My friends, it took me a week, but I finished painting over my yellow kitchen !  You know how you just want something new after a few years of the same old look?  That was the story of our kitchen.  Hub and I just decided last fall that we’d grown tired of the butternut yellow on the island and walls.  I debated whether or not to do it because I did like the previous color, but eventually we just decided to go ahead and make the change. 

I was inspired to transform the space into a palette that would compliment the adjoining family and dining room, so we painted the walls, and I painted the island, a gray green color by Benjamin Moore called ‘Camouflage’.  I also replaced the valance and changed up the accessories. 

Welcome to our kitchen, refreshed.  Come on in and have a look around !

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It’s time I spill the beans and tell you all what I’ve been up to this past week.  I’ve been painting my kitchen.  Not only the walls (previously yellow), but also the kitchen island (previously yellow).  I also recovered the barstools, crafted a new valance, and added some new accessories.  I left the existing white cabinetry and backsplash alone.

The main reason it took me foh-eh-vah was that I chose to use oil-based primer and paint on the kitchen island.  And oil based paint dries incredibly slow compared to its latex sister.

Hub and I agreed we were done with the butternut yellow walls and wanted the kitchen to blend better with the adjoining family room and dining room, which are both painted a pale gray green by Benjamin Moore called ‘Camouflage’.

I haven’t even taken the photos of the new space yet, but they’re coming soon !  First, I wanted to share some inspiration images.  I’ve been keeping a lot of these for awhile now because I adore soft green and white kitchens.  Celadon green is a color I keep coming back to time and again.  It’s seasonless, versatile, and always fresh.

To me, this is such an inviting cheerful place, and the perfect shade of green.

  Both Country Living

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Thanks so much to everyone for participating in last week’s giveaways.  The winners chosen by Random.org are . . . drum roll please  . . . .

For the $50 dollar gift certificates to The Vintage Pearl:

#62  Anne at Our Moo Points blog (many thanks for tweeting)

#481  Danielle at Raising Baby Bee (many thanks for your blog post)

The three winners of the Picnik Premium Membership giveaway are:

#53 Bonnie at My Little Cold Feet

#214  Amanda at Bits & Pieces

#226 Sandy at Modern Simplicity

The winner of The Paper Cafe stamper package is:

#444  Laura at LPC Interiors

For those of you who wish to purchase a personalized stamper from The Paper Cafe at 15% off, you may enter discount code CG15OFF at checkout  !  

Winners, please send me your contact information, including full name and email. 

Congratulations to all the winners, and a big THANK YOU to The Vintage Pearl, Picnik, and The Paper Cafe. 

Today I have quite an exciting giveaway to share with you.  Several weeks ago, Mollie over at The Paper Cafe graciously offered me a personalized self inking return address stamp from her collection of stampers by Three Designing Women.  When I received it, I must say, I was completely smitten.  The ink is built right in to the stamper itself, so it’s mess and worry free.

So long hand cramps.  Farewell homemade printer labels.

There’s a new kid in town.

There are so many incredible designs available at The Paper Cafe, from the Three Designing Women collection.

Dozens of address labels and monograms just like these:

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I know many of you are blanketed in snow, and part of me wants to be frolicking in a big pile of it right now.  Yet out here on the west coast, we’ve been blessed with a hint of spring.  I was in a euphoric trance this morning as I walked through Lowe’s garden department.   Rows and rows of tulips and daffodils.  Oodles of fresh new plants budding for spring !

It’s still cold around here, but the cherry blossom trees have just started to bud.  Just two days ago, I clipped a few branches off our mature cherry blossom tree, then I brought some branches indoors to force them to bloom.

I’ve never had real  cherry blossoms budding in my house – I’ve always enjoyed the fakes from Pier One.  But these beautiful pink blossoms are making me smile today.

“They’re real, and they’re spectacular.”

I simply followed these steps by Better Homes & Gardens.

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