My Kitchen is Yellow

After three days of painting, the kitchen is done and the gray is g o n e. No more feeling depressed and blah during the Winter, while I'm stirring something on the stove. Luckily, I started this repainting project about 7 weeks ago, because it took me that long to paint swatches, prime over those swatches, paint more swatches, then finally decide on a color. I originally thought blue because I love blue, but that didn't look right. Green wasn't the right choice either, and though I was briefly tempted by white, I knew I wanted color. It finally dawned on me to use yellow, specifically the shade of the interior of our old house. That house had more windows and better facing ones, but that color yellow was definitely part of the reason there was so much pretty light.

I've been devoted to zero/low VOC paints for almost 5 years now, when we moved into this house, and needed to repaint some rooms immediately (can you say Pepto Bismal pink bathroom?). I was 7 months pregnant, so paint was a big worry for me but the low VOC paint made it a breeze. There are so many more options now in a variety of price ranges than 5 years ago, when stores often had to special order the zero VOC bases. I decided to use Benjamin Moore's Aura, because it is known for its super durability and easy-to-wipe-clean surfaces, all important for a kitchen. I'm not sure I would use this paint again, as it was very thick and dries almost immediately, forcing you to paint as fast as you can while simultaneously preventing you from blending your old strokes with your new ones. The second coat was easier than the first and the final surface does look great, but I'll probably stick to what I've used in the past like Ben or Sherwin Williams' Harmony or maybe I'll finally try out the Mythic paint a local nursery/brewing supply store carries. But first, I got to decide on a shade of red for the dining room.

I hope it isn't too early to force paperwhites for the holidays. We're hosting our third anniversary party in a couple of weeks, so besides painting I'm planning menus and trying to get the house looking nice and pretty. My reward for finishing the kitchen was going to Target to buy a big glass vase, so I could start my paperwhite bulbs. Unfortunately, I ran out of stones. Maybe I can raid my mother-in-law's house tomorrow? - she loves to collect rocks and a handful wouldn't even put a dent in her collection.