Over the past few months, I have embarked on several projects with the goal of “lightening up” the old homestead.

When we first built and painted, I went with a very light cream throughout the main living areas of the house.  The kids’ rooms and the bathrooms received some color.  But the rest was a warm, cream, honey color.  Not bad, but it wasn’t long before I found myself with paintbrush in hand.

The easiest spots to paint are these two small walls in the kitchen.  They are perfectly framed by timbers, with the counters providing a border at the bottom.  Two small walls that take much, much, much more time to tape than they do to paint.  Therefore, I have painted them a few different colors over the years.

 The latest was this deep “Ruby” red. I like the color, but it was just way to dark.

Being surrounded by trees provides plenty of “coziness” (read: claustrophobia) and it is in no way necessary to try to conjure that feeling through rich deep hues.  What I  needed is LIGHT, airy and fresh.

So I returned to the cream, but I decided this time, I would change things up.  Add some bead board, and finally create some shelves that held a bit more than a few glasses.

1. Two packages of pine bead board, some finish nails,  paint, and a whole lotta patience later, the bead board was up.  And there she stayed for about 4 months.  Naked.  Waiting for some friends.

2.  Measure 10x cut once.  We had some tricky angles to cut around the beam.  We also made a templates for our brackets, which are simply made from stock pine from Home Depot.  The depths of each shelf vary according to the items stored on them.

3. Sticky notes help me remember measurements and placement of boards and brackets.

And here she is all finished up, lookin’ purdy:

I have to tell you.  I really like it.  Light, bright, fresh.  Lots more storage.  I am going to find just the right little frame to hang above the dishes there.  I imagine adding a few of my bright Fiestaware pieces to the mix as the seasons change, or the mood strikes.

A few more views, cause I am just that happy with the results:

So there you have it.   There are many more projects that I want to tackle in the kitchen.  But unfortunately they involve ripping things up and money.  Another day, then.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by.

A comment would be lovely!

Jay

linking up at thrifty decor chick