As you may recall from last week’s absurdly-expensive-wallpaper debacle, Matthew and I decided to paint stripes in our kitchen dining nook. This room in the house has been a bone of contention for me since moving in, because I just can’t seem to decide how to decorate it and what color to paint it. The dark wood table, chairs, and mirror came from Matthew’s bachelor pad, so like in most areas of the house, I had to work with what I’d been given (which, in most cases, means lots of fur and heads and watching eyes. Ah, the joys of being a hunter’s wife!).
Well, the stripes came out great, and I really like the colors and the look of them. I’d like to eventually get new chairs and a new (possibly round, oriental) rug to balance out some of the darkness in that room, but I decided that, if I wait to get new chairs and placemats and a centerpiece and more doodads for our antique shelves on the wall, this post will never happen. Or it will take another year to happen. So instead of waiting that long, I’ll do a before and after now, and then another before and after later, but the before will be today’s after and the after will be the new and improved kitchen nook somewhere months or possibly years down the road, at the rate I like to get shit done. (is anyone still following me?) Wow. Ok, here it is.
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btw, the wall color in the kitchen and column by the barstool is still blue, but the lighting here made it look different and almost white. The “before” picture was taken at a different time of day with less light.
Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the paint colors, but I will try to figure it out next time we go to Lowe’s, and I’ll add it to this post in case anyone is interested. But both colors are Valspar! Also, we (we meaning Matthew) traced out the stripes using an 8 inch plank, which made it fairly simple. And we used frog tape. Best tape ever!
Happy Tuesday… :)
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PS – Want to see other rooms in the house? We’re all creepers. We all do it.













This is so beautiful.. your house is just a little bit heavenly as far as I'm concerned
ReplyDeleteOh!!!!!! Me likey!!! Ok when I get my house it's settled you will come and stay with me and help me decorate! Your sense of decor and color is too perfect! So now that we have that settled I can't wait to get my house.... 10 years from now. Lol
ReplyDeleteWow, your place is really coming along beautifully. Love how cosy but stylish it looks all at once!
ReplyDeleteAmelia @ UGLY DUCKLING xxx
Come say hey at Ducklingtoswan.com! :)
That looks great!! Love your choice of colours! :D
ReplyDeleteI love the stripes! I'm dying to paint a wall.... since we live in an apartment we're not thrilled with the idea of painting then painting back over it in a year or so when we move out.
ReplyDeleteNeed any other walls painted? Maybe I can come over and help you paint.... that way I could get rid of this urge to paint things. Either that or I could just buy a canvas and go to town... that would probably be easier than going to Texas, huh? ;)
Long story short. I love your updated nook!
I love it, Jenni!! Looks great!
ReplyDelete~Tiffany
http://tiffanyd22.blogspot.com
Wow...that is GORGEOUS! Mad props!
ReplyDeleteWhat a transformation! I love it! You have such a knack for design and decorating! (o:
ReplyDeleteI adore it all Jenni!! So awesome!! THis is seriously gorgeous and I love the circle table!
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful, J. You've done such a wonderful job blending your style and Matthew's (challenging!) to create something that is just so cozy and appealing. Love love love it.
ReplyDeletei love this SO much!!!
ReplyDeletelooks so great, jenni! justin and i (well, mainly me) finally decided that, even though we may not be able to FINISH a room, it doesn't mean we can't slowly piece it together (working with what we have) (:
ReplyDeleteand thank you, jenni, because you have helped me realize that through all your home updates- shit takes time. and patience.
but these stripes look GREAT! and how odd how white the after photo turned out!
I love the yellow stripes! And that old cabinet/shelf thing is so freaking cute!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletethat looks fantastic! i have been wanting to do stripes, but i'm scared of crooked lines. a plank is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThe yellow stripes, blue walls and dark wood look stunning!!!
ReplyDeleteI think this can be a room in the house minus eyes watching you.....
I love it!! We did horizontal stripes in our guest room and I love them...although I can't imagine doing vertical, it seems hard to keep straight! I love your style :-) I want to steal all your knick knacks!! Where do you find them? I need to get a few pieces for the wall, shelves, etc.
ReplyDeletei love the stipes and it looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteeverything in my house seems to take ages too and we rent so can't even decorate. but we finally sorted out our lounge and it's so much better. shame that all the clutter that was in there now is on the kitchen table instead :)
It looks so good!
ReplyDeleteFor a bachelor, he had a great mirror!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big stripes person, so I give you a huge thumbs up here. I think you guys did such a great job. And as my dad would comment, great paint brand choice! He's a Valspar guy.
Emily at Amazing Grapes
Oh my gosh, lady! I LOVE it. Even with all the dark wood pieces, it still is lovely, inviting, and full of light! I think the darker wood actually brings out the yellow and warmth more! Great job!
ReplyDeletelove the stripes!! you guys did such a nice job :)
ReplyDeleteLove the stripes! I did stripes in our kitchen "nook", too, but I've been clueless about what I could hang on the wall that wouldn't take away from the stripes themselves. I love the idea of a big mirror!
ReplyDeletewhoa! The nook came out wonderful. I love the colors! The lightness of it too. So cheery. I can't wait to see how you decorate it for the holidays (:
ReplyDeleteOkay Jenni, that before and after sentence in the 2nd paragraph was a doozy! LOL!!:)
ReplyDeleteI love the stripes! It looks really great! The color choice really brightened the room. :)
love the stripes! AND I like the jute rug you already have in there! AND... of course we want to see more rooms.
ReplyDeleteI love it!! I think you've done a great job working with what you have!
ReplyDeleteWow! It looks amazing and so professional. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis looks sooo good! You have some serious skills!
ReplyDeleteI am SO impressed. I know if I attempted to do this myself it'd be an epic disaster. You did a beautiful job and picked the perfect color.
ReplyDeletelove love love love love the yellow stripes. also checked out the guest room .... love the gray and those baskets on the wall holding the antique books! :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks 100 times better now! You two did a great job! ... and the colors are perfect.
ReplyDeleteJenni, I seriously can not get over how good it looks! :) stripes over wall paper was the way to go, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe stripes look awesome, but you know what the best part is?
ReplyDeleteYou got your man to do the line-making.
You're a smart cookie, Jenni, and I salute you.
The wall turned out beautifully! And your house is absolutely gorgeous! Wish I could have your help decorating mine!!
ReplyDeletesincerelysk.blogspot.com
*Enter my giveaway!!!!*
I am all kinds of obsessed with this!!
ReplyDeletei want to live in your house.
ReplyDeleteI just looked through all the rooms, and I LOVE your taste and style! Will you come do my house? ;)
ReplyDeletethis looks SO amazing!!!! awesome job!
ReplyDeleteAmazing! This makes me want to go home and redecorate!
ReplyDeleteohmygosh!! love love love the final product! The stripes look fabulous and totally brighten up the space! So pretty! You may have missed your calling - can you say interior designer?!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Danielle A.
http://stylecrushdiaries.blogspot.com/
beautiful! it's so much lighter now, and thendark furniture compliments that rather than dragging the whole room down. now can I come over for breakfast? :)
ReplyDeleteI must be a creeper and looked at them all!! I LOVE your style!! So fantastic :) x
ReplyDeleteThat looks BEAUTIFUL!! You are quite the home decorator! Feel free to come help me at any time :-)
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job!!! Love the colors and the stripes! Fantastic. :)
ReplyDeleteUm, when I get one, can I get you to come design my entire house for me. K, thanks! But seriously girl, this looks amazing. You've got awesome taste, even though I've said that a million times...or every time you design something and put it on the blog.
ReplyDeleteI am totally in love with it. Your house is SO BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeletehttp://shannonhearts.blogspot.com/
Love this. Good job on lightening up the space. Blues and yellows are very calming colours - perfect for living areas.
ReplyDeletehttp://unpublishedworksofme.blogspot.co.uk/
Your post is great to read. I was wondering why people have different colors of life but still I participated.
ReplyDeleteI love your house, I feel a bit like 'why didn't I think of that?'. I am stuck myself in a DIY what to do loop and am totally overwhelmed.I hope from this post I can just take time to think about things before rushing and maybe I'll have a little bit of lovely too. *massively crossed fingers*
ReplyDeleteLisa xx
Love the stripes! The patience paid off because they look awesome.
ReplyDeleteoh I am obsessed with how they turned out! I'd never really thought of painting stripes before, but this does look really awesome. Maybe I'll do it someday :)
ReplyDeletein LOVE! your home is my dream home!
ReplyDeleteLove the stripes on the wall and your more rustic/country decor.
ReplyDeleteLove the stripes, it looks so much brighter in there.
ReplyDeleteThese stripes look incredible!
ReplyDeletei just want you to know that i just looked at your whole house via all the links you provided.
ReplyDeletefelt like i should confess or something.
Oh my gosh! What a difference. I think it turned out great!
ReplyDeletei don't know why i didn't see this post before, but jenni, your home. is. the. shit.
ReplyDeleteso, i think the best thing to do would be to have me, megs, doc em, bridget, eday and sarah over for a sleepover weekend. think about it.
That is an amazing transformation! I admire your steady hand with the stripes--I never could do that, even if I taped it off! I love that clock -- but then I love almost any clock! :)
ReplyDeletetm
Love the stripes! Yellow is such a beautiful color in kitchens!
ReplyDelete