A new look for our kitchen

A few weeks ago, Wesley and I had a revelation: we are no longer in transition mode. I am no longer pregnant. We no longer have a newborn. We rarely have a sleepless night (thank you Philip!). Things are slowly getting back to normal - or at least to our new normal as a family of 4.

Since things are settling down, I realized I had some time that needed to be filled :-) I looked around the house and noticed nothing in my downstairs looks like me. When we moved into this house over 5 years ago, everything looked so pretty. The previous owners had painted with beautiful colors and we just adapted our style to match.

Now, I realize that style is not my style!

My mom gave me this great plaque for Christmas. It is very me with lots of fun colors. The only problem is that when I searched for a place to hang it, it didn't go anywhere in my house. It matched nothing....so, I decided to make some changes.

I don't want to spend money on lots of new furniture but with some new paint and accessories, I think I can get this place looking more like the Benders. Out with the warm reds, greens, and browns, and in with some fun colors. Now, I realize my new colors probably aren't that fashionable. You won't won't see my kitchen on the cover of any magazine, but I read recently you shouldn't go for fashion, you should go for style. And if it is my style, it works!

First stop: the kitchen! Out with the yellow and in with the blue!

Since Wesley and Jackson were in Disney World this weekend, I thought it was a great time to start painting. I have never painted a room by myself and I was ready to tackle this challenge.
Before the boys took off I went to Sherwin Williams to get the paint. I put on a little sampler for Wesley to approve and he loved it.

Once they pulled out on their way to Orlando, I started painting. It was a fun experience and I think Philip enjoyed watching me. He was a great baby this weekend and put up with a lot of just sitting while I worked on this project.

I love the color and am really happy with the way it turned out. Emily is going to come down in a few weeks and help with the decorating. It really looks like me and will be a great starting place for our next project – the downstairs bathroom!

Before:

Sunny, yellow kitchen.

After: These pictures were updated after I finished decorating the tops of the cabinets, bought the curtains, and hung things back on the walls.

Happy Bright new kitchen!

This is my favorite addition to the kitchen. Wesley brought back these wine glasses and pitcher from Jericho!! Though you can't see the color perfectly in the picture, they are brown and blue and look beautiful on top of the cabinets.

Even our little family found a new home in the kitchen!