair rail a darker cream/taupe/tan. So the chair rail is painted the same color as the paint color below it. Take off the wallpaper. Get rid of the candelabra, it's too small for that large wall and gets lost. Put it on wall that doesn't have as much space around it, or above a small table against a wall. Or in your bathroom might be a good place as the room is smaller. Get rid of the fake flowers or fake ivy or any fake plant stuff like that, it's tacky. Get real plants. You can have a handyman frame the mirror with wide trim boards, easy and inexpensive. Have him nail trim boards right to the wall around the mirror. What makes your room look like a funeral home is the combination of the heavy ornate curtains and curtain sheers, plus the floral furniture! Just have curtain panels on both sides of the window - that's it. Get rid of the shear curtain (open it up during the day) except use at night for privacy. Curtains should pool at the bottom and touch the floor. have someone add a contrasting band of fabric to the bottom of the curtains to make them longer. Another trick is to hang the curtains higher, closer to the ceiling, it makes the windows look more impressive. Magazines do that all the time. If you can't afford new curtains, sew fabric in contrasting color to the bottom of your existing curtains. Get rid of the throw pillows on the sofas. The sofas are busy enough of a pattern, don't add to it. Put cream pillows if you have any pillows at all. they will add "white space" on your busy-pattern sofa. Buy wrought iron scroll type things to decorate walls. Buy a wood coffee table from an antique store or online, inexpensive, and antique paint it with cream paint and sand the edges to give it a shabby chic look. Very inexpensive. Glass tables are generally NOT French country and since the coffee table is such a focal point, you need to have that piece look more French-country-authentic. Put the two sofas facing each other, get the chair out of the corner and move it so that you have a U-shaped conversation area.I don't think you need a rug at all, but if you get one, get wider stripes - like tan and white stripes. It's the only thing you can put with a floral sofa to make it look a little more modern and up to date. You don't want this to look like an old lady house. Stripes on the walls and maybe a striped rug will freshen this up. I'm a decorator for a large firm in the Twin Cities.
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I usually suggest that you buy samples and either try them out on your walls in different areas of the room or paint foamboard or posterboard and move them aound the room to give you an idea of how the colors will work in different light in your room. Failed to mention that here ! :)
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robin32
13 years ago
It's neat that you reused as much as possiible in this transformation and made such a big change as well. Love the French Blue too!
mcraney
13 years ago
reno fan, your kitchen went from "nice" to STUNNING! I tried other adjectives since marthavila used stunning but nothing else conveyed the beauty of your kitchen.

I love the arch over your sink. Please give us the details.

Julie
danielle00
13 years ago
way to nix the tile on the countertops! good call! your island is the same color as the one we ordered last month-- it looks great. big improvement. you also must be so much happier with gas. we're doing that too!
tinycastles
13 years ago
Tell us about your sink. I cannot tell from the photo, but is it copper or some other metal?
plllog
13 years ago
Oooh! La la!
acountryfarm
13 years ago
Beautiful !! Each & every detail is wonderful. I bet you are loving working in your new space.
Good Job !!
tetrazzini
13 years ago
I saw the new color scheme somewhere recently, and it's so wonderful! The first set of changes was already miraculous, considering you did relatively little. But I agree that the colors weren't right. Now they are, and they're perfect with the tile floor. You've got a really good feel for design! I also love the arches over the window and range hood.

A couple of questions if you don't mind: How wide is the range hood cover? And how many inches above the range top/counter is it?

Thanks Reno
elizpiz
13 years ago
WOW! Love it. Yellow kitchens are my absolute fav. I love all the details you've brought in to tie everything together without it being *precious *. Has to be repeated - it's stunning!

Eliz
reno_fan
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks all. Hopefully this will be of help to someone else who maybe doesn't need to gut their kitchen.

lululemon, the island is Ben Moore Gibraltar Cliffs with a gel stain glaze.

The yellow cabinets were a custom-mix paint I had in the garage (mixed in Sherwin Williams Pro Classic paint in Semi gloss). They are glazed in Sherwin Williams' Van Dyke Brown glaze.

mcraney, the arch over the sink (as well as all of the other added cabinetry items) were built on site by my super-carpenter.

tinycastles, the sink is a chiseled-front granite sink. It's one of the best decisions we made in the kitchen, and it was sheerly coincidental. I ran across these farm sinks at a local builder's supply place, and the price was really good (around $375 if I recall correctly). That sink is a WORK HORSE. Never looks dirty, doesn't scratch, big single bowl, etc. Love that sink.

Eggandart, the range hood is approximately 66 inches wide, and at the highest point is approx 32 inches.

HTH!

Thanks again all. I know yellow and blue cabinets aren't everyone's thing, but I really think it's at home and appropriate in this kitchen.
cleo07
13 years ago
renofan
It looks great! Although I thought it was really pretty before, I have always loved warmer cabinets with the terracotta (my original floor choice until I priced it out) and now it all fits together like it was always there. You did a phenomenal job!
annes_arbor
13 years ago
This is absolutely lovely! You've made such good decisions--the arch above the window, getting rid of that horrid tile, etc. I agree that the new color scheme works much better with the floor. Wow!
vicnsb
13 years ago
A wonderful and warm change! Congrats, your new colors
work well with the great flooring. Beautiful job!
vic
amysrq
13 years ago
I've been watching this kitchen all along, but it is really fun to see all the pictures all in one post. Thanks!
jejvtr
13 years ago
Reno

ALWAYS a pleasure seeing what you are up to. It has been great fun watching 2 transformations in your space - Your visceral reaction was right all along - Can't believe you got dh to go along with it - I just don't think mine would have been there - maybe for someone else to do the labor!

enjoy that lovely space you created
redroze
13 years ago
I've always loved your kitchen from the first time I saw it. Loved it in white, love it even more in yellow and blue. I'm sure that you are so happy that you changed it to the colours you wanted. The chandeliers look so perfect in your space, and I like all the detailing in the cabinets. Beautiful.
rosie
13 years ago
Nothing new to say, your kitchen is beautiful! always been one of my favorites! yadayadayda! :) But it's true. I loved it before, and I'm a real sucker for yellow too. It is especially nice, though, to see someone bravely tweak a fine kitchen as you did to bring it to your dream, and also super nice to see that it worked. It's possible! (How about 12-stepping yourself to design school? You have a talent!)
morton5
13 years ago
Wow, that you have taken la cuisine from blah to belle. Your carpenter is a genius. And your energy to keep going with this (as well as all the other reno-stuff you do) is inspiring/humbling. Congrats on a warm and beautiful space.
joann23456
13 years ago
Your kitchen positively *glows*! It's wonderful.
pickles_ca
13 years ago
I love what you have done too! BRAVO!!!
krissd
13 years ago
This is one of my favorites - I loved it before you redid the cabinets. It's stunning! Congrats! kris
gr82bgrammy
13 years ago
That looks incredible!!! I love the arches above the stove, sink and fridge. The backsplash and counters are great too! Just beautiful! Makes me rethink my just painted white cabinets!!! DH would absolutely loose it though if I mentioned a word about that!!!
Terry
napagirl
13 years ago
Love the new Blue and Yellow facelift ... especially the pic of the stove and mantle ... Very Beautiful !
aktillery9
13 years ago
Reno!

As always your amazing. I LOVE it!!!! You did a wonderful job. It is so gorgeous and has a super warm and cozy yet very elegant feel to it.

Amy
nhbaskets
13 years ago
Absolutely beautiful! I can understand why you adore your final result.
karena_2009
13 years ago
I totally love your aesthetic and how you warmed up this kitchen with the paint choices. Also, the mixture of textures with the backsplash, counter top, and saltillo floor tiles. A couple of recent posts asked about incorporating a copper farmhouse sink with stainless steel and stainless/black combinations. You did it so successfully in your setting.

Do you mind me asking where the farmhouse sink and how big it is?

Congratulations! The yellow and blue is a great color combination.
southernstitcher
13 years ago
I'm drooling over your kitchen! I told my DH (who forbids painting even white) "I will too find a kitchen with beautiful yellow cabinets that is stunning!". Well, I have. I would like red accents but the blue and yellow is divine, and so much more sophisticated. Oh, if only I could convince him.....
desertpalm
13 years ago
Hello. The kitchen looks beautiful! Excellent job! I'm currently building a home and I've chosen a yellow-butter kitchen with a black island and brownish/terra-cotta colored floor. My backsplash is similar to yours. I'm really having trouble with the wall color though. My wall color is called "nonchalant white" from Sherwin Williams, but it just doesn't work. It looks really dull. What is your wall color? I'd love anyone's advice.
vre_toupstairs_com
11 years ago
Very nicely done! I really like the traditional aspect and detail that you put in your french country kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: french country kitchen
Tracy Cunningham
5 years ago
Any way to get the pics back? I would love to see this kitchen but photos are unavailable.
Lavender Lass
5 years ago
I thought the same thing! : )
Rudebekia
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
renofan hasn't posted in some years and no doubt removed the photos herself from her photo storage. However her kitchen appeared in This Old House. Here's a link to the thread that links to This Old House.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2575558/renofans-kitchen-is-on-toh-best-list

French Country Yellow and Blue facelift: DONE

Comments (33)

lululemon

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French Country Yellow and Blue facelift: DONE

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