When I first painted my house after the main renos, a really nice tone called Bamboo Beach by Cloverdale Paint (in Canada) covered every. single. wall. All of them.
I really did love the colour… until I didn’t. As time went on I just desired something fresher.
On went the search of the perfect greige! Oh it was hard. After a zillion samples, I settled to just lighten the existing tone to half the strength to lighten things up. So I started painting the walls with the new lighter tone.
And I liked it!
Until I didn’t.
It just felt so same ‘ol.
And that’s when I turned towards a few walls that I had done in white-white board and batten, such as in my bedroom and bathroom attic wall treatment. THOSE walls I loved.
So I bit the bullet and bought a can of white-white and went for it.
Everywhere this time.
So far I’ve done the living room and the kitchen. You can spot when the door wall was 1/2 bamboo beach AND office wall went white HERE.
The paint I’ve chosen is Cloverdale Paint’s (in Canada) Ecological eggshell interior/exterior white. With 3 drops of white added to offer better coverage.
It’s durable like a kitchen grade without the sheen. Love the stuff.
For many days (weeks actually) the kitchen crate shelves where strewn all over the floor, with contents all over the kitchen island.
That was fun…
Once the walls were ready, the crates went back up… with a few little changes of course!
With a slightly different re-stacking and revamping, I finally won over my cluttered kitchen island once again and got these things loaded up!
Each crate does something. There’s one for tools, one for office, one for filing paper, and then the tall shallow skinny bookshelf below that holds keys and office supplies.
When something works, it just does.
A space was left between the license plate and wood this round for note hanging.
Love the wood burned stampings on these antique crates.
This weird contraption stolen from my paint studio HERE was brought upstairs to hold the tape.
I mean, if the junk drawer would stay organized, I wouldn’t need this stuff in full sight! But I can’t seem to keep a handle on it. So I just prefer to have frequently stuff where I can grab it without hunting for it.
Junk drawers should be banned. Can I get an amen to that?
If you look carefully, you’ll notice something that came out of my bedroom… can you spot it before you scroll?
My TV media stand shelf landed here.
I know! I JUST made the shelf for the bedroom TV HERE! Like, JUST.
Now my son has that TV and I’m without. For now.
You may remember the 2×4 pipe shelf that was here before HERE. This new shelf worked perfectly with the large day planner underneath too!
I love it so much, I may make a mini copy to replace my pipe coffee station shelf!
Egads. Will I ever stop shuffling?! Doubt it.
Ohhhhh that wood. I LOVE that wood.
You can learn how I made the stacked wood shelf HERE.
I’ve been tempted a million times over to paint my kitchen cabinets white.
But honestly, with the white-white walls, I’m pretty happy as is!
Welcome white-white walls. All the wood stuff is lovin’ ya!
What’s your fav current wall colour?
love the white!! I would/WILL have all of my walls painted white,it is just so clean and a perfect backdrop for all the interesting,artistic storage and decor.
Dear Donna
I went with ultra white some time ago. Only one room to go, and I have never looked back. I love the contrast it gives, as well as the freshness.
Your reshuffling is so much fun. And love that crate wall. Practical, as well as artistic. The best part is that it works. So understand the junk drawer thing, which has become a “mystery” drawer at my house.
The white gives your spaces such a nice new look. And I love all your Windsor style chairs.
Ya know, I’ve tried to change out those kitchen island chairs forever. Maybe something more industrial. But for the life of me, I cannot find anything that comes close to this quality! So there they stay. Thanks for appreciating my 10 year old stuff! haha
Mystery drawer… that’s good! I need to number mine… my collection has now grown to 3… yikes. Time to purge!
I have noticed several different Windsor styled chairs in your home. Some are black. They are classic and seem to go with everything.
As you go through life you find this so true. Classics remain and the other things seem to fall by the wayside. Same with fashion. Find a hairstyle that suits you and you will wear your hair that way for years and years, with slight modifications. And clothes, the same.
Love the kitchen cabinets just like they are…agreed, they really offer a contrast with the white-white. Perfect.
We all have those junk drawers..HA/HA! Purging every where in my house the last several months. Held two garage sales; leftovers donated. Feels good to unload after collecting stuff and get things better organized.
I would love to change the color in my main room, open to kitchen, living room, dinning room to white. It is large room, high ceilings, 14 ft. I will have to hire someone to do…need to save for that, maybe next spring.
You are smart to get the painting done before winter sets in and some days become dreary.
I actually thought myself a little crazy for painting in the heat of summer! However you are right, it WILL be so nice when those dreary days hit, when I’ll be too depressed to want to do it! haha And the Christmas tree will look sharp against that white… ho ho ho!
You could paint just the top ones white, or just the bottom ones. Maybe that would cure your itch, or maybe that would convince you to paint them all! Who knows.
Ya know Mary, I had debated on that. Still am a little. However I’m not certain I love the look. I think the idea behind the two-toned cab is that it’s suppose to look like an additional add-on, however using the same cabinets, it doesn’t to me. Maybe I have it all wrong and it’s simply just about two colours. No idea. Obviously I struggle with the concept! haha If I went white on the uppers, I’d revamp them to make them not match the bottom ones like it was totally intentional to go different…
Wow!Loving it! Amen to junk drawers! But honestly, you possess a unique ability to have stuff(isn’t that a wonderful and descriptive word) in plain view and it fits. It works. I didn’t think it could be done but I think I could do it. I could at least try. Thanks for opening my eyes and mind to the possibility. White paint is now becoming much more interesting to me. I find myself going back to it. One major reason is the trees that were planted so long ago have matured and shade the house. Now some of the rooms are too dark and need lightening. Our tastes are ever changing, aren’t they! But the description of adding a few drops of more white helps. How?I mean with a large can of paint, How does it make a difference. I cannot seem to wrap my head around it. And I know it’s been said by me before but bears repeating. I absolutely, positively LOVE all the wood! Oh my gosh! Thank you for keeping us all inspired and taking the time to show us how everyday and simple items do have their place where you would least expect it. It is AWESOME!!!
Hey Joanne! Paint by nature is slightly transparent. Adding drops of white to an already white can gives it better coverage and just looks a little brighter. Pro painters often add a drop of this or that to either brighten or dull things up. I use to add a drop of brown to remove the blue cast, but have since changed to white and like it better.
And thanks for getting my fanatical wood ways. I think I actually need intervention… haha
Intervention! LOL!!! But I think I get the paint thing.I probably need intervention because I get such a euphoric feeling when I have a paint roller in my hand. I find it hard to stop!
I love the white walls. My kitchen, dining room and living room are currently yellow and I need to make a change. The yellow adds a color cast to my photos so that needs to make a change. All other walls are egg shell white. Not sure if it will be white white, but I do love yours. Hmmmm.
We all have junk drawers, the challenge is keeping it to just one. The stacked crates are wonderful and very useful. I know if I had the crates stacked for storage, I most likely would still have my junk drawer.
Now I need to really think about what my new color would be….
Donna, you are so inspiring,,,I have now added more projects to my to do list.
Gina
Gina, you totally get it. My beige-greige added a yellow cast too, I always had to desaturate the yellow in photos. It was a pain. Now with white, I desaturate the blue. Does it ever end? haha
Aside from that, the white is right for this house. Adore it! I had to do it because I kept seeing undercast tones that drove me insane. I have that annoying eye that captures one drop of tone going the wrong way. Yes, I annoy me!
Noooooooo! Don’t paint your cabinets! They are beautiful.
Love the white walls. You just gave me an idea for my calendar
that sits on the counter. I need to dig through my wood to make a
small shelf. Layering is always the way to go! Thanks!
Oh yesssss! It doubles your space easily! I couldn’t live without that shelf idea at this point! Crazy big planner in my life dictates the need. haha
I love all the white! I really love the contrast of white with all the warm wood shelves and cabinets. I have decided I am going to go all white whenever I get a chance to remove the ugly wallpaper in my two story entryway. And I am just going to continue on and do the whole house! Thank you for this inspiration!
So glad this post helped!
Good luck on the wall paper removal… ugh! My best served tip is to consider picking up a Wagner wallpaper steamer. Makes the stuff fall off like butter! Best $100 I ever spent. This house had a ton of paper on the walls too.
Well…the living room is pink, the dining room turned library is turquoise/dark aqua, and the entry and halls are bright yellow. We’re having fun with paint here in near-coastal, southeastern North Carolina! Next, we will be using a yet-to-be-named green in a bedroom. Yep! We are having fun with color!
I love that you love colour so much, sounds so fun!
Love the new color. I like gray’s too. Would you ever consider painting your cupboards the same color as your island? Have you ever painted cupboards before? Is it difficult?
I did think of that Laurie, however then I’d need to change the countertops, black on black would be too dark I think!
Yes, I have painted kitchen cabs before in another past life. Yes, it is difficult. LOL Well, more like lots of effort.
Yes, painting cupboards is difficult. And a good job, with adequate sanding and primering is imperative. Cupboards take a lot of use and abuse and only a good job will hold up in the long haul.
I have done kitchen cabinets twice and both times it was a big project. If you still like your cupboards, keep liking them. It is so much easier. Mine were old sixties style. Sturdy but lackluster. Painted, I love them. Before paint, not so much.
The white just opens up space and makes everything seem so fresh. The crate wall is genius! You have such an eye for detail. It makes me smile.
Benjamin Moore White PM-2, my all time fav white for walls, trim everything, it’s not stark white nor too yellow nor too creamy nor too blue it’s perfect. BM pm-2 is great for when you can’t decide and need a go-to white.
Hi Donna, I only subscribe to a few blogs similar to the great one you run. I love reading all about your life and work, and the balance that we should all maintain. I love white walls also, and have started in my bedroom. However I think that now the walls in most of the living areas should be the lightest icy green to brighten up the rooms in winter. I live on the east coast of Australia by the way, where winters are really mild compared to those you experience.
As I am retired and enjoying my more senior years, I agree that some timber should not be painted. The trent I see that every item in the house should be painted over a lovely old stain disturbs me. I love white furniture as it matches all styles thrown together, but you have proved that things do not have to match to look great. Keep up the great inspirations that you provide to us all and best wishes to you and yours.
I love the rustic office/kitchen look. Beautiful job. Thank you for inviting us into your lovely space,
I just love your style 🙂 The white is the perfect backdrop to your junky upcycles. 🙂 Most of my main floor is painted simply white, and I love it!